Over 20 years the Irrawaddy has built up a team of Burmese and ethnic nationality reporters from Burma/Myanmar and areas bordering Thailand. Our staff team is diverse and includes Burmese staff and those from ethnic background (such as Karen, Mon, Kachin and Shan), plus expatriate staff members who have understanding and in-depth knowledge of Burma/Myanmar and Southeast Asian affairs.
Aung Zaw
Founder and Editor-in-Chief
Founder of The Irrawaddy and a journalist, writer, and former activist. He studied at Rangoon University before going into exile following the military coup in Burma/Myanmar in September 1988. He launched The Irrawaddy in 1992, and was only permitted to return to the country in 2012. Aung Zaw has been awarded the 2010 Prince Clause Award for Journalism, the 2013 Shorenstein Journalism Award and, in 2014, the International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists. He has contributed to The New York Times, The International Herald Tribune, The Guardian, The Bangkok Post, The Nation, and numerous other publications. He is the author of the Face of Resistance and was a visiting scholar at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, in 2013.
Win Thu
Independent Director
Independent Director of the Irrawaddy, working with the newspaper since 1994. As a student at in Yangon University in 1988, he joined the uprising and was forced to flee Burma, after the military coup. He lived in exile and saw his calling in joining the Irrawaddy. He supervises the overall administrative functions of the organization, including preparing its operational plans, proposals and budgets, and financial reporting to donors. He has extensive training and background on Finance and Computing and uses the knowledge and skill to work behind the scenes in keeping the Irrawaddy working smoothly. Loves to meditate, travel to remote areas with natural environment, and read an interesting book amidst cool mountain air while sipping fresh fruit juice.