Howard is a management consultant with experience in the defense, education, nonprofit, telecommunications, and digital media industry, focusing on helping clients to improve sales, marketing, and customer experience. Born in Ho Chi Minh City to a Chinese family, he immigrated to Washington DC at a young age. His interest in development started in high school Model UN conferences where he was exposed to the persistent global health, education, and economic issues in developing countries. These issues became even more apparent during his travels across Southeast Asia. At UVA, he connected with East African and Middle Eastern immigrant and refugee communities through developing a pilot workplace ESL program. After graduation, he volunteered in Morocco as an English teacher for underserved teenagers. He is passionate about education and its transformational force in alleviating poverty, and believes that Kiva can enable young people to obtain improved access to education. After completing his fellowship, Howard plans on applying to business school to explore how to widen the intersection between commerce and development.