Wong Kar Mun Nicole is an MPP candidate at the Jackson School of Global Affairs. In her work, Nicole is passionate about harnessing the arts and cultural sector for social good and global solidarity, particularly within Southeast Asia. At Jackson, she hopes to develop the tools to combine rigorous data analytics with sustainable local community engagement to embark on effective participatory policymaking. Prior to Yale, Nicole contributed to social inclusion and community resilience projects globally. With the Rural Education Action Program, Nicole studied solutions to problems impacting children’s health and education in rural China. As a Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Nicole worked with the Asia Foundation in Jakarta, Indonesia to advocate for the protection and empowerment of marginalized populations such as transgender individuals, religious minorities, and indigenous communities. As a Research Associate at the Tsao Foundation’s International Longevity Centre, Nicole explored the role of arts and cultural community organizations in maintaining bonds amongst elderly populations in historic neighborhoods in Singapore. Nicole has also leveraged the creative and cultural industries for community-building in her work at the Chinese University of Hong Kong as a Junior Teaching Fellow, and at Checkpoint Theatre where she led engagement projects geared towards bringing the arts to wider communities and connecting the arts to wider social issues. She also steered research for Singapore’s Ministry of Culture, Community, and Youth on the impact of COVID-19 on the arts, culture, and heritage sectors. Recently, Nicole was part of the team representing Singapore at the 59th Venice Biennale. Nicole graduated with distinction and honors from Stanford University in 2018 with a BA in international relations and a minor in art history.