Ayu believes strongly in the value of service, universal responsibility and in improving lives and eradicating inequality and inequity. With an engineering background and a strong interest in community engagement, Ayu joins the management team of Energy Action Partners after conducting research in community-based electrification systems, and developing participatory planning tools for rural energy systems. Prior to that she lived in Somaliland, volunteer teaching while working on small, community-sized systems (wind and micro-hydro). Born and raised in Penang, Malaysia, Ayu has BSc and MSc degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Purdue University, and an MSc in Engineering Systems and Management from the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology.