Mr. Vilavong holds a Masters degree in Agricultural Resources and Environmental Management from the Udon Thani Rajabhat University in Thailand. Mr. Vilavong started his career as a teacher at Dongkhamxang Agriculture Technical School (DATS) in 2001. He was then promoted to head of the Livestock Department and then head of Research, Development and Information of DATS. As a manager and a teacher at DATS, Mr. Vilavong is responsible for making master plans, creating advisement media and coordinating with internal and external organizations for school development. He also continues teaching fish and frog production and breeding, forage crops, statistical procedures for agricultural research and principles of organic agriculture at DATS. Mr. Vilavong has also worked for Lao Institute for Renewable Energy (LIRE) and Lao State Fuel Company (LSFC) as a part-time bio-fuel crop researcher, a rural promoter, and a bio-fuel project coordinator. He focused on researching and promoting local farmers on the physic nut (Jatropha curcas L.) plantation for bio-fuel production project. As a Humphrey Fellow, Mr. Vilavong plans to focus on Agricultural Resources and Environmental Management.

Last updated: 2011