[1] He established the first futures studies research institute in Southeast Asia, was a member of Thailand's House of Representatives, was on the executive board of the Democrat Party, and has published on scholarly and popular topics.
After finishing high school at the New Berlin High School in Wisconsin on a one-year American Field Service (AFS) scholarship, he received bachelor's and PhD degrees in economics from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.
[3] Chareonwongsak founded the Institute of Future Studies for Development (IFD), a non-profit Thai academic research organization, in 1994.
The IFD emphasizes sustainable solutions for future problems in Thai society,[4] and has worked for changes in Thailand's banking, finance, governance, and education.
He has published a number of books, presented over 500 academic papers, and has written 5,000 newspaper and magazine articles.