National Committee for UNIFEM Singapore operates from a rented office at 2 Nassim Road, Singapore 258370.

The direction, strategy and management of UNIFEM Singapore is guided by an executive committee, and supported by a patron and panel of advisors.

PANEL OF ADVISORS

• Ambassador Prof. Tommy Koh, ex-officio
  
• Ambassador Prof. Chan Heng Chee
  
• Dr Kanwaljit Soin, founding president
  
• Dr Aline Wong
  
• Dr. Anamah Tan
  
• Prof. Koh Tai Ann
  
• Dr. Jennifer Lee, ex-officio
  
• Ms. Tisa Ng, ex-officio
  
• Ms. Audrey Chin
  
• Ms. Melissa Kwee, ex-officio
  
• Ms. Claire Chiang
  

Ms. Claire Chiang, Senior Vice President, Banyan Tree Holdings, started the retail business of the Group in 1996 and has since been at the helm overseeing the opening of 70 retail outlets in the world. Banyan Tree is the leading manager and developer of premium resorts, hotels and spas around the world.

Ms. Chiang is also the chairperson of Banyan Tree Global Foundation, established in early 2009 by Banyan Tree Holdings. Her role involves directing and guiding the continual process of Banyan Tree Holding's overall commitment to the CSR journey to "Embrace the Environment, Empower the People". She also sits on the Global Governing Board of Caux Round Table (CRT), where she is Vice-Chair for Asia. CRT is an international network of principled business leaders working to promote sustainable capitalism.

As part of Banyan Tree's strategic focus on business and human capital development, Ms. Chiang has taken on two new roles in 2010 - chairperson for China Business Development, where she is primarily focused on the acquisition of new management contracts, and chairperson, Human Capital Development Task Force, where she oversees key strategic issues in human capital development including organisational and human capital capability.

Ms. Chiang is married to Mr. Ho Kwon Ping, Executive Chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings. She is the mother of three children, ages 28, 25, and 16.

Ms. Chiang was an Arts and Social Sciences graduate (Honours) in the then University of Singapore (1971-74). In the early 80s, as an educator, Ms. Chiang has done intensive sociological fieldwork on factory workers and industrial relations in Hong Kong, while completing her Master of Philosophy (Sociology) degree. During 1982 to 1990, she taught at the Sociology Department of the National University of Singapore and continued research work in the Centre for Advanced Studies from 1990 to 1994.

She co-authored the book "Stepping Out: The Making of Chinese Entrepreneurs" published in l994 by Simon and Schuster, which was translated into Chinese and Japanese. Besides winning a National Council Book Award for the book, a 30-chapter Chinese drama serial using this book as reference was launched in l999 by a Singapore TV broadcaster and won five awards.

In the business world, Ms. Chiang is one of the first two women to be elected to serve on the Board of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry - after 89 years of being a male- dominated domain. Ms. Chiang was awarded in 1999 "Woman of the Year", for her contribution to the community. She served as a Singapore Nominated Member of Parliament for two terms (l997-2001) where she raised many policy issues related to the social service sector, women, family, education and the disadvantaged. In 2009, she was recognised by The International Alliance for Women's "World of Difference 100" awards for championing village-based entrepreneurship.

Her government portfolios include Chairing the Employer Alliance, an appointment by the Singapore Ministry of Manpower, and Co-Chairing the Pro-Family Business Council and the Partner Connection Fund under the charge of the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports.

An interested learner and educator, Ms. Chiang is a member of the Board of Governors of Raffles Girls' Secondary School and a member to the Raffles Institution Board of Governors. She continues to serve as a volunteer with Help Every Lone Parent (HELP), Rotary Club of Suntec City and People's Association (PA), in Singapore. She is also a member of the Singapore General Hospital Medifund Committee, and serves as a mentor for the Young Women's Leadership Connection mentorship programme which engages young female leaders in mentorship, networking, leadership development, and community engagement.

She was also appointed Director and Non-Executive Chairperson of Wildlife Reserves Singapore, and chairperson of Wildlife Reserves Singapore Conservation Fund.

In 2008, Ms. Chiang was awarded a Pingat Bakti Masyarakat (Public Service Medal) in Singapore's National Day Awards and the inaugural Singapore Innovation Park Fellow Award. In the same year, she was formally appointed as a Justice of the Peace by Singapore President SR Nathan, to exercise such powers and to perform such duties as may be conferred on them by any law. This was followed by her appointment to the Board of Visiting Justices in 2010.

In April 2009, Ms. Chiang, together with Mr. Ho Kwon Ping, was a joint recipient of the Hospitality Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual China Hotel Investment Summit. The award was presented to honour outstanding individuals for a lifetime of extraordinary leadership, accomplishments and contributions to the hospitality industry.

Her portfolios include:

• Appointment by the President, S R Nathan
  - Justice of the Peace
  
• Appointment by Wildlife Reserves Singapore
  - Director, Non-Executive Chairperson, Wildlife Reserves Singapore
  - Chairperson, Wildlife Reserves Singapore Conservation Fund
  
• Appointment by Ministry of Home Affairs
  - Board of Visiting Justices and Board of Inspection
  
• Appointment by Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS)
  - Co-Chairperson, Businesses for Families Council
  - Co-Chairperson, Partner Connection Fund;
  - Advisor, Romancing Singapore (*Co-chair: 2003 - 2005)
  
• Appointment by Ministry of Education (MOE)
  - Member, Board of Governors of Raffles Girls' Secondary School
  
• Appointment by Ministry of Manpower (MOM)
  - Chairperson, Employer Alliance
  - Member, Tripartite Committee on Work-Life Strategy
  
• Member, Singapore General Hospital Medifund Committee, SingHealth Group
  
• Member, People's AssociationTalents Advisory Council 2009-2011
  
• Mentor, Young Women's Leadership Connection mentorship programme 2010 - 2011, part of the People's Association network
  
• Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI)
  - Council Member
  - Chairperson, Career Women's Group (CWG)
  
• Chairperson, Shirin Fozdar Trust Fund (SFTF), Wee Kim Wee Centre, SMU
  
• Patron and Advisor, Help Family Service Centre (HELP)
  

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE - 2010-2012

Trina Liang-Lin, President

Trina Liang-Lin is Managing Director at Templebridge Investments and President of UN Women National Committee Singapore (previously named UNIFEM). She has held director or executive director positions in a number of global investment banks and has worked in Hong Kong, New York, London and Singapore. Ms. Liang-Lin holds a Masters degree in Finance and Accounting from the London School of Economics and a Bachelors degree in Economics from the National University of Singapore. She is Past President of the Financial Women's Association of Singapore (FWAS) and sits or has sat on numerous and diverse boards and committees including the Victoria Advisory Committee (VAC - comprising Victoria School and Victoria Junior College), the Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT), the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA), the Economics and Employment committee of the Singapore government's feedback unit, REACH, the audit committee of the Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) and is one of the 100 BoardAgender champions in Singapore. In 2011, she was one of 10 individuals chosen to speak at a rally in support for Presidential candidate and now President Tony Tan of the Republic of Singapore. She was voted Woman of the Year (Business and Finance) by Women's Weekly Magazine in 2006 and Her World's 50 Most Inspiring Women Under 40 in 2010. She has also been named both Straits Times' 50 Young Singaporeans to Watch (2004) and 20 Women to Watch (2006).

Claudine Lim, Vice President

Claudine has served on the executive committee of UNIFEM Singapore since 2004 and has previously held the positions of Treasurer and Vice-President. She was also Co-Chair of UNIFEM Singapore's Anti-Trafficking Project. As well as serving on the UNIFEM Singapore Exco, Claudine sits on the board of aidha, a not-for-profit organisation that serves migrant women workers by providing financial education. Claudine works for a donor-funded infrastructure developer that aims to promote private sector investment in infrastructure in developing countries in Asia. Her previous experience includes leading the investor relations function in a government-owned investment holding company and responsibility for strategic planning, business development and investor relations in a listed telecommunications company. Claudine commenced her career in the Singapore civil service and has held appointments in various Ministries. She has a BA (Hons) degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford, and an MSc in Finance and Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Audrey Ho, Hon Secretary

Audrey counts as her greatest challenge raising three young girls in today's society. Working to foster women's empowerment and to promote gender equality is of particular importance to her. Before moving back to Singapore in 2008, Audrey lived in the United States of America (New York and Washington, D.C.) for over 12 years. While in the U.S., she edited and wrote freelance for several U.S. and Singapore publications. She continues to work at and from home writing on a freelance basis.

She holds an LL.B. (Honours) from the National University of Singapore and began her working life as a corporate lawyer.

Debra Soon, Treasurer

Debra Soon previously held the Executive Editor and Chief Editor positions at MediaCorp News before becoming the Managing Director last year. Holding over 16 years of experience in the media and communications industry, Debra's range of work includes reporting on 'live' events in Singapore and from overseas; 'live' talk shows, leading general elections coverage and being Editor and presenter of "In Parliament".

She served as President-elect SR Nathan's Press Secretary during the August 2005 Presidential Elections. Ms Soon is currently also a member of the National Council on Problem Gambling, and Chairperson of the Youth Sub-Committee and is a Council member of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs. Debra holds a BSc(Econs) and MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Saleemah Ismail, Member

As the Immediate Past President of UNIFEM Singapore, one of Saleemah's accomplishments at UNIFEM has been to raise awareness on the trafficking of women and children, addressing the demand side of child sex tourism in Singapore in particular. This effort resulted in the implementation of the child sex tourism legislation in the revised 2007 Penal Code. Saleemah is also presently providing gender-related consultancy work to UNDP Democratic Governance Program in this region. Saleemah also sits on the board of aidha, an organisation that provides education and training courses for migrant and low-income women, and the Women's Register, an initiative of the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations, to promote women leadership in senior management.

Karen Loon, Member

Karen began her career in the Financial Services industry by joining Pricewaterhouse in Sydney in 1990 and is currently a Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in Singapore. Her role includes providing audit and transaction services to MNC and local banking and capital markets and investment management clients. Karen has a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sydney, a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance from the Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FinSIA), and a Master of Business Administration from Macquarie Graduate School of Management in Sydney, Australia. Karen is an Associate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, a Fellow of FinSIA and a practicing member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Singapore. She was also formerly Treasurer and Committee Member of the Financial Women's Association of Singapore.

Sharon Tan, Member

Sharon has over 20 years of experience in corporate branding, public relations/affairs, advertising and marketing, as well as community affairs/corporate social responsibility. She has worked for the Singapore Foreign Service in its Embassy in Washington, DC, as well as for a variety of multinational companies such as Ogilvy & Mather, DuPont, MTV, and Levi Strauss.

In her role as Corporate Affairs Director, Sharon led community affairs, corporate responsibility and employee volunteerism programs for Levi Strauss in Asia Pacific. She also concurrently headed the Levi Strauss Foundation for the region, where she initiated and led grant-making and social change programs in three strategic focus areas: human and labor rights for migrant workers in the apparel industry; economic and asset development for women and youth; and programs to address stigma and discrimination in the area of HIV/AIDS.

Sharon graduated from the University of Singapore with an LLB,a and the University of London with a Masters in International Law.

Melissa Hyak, Member

Melissa Hyak is the Head of Corporate Communications at ACR Capital Holdings Pte Ltd.

Prior to joining ACR, Melissa spent close to 20 years in the media industry starting with her work in mainstream television, then radio and spending some 13 years in broadcast journalism.

Melissa began her career in broadcast journalism in 1997 when she joined Channel NewsAsia's parent company, Mediacorp News. Since then, Melissa has anchored many of Channel NewsAsia's live programs covering significant Singapore and world news events. Apart from Melissas 1-year stint as Channel NewsAsias Correspondent in Hong Kong, she has also reported out of the US, Europe, Indonesia, Cambodia and Taiwan.

Until her departure from broadcast journalism in 2011, Melissa was also the face of Channel NewsAsia's night prime time news belt as well as the resident host of two panel discussion programs, one on Singapore issues and the other, on international developments. Melissa was also the first presenter on Channel NewsAsia to host a program concurrently in English and Mandarin.

Melissa graduated from Curtin University of Technology with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology. She also completed her Master of Arts degree in Southeast Asian Studies from National University of Singapore in 2007.

Georgette Tan, Member

Georgette Tan is Group Head, Communications for the Asia/Pacific, Middle East & Africa region and is responsible for the development and implementation of regional communications and CSR programs throughout the Asia/Pacific, Middle East & Africa region.

In this role, Ms. Tan leads a number of communications initiatives, including the creation of MasterCard's suite of research properties, surveys and indices. This research have served as a benchmark for a myriad of industry and consumer trends, including financial literacy, consumer confidence, purchasing priorities and resilience, ethical spending, online shopping, business development, and financial and regulatory policies.

Ms. Tan has also driven the release of four MasterCard issued books on industry knowledge leadership examining the discretionary spending power and long term economic impact of various demographics that were authored by Dr. Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, Global Economic Advisor for MasterCard. In 2005, Ms. Tan launched the 'MasterCard Worldwide Index of Women's Advancement', a unique knowledge leadership platform that provides key insights measuring the socio-economic advancement of women.

She has been a driving force in the creation of a number of related community initiatives and scholarship programs to benefit disadvantaged women and children in the region. Ms. Tan was instrumental in the launch of the MasterCard Purchase with Purpose^TM program, a transactional philanthropy platform that lets MasterCard cardholders donate a portion of their purchases to support charity initiatives through select merchant outlets. The proceeds from MasterCard Purchase with Purpose^TM help benefit the lives of disadvantaged women and children by providing them access to education and development programs to help them attain a sustainable livelihood.

Ms. Tan currently serves on the international advisory panel for Maitri, an NGO in India committed to improving the quality of life of marginalized women and underprivileged children. She is also a member of the advisory board for the MSc in Communication Management Programme at the Singapore Management University.

Previously, Ms. Tan was the Director of Communications for CNBC Asia, and served as the manager of international publicity services at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council in Hong Kong. Prior to that, she led public relations for the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board.

She joined MasterCard in 2000 and is based in Singapore.

Sheela Parakkal, Member

Sheela Parakkal is the Group Human Resources Director at Sindicatum Sustainable Resources, a clean energy project developer. Sheela's primary responsibilities at SCC are to guide and manage the overall provision of HR services, policies and programs for the Group and overseeing the development of staff members across offices in six locations.

Prior to joining SCC, Sheela spent the last 8 years as the lead HR business partner for the Assurance practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers ("PwC") Singapore. Working with business leaders there, Sheela played an important role in both formulation and bringing to life people strategies across a variety of areas including recruitment, mobility, leadership development and talent management. A trained facilitator and coach, Sheela was a frequent trainer at regional development programs for key talent. Prior to assuming the lead HR business partner role at PwC Singapore, Sheela spent 9 years as an auditor, with a primary focus on the financial services sector. A member of the Australian Society for Certified Practising Accountants, Sheela holds an MBA (Banking & Finance) from the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

A founding member of the Corporate Responsibility Committee at PwC, Sheela played an important role in driving the corporate responsibility agenda for PwC and making available opportunities for staff to be engaged in noteworthy community projects.

A former management committee member of the AMK Family Service Centre, Sheela currently serves on the Board of SUN-DAC, a centre for the intellectually disabled where her key contributions are on the people and development front.

Coming from a matriarchal lineage and as a mother of three girls, contributing towards the empowerment of women and making a difference is important to Sheela.