Eileen Chong (Lead, Insights & Innovation)
Eileen is the Lead for Insights and Innovation at Asia Philanthropy Circle, where she builds communities of learning around early childhood development and mental health and wellbeing. A former Singapore diplomat, her seven years in the foreign service taught her that bilateral cooperation depends on listening well and building trust. The same currency, it turns out, that philanthropy runs on. By holding space for candid, open-minded exchange, she hopes to create the conditions in which funders come to see a problem differently, and find their way to acting on it together.
Eileen is also a Non-Constituency Member of the 15th Singapore Parliament. The worlds of policy and philanthropy are more connected than they seem—similar questions surface in both, about who is being left behind and why. What differs is the lever: philanthropy can move quickly and collaboratively while trying things at small scale; policy works more slowly but has wider reach. Eileen is interested in what becomes possible when both work in complement.
Outside work, she enjoys cooking her way through new recipes with mixed results, mahjong with friends, and taking long walks with her dog, Henri.
Elizabeth Ee (Senior Director, Community and Engagement)
Elizabeth Ee joined APC as Senior Director, Community and Engagement, bringing over a decade of experience across philanthropy, advancement, ESG, and international engagement in Singapore and Australia, built on a foundation in public relations and communications.
She has held leadership roles across universities and the private sector, cultivating trusted relationships with philanthropists, foundations, corporates, and institutional partners. Liz has deep expertise in community building, strategic engagement, major gifts, partnerships, and cross-sector collaboration, with experience delivering initiatives at both enterprise and regional levels. She has also contributed to organisation-wide ethics and ESG efforts, supporting governance, values-led strategy, and stakeholder engagement.
Passionate about social impact, sustainability, and systems change, Liz has worked extensively on international partnerships and funding initiatives across the Asia-Pacific region. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications) from the University of Melbourne and has lived in both Melbourne and Singapore, bringing a bicultural perspective to her work.
Outside work, she enjoys spending time with her family, hikes in nature, and training for HYROX.
Esther Chang (CEO)
Esther is driven by the belief that collaboration is essential to achieving system-level change. This conviction drew her to APC, where she brings together Asia-focused funders to learn, connect, and co-create solutions to the region’s most pressing challenges.
She has two decades of experience in philanthropy and sustainability. Before APC, she spent six years leading the UN Global Compact Network Singapore, driving enterprise capabilities and cross-sector partnerships for the Sustainable Development Goals. Earlier, she held advancement roles in education and healthcare across Asia and North America.
Esther holds an EMBA from ESSEC & Mannheim Business Schools and a BSc in Life Sciences from Queen’s University, with further postgraduate studies in sustainability at the University of Cambridge.
Beyond work, she enjoys the outdoors—whether in the mountains or underwater—and mentoring those seeking to pivot their careers toward impact.
Héloïse Salvagnac (Associate, Climate)
Héloïse Salvagnac joins APC as Climate Associate. She holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations from Sciences Po Lyon (France), with an academic focus on global governance.
Heloise has experience working across NGOs, international organisations, and community-based initiatives, spanning policy research, organisational governance, and stakeholder engagement in both European and Asian contexts. She has contributed to initiatives within the United Nations, as well as in locally-led organisations—supporting programmes focused on inclusion, gender, education, and collective action. She is interested in human rights, community-led approaches, and developing inclusive and equitable responses to climate change.
In her free time, Heloise enjoys spending time outdoors, hiking, running, or swimming, and she is looking forward to discovering more of Singapore’s cultural and gastronomic scene.
Jasmine Khin (Senior Associate)
Jasmine Khin is a researcher and practitioner currently serving as Senior Associate at Asia Philanthropy Circle (APC). Born to Burmese parents and raised in Singapore, she brings a deeply personal perspective to the complexities that shape vulnerable communities across Southeast Asia.
At APC, Jasmine co-leads research and initiatives at the intersection of climate change and human rights—including ethical recruitment—and supports efforts that advance collaborative philanthropy across the region. She believes that philanthropy can contribute to transformative change particularly when it empowers the voices and centres lived experience of those most affected.
She writes and works from a place of commitment to justice, healing, and imagination, especially in contexts marked by crisis, resilience, and the quiet courage of everyday life. Jasmine began her career in academia, serving as a researcher and teaching assistant in philosophy, where she taught classes in ethics, classics, and political philosophy. Jasmine holds an MA in Philosophy from Northwestern University and graduated magna cum laude with a BA in Philosophy and English Literature, from Kalamazoo College, USA.
Koon Peng Ooi (Senior Manager)
Koon Peng Ooi is a Senior Manager at APC. He works closely with members, particularly those in Malaysia and Indonesia, to support their philanthropy and foster opportunities for collaboration and learning. He also leads APC’s migrant worker initiative in Singapore, bringing together members, the government, employers, and implementation partners to develop a collaborative solution that improves migrant worker welfare.
Prior to joining APC, Koon Peng was at Social Finance UK, where he advised donors, investors, and social enterprises on structuring innovative financing models to improve social outcomes. He started his career as an ODI Fellow at the Ministry of Finance in Eswatini and was also part of the debt syndication team at Morgan Stanley UK.
Originally from Penang, Malaysia, Koon Peng holds an MSc in Development Economics from the University of Oxford and a BA in Economics from the University of British Columbia.
Li Nan (Director, New Markets & Services)
Nan is passionate about helping funders give well and give sustainably. Her current work centers on supporting next-gen philanthropists—particularly from Greater China—through tailored engagements and peer learning, and on stewarding a pioneering group of funders growing the impact-first philanthropic investing ecosystem across Southeast Asia.
Nan joins APC after a decade in the private sector—from strategy and operations consulting at PwC, to advising global institutional investors at the macro hedge fund Bridgewater Associates.
Mabel Lee (Senior Associate, Communications)
Mabel joins APC as a Senior Associate in Communications and Events. Shaped by experience across the disability inclusion and mental health sectors, she believes storytelling is a matter of dignity, visibility, and making space for voices that are often unheard.
A graduate of Nanyang Technological University with a Bachelor of Communication Studies (Hons), she has worked across campaigns, partnerships, and content development, translating complex experiences into narratives that shift perceptions. One of her most meaningful projects was co-organising a horse-riding event for persons with visual impairments, proving that what seems impossible is often just unimagined.
Outside of work, she makes a point of picking up local phrases wherever she travels, driven more by curiosity than competence. The rest of her time is spent in small, unhurried ways: coffee conversations in kopitiams, hours at the gym, and the everyday human exchanges that quietly shape how people see the world.
Maria Intan (Senior Manager, Finance and Operations)
Maria is a Singapore Chartered Accountant with more than 20 years of experience across audit, finance, and operations. With a strong foundation in financial reporting, internal controls, and compliance, she has also worked closely with organisations to strengthen processes, support decision-making, and build practical systems that enable sustainable growth.
She holds a double degree in Accounting and Banking and Finance from Monash University and is a member of ISCA. Maria is inspired by meaningful work and values opportunities to contribute with purpose. Beyond work, she enjoys travelling and spending time outdoors with her children.
Rebecca Lim (Project Lead)
Rebecca is the Project Lead for APC’s Assisted Living Facility project. She started off with over a decade in international destination marketing and tourism development. After a significant season in Mumbai, she moved into the social impact space, applying her skills for social good. With over a decade in this sector where she pioneered a digital storytelling platform that advocated for social causes in the region, she grew as a leader who passionately shaped authentic culture for meaningful impact.
In this season of her life, she combines her hopeful disposition and eye for opportunities, with her love for people by journeying alongside others in human flourishing – one on one, in teams, communities and ecosystems. Alongside her current training as a clinical counsellor, she is concurrently working in roles that are at the intersections of senior care innovations, intergenerational community living and community-led movements, as she reimagines cradle-to-grave ecosystem builds.
Simran Govani (Intern)
Simran is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Sustainable and Green Finance at the National University of Singapore, driven by a passion for the intersection of climate, finance, and sustainable development. She is particularly interested in climate adaptation, carbon markets, and how private capital can be mobilised to accelerate climate action across Asia.
She enjoys translating complex sustainability challenges into practical, evidence-based insights that support better decision-making for businesses, investors, and policymakers. In particular, she is especially interested in how finance can enable a just and resilient transition while addressing emerging climate risks.
Joining APC is an exciting opportunity to contribute to meaningful collaborations that advance climate philanthropy and systems change across the region. Outside of work, she enjoys travelling, discovering new cafés, and spending time in nature. She believes that tackling climate change requires curiosity, collaboration, and a shared commitment to creating sustainable solutions.
Swati Agarwal (Director, Climate)
Swati is the Climate Director at APC, shaping strategies for philanthropies in complex settings and across interdisciplinary areas connected to climate change. Adept at building trust-based relationships across cultures, communities, and sectors, she is most drawn to shaping collaborative approaches to giving that deliver impact for the most vulnerable communities.
Prior to joining APC, Swati was the Programme Officer at Oak Foundation, a family philanthropic foundation based in Switzerland. For about 4 years, she led their climate giving in India and global programs at the intersection of climate, health, and livelihoods.
Swati is an economist by training. Earlier in her career with UNDP, she served as the lead analyst for the Ministry of Finance in India, driving meaningful engagements with the Asian Infrastructure Development bank (AIIB). She is a Nuffic Fellow on Climate Policy and Clean Energy and a foresight scholar with the University of Geneva. She serves as an Advisor on several philanthropic pooled funds.
Her journey across different institutions including philanthropies, government, industry, and civil society organisations has deepened her vision for delivering systems change through reimagining our relationship with nature, food, and energy. In her personal time, she enjoys reading with her son, deepening her practice for yoga, and playing the sitar.
Theresa Cua (Senior Manager, Communications)
Theresa is a communications strategist passionate about shaping narratives that drive purpose and connect people across borders. She joined Asia Philanthropy Circle in 2021 as Manager for Communications and Programmes, bringing over a decade of experience in international, non-profit, and impact-driven spaces.
Before APC, she led communications for the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Secretariat under the Asia-Europe Foundation, and previously headed branding, communications, and marketing at charities and impact investing firms. At the Singapore International Foundation, she developed engagement strategies for its Cultural Exchange team in its formative years.
Theresa began her career at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (Manila), supporting work in local governance, political reform, and the Mindanao peace process.
She holds a BA in European Studies (cum laude), majoring in International Relations with a minor in French Studies from Ateneo de Manila University. She speaks (with varying levels of fluency) English, Filipino, Mandarin, Hokkien, German, and French—with a smattering of Japanese and Italian.
Yu Ting Poh (Manager, Mandarin Collective)
Yu Ting Poh is a Manager (Mandarin Collective) at APC, developing the Greater China and global Chinese diaspora philanthropy ecosystem through peer networks, knowledge exchange, and collaborative initiatives. She brings over eight years of cross-sector experience across philanthropy and government, spanning Singapore and Greater China.
Yu Ting studied in Singapore and Beijing, and has built her career across Hong Kong and Singapore — giving her firsthand grounding in the Chinese-speaking communities the Mandarin Collective serves. In Hong Kong, she led programme design and global stakeholder engagement for the Yidan Prize Foundation, supporting education changemakers in over 50 countries. In Singapore, she established the Ministry of Health’s first Behavioural Insights Unit and later advised government and philanthropic partners on outcomes-based models to advance social impact at Tri-Sector Associates.
Yu Ting holds a BSocSci (Hons) in Sociology from the National University of Singapore and a Master of Translation & Interpreting from Beijing Foreign Studies University and is trilingual in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese.
Outside of work, Yu Ting enjoys trail running, surfing, and the great outdoors.
Zarina Bevi (Manager, Admin and Operations)
Zarina Bevi joins APC as a Manager for Administration and Operations, bringing with her experience in human resources and office management. In this role, she will support daily operations, coordinate administrative processes, and assist in HR functions to help ensure efficient workflows. Zarina plans to approach tasks with a practical and organized mindset, focusing on clarity, reliability, and effective execution.
At APC, she looks forward to contributing to the organisation’s mission and supporting initiatives that create a positive impact in the community. Zarina values building strong working relationships, establishing clear processes, and providing dependable support across teams.
Committed to continuous learning and professional growth, she is eager to explore ways to improve operational efficiency and enhance workplace practices. Zarina aims to foster a collaborative and supportive environment where colleagues feel empowered, motivated, and valued. She is excited to begin her journey at APC and contribute to a positive, people-focused culture.