Team

Anastasia Kurniadi (Associate)

Anastasia Kurniadi

Anastasia is a Climate Associate in APC. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from Yale-NUS College, with interests in environmental anthropology, sustainable development, and intersectionality. Her experiences include roles in research, communications, and partnership in community-based environmental work. She is a firm believer in the power of collective action and contributes to local and international climate initiatives. The ocean and music are two things close to her heart as she fills her free time SCUBA diving, playing the piano, and appreciating the local art scene. Resonating deeply with APC’s ethos of collaboration and community building, Anastasia is excited to start her social impact journey with APC and explore the enabling role philanthropy has in driving change and conversations in the climate space.


Anushia Kandasamy (Malaysia Country Representative)

Anushia KandasamyAnushia is a management consultant and senior leadership facilitator based in Malaysia, with over 15 years of experience in strategic planning and transformation. Her expertise includes structuring culture transformation programmes, leadership development, and unlocking team effectiveness. She is also a strategic thinker, supporting organisations to draft policy/strategic plans while building stakeholder engagement capabilities to ensure inclusivity. Anushia works with clients across the public and private sector, and dedicates her own time to support non-profits as well. She is especially keen on building women leaders and social entrepreneurs. Previously, Anushia was a Junior Partner with McKinsey & Company, working especially with government and state-owned enterprises in Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam. Anushia holds an MSc in Development Administration & Planning from University College London (UCL) and a BSc in Accounting & Finance awarded by the University of London (External Programme).


Carol Tan (Deputy CEO)

carol tanCarol Tan is Deputy CEO of Asia Philanthropy Circle. To inspire more fair, prosperous and sustainable societies and enable philanthropy to play a catalytic role in achieving this, Carol is devoted to building coalitions across the public, private, and people sectors. As DyCEO, she charts APC’s direction to grow the collective impact of our community, leveraging her global experience in philanthropy at The Rockefeller Foundation, urban development policy in New York City government, humanitarian aid with Harvard and the Red Cross, and management consulting at Boston Consulting Group in Asia. Carol holds a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, a BA in Economics and Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley and was selected as a Coro New York 2019 civic leader. She enjoys kickboxing, photography, reading and travel.


Clarissa Lee (Operations Executive)

Clarissa Lee

Clarissa Lee is an Operations Executive with a strong passion for driving impactful change. She has gained expertise in office management, secretarial and administrative support, and event coordination over her working experiences.

Clarissa holds an MSc in Digital Transformation, an MBA from Nexford University, and a BSc in Business from SIM-UOL. She blends her academic expertise with practical experience to streamline processes, drive initiatives and foster collaboration. She is excited to join APC, where she will contribute to meaningful philanthropic initiatives while learning from like-minded professionals. Her passion for learning, innovation and collaboration aligns with APC’s mission to make a positive social impact.

Outside of work, Clarissa finds joy in hiking, long walks, reading, and connecting with others over meaningful conversations.


Eileen Chong (Lead, Insights & Innovation)

Eileen Chong

Eileen joined Asia Philanthropy Circle in June 2024. A former Singapore diplomat, Eileen is passionate about advocacy and change-making. Her foreign service career spanned a three-year posting in Beijing and headquarters stints covering Singapore’s bilateral relationships with China, Thailand, the Philippines, and Laos. She hopes to leverage her skills honed as a diplomat to amplify the voices of underserved/overlooked communities and causes across the region. 

Eileen holds an M.A. in Global Affairs and Policy from Yonsei University and a B.A. in International Politics from Peking University. In her free time, she volunteers with organisations dedicated to improving the welfare of migrant workers in Singapore. She also enjoys trying out new cooking recipes and going on long walks with her dog, Henri. 


Jasmine Khin (Senior Associate)

jasmine khinJasmine Khin is a Senior Associate at APC. She began her journey in social impact at APC as she started exploring how to bridge the gap between theory and practice. She cares deeply about human rights, climate action, and sustainable development in Asia. Previously, she was a teaching assistant in Philosophy, where she taught classes in ethics, classics, and political philosophy. She has an MA in philosophy from Northwestern University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and English Literature from Kalamazoo College in 2018. During her free time, she is a facilitator for Climate Fresk, a pedagogical card game based on the climate science in the IPCC reports, a yogi, runner, and climber. While she was based in the US, she tutored refugee children in Chicago and worked on a pro bono consulting project for a digital financial literacy platform geared towards first generation students.


Jerome Ong (Associate)

Jerome

Jerome is an NUS Social Work graduate with a Minor in Community Development. His primary interest lies in addressing intergenerational poverty as well as social issues facing marginalised populations like youths at-risk, isolated seniors, and others. To deepen his understanding of policies and programs that serve these populations, Jerome has undertaken internships with the Ministry of Social and Family Development, Allkin Singapore, and SHINE Children and Youth Services.

Jerome is excited to be part of APC and looks forward to gaining insights into strategic and collaborative philanthropy and advancing the organisation’s role as an enabler of such projects.


Koon Peng Ooi (Senior Manager)

Koon Peng

Koon Peng is a Senior Manager at Asia Philanthropy Circle. He joins us from Social Finance UK where he was advising donors, investors and social enterprises on structuring innovative financing models to improve social outcomes. Koon Peng has worked on the scoping and design of several Social Impact Bonds in a range of issue areas, including access to basic services, employment and modern slavery. He previously worked in the debt syndication team at Morgan Stanley UK and was an ODI Fellow at the Ministry of Finance in eSwatini.

Koon Peng is originally from Penang, Malaysia. He holds an MSc in Development Economics from Oxford University and a BA in Economics from the University of British Columbia.


Laurence Lien (Acting CEO)

Laurence Lien is Co-Founder and CEO of the Asia Philanthropy Circle.

Laurence is also the Chairman of Lien Foundation, a family foundation established in 1980. Under his leadership, Lien Foundation has become well-regarded for its forward-thinking and radical approach in the fields of education, eldercare and the environment.

Laurence was the CEO of the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre in Singapore from 2008-2014. In 2008, he founded the Community Foundation of Singapore and was its Chairman from 2013-2019. He is also Board Member of the Lien Centre for Social Innovation at the Singapore Management University.

Prior to his work in the non-profit sector, Laurence served in the Singapore Administrative Service, which forms the top echelon of public service leaders in Singapore. Laurence holds degrees from Oxford University, the National University of Singapore, and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. In 2010, Laurence was awarded the Eisenhower Fellowship. He was also a Nominated Member of Parliament in Singapore from 2012-2014.


Li Nan (Director, New Markets & Services)

Li Nan

Nan is thrilled to lead the Mandarin Collective, with the ambition of evolving the Chinese philanthropic ecosystem alongside our members and partners. Nan joins APC from Bridgewater Associates, where she advised global institutional clients and helped to launch the Singapore operations. She started her career at PwC’s New York office, where she advised financial services institutions on strategy, operations, and organizational challenges. Nan holds a BA in Economics and International Relations from Lafayette College. She enjoys hiking, traveling, and reading.


Lucy Tan (Deputy Director, Finance)

Lucy TanLucy is Deputy Director, Finance for Asia Philanthropy Circle. She is a qualified chartered accountant and has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry across multi core risk management disciplines, including internal audit, financial management, balance sheet management, corporate governance and compliance. She has extensive global experience in corporate treasury disciplines and was the Asset-Liability Committee Secretary of the Singapore Branch of a multi-national bank. She later became the Company Secretary and Trusted Advisor to the board of directors when the bank incorporated its Singapore operations locally.

Lucy took a career break during which she attained the WSQ Advanced Certificate in Training and Assessment. She re-joined the workforce in the non-profit sectors and has worked in the Office of International Affairs at a local university, and more recently, in the Community Stewardship team of a generational investor.


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.

 


Sarah Tam (Climate Lead)

Sarah Tam is the Climate Lead at Asia Philanthropy Circle, a platform for Asia-based philanthropists to learn, exchange, and collaborate on projects in the region. Since October 2021, Sarah has been overseeing the work of the APC Climate Collective for philanthropists to build their capacity for strategic climate action and engage in collaborative efforts to address climate change causes and impacts in Southeast Asia. Prior to APC, Sarah spent over two years with a Singapore-based impact investing firm managing the company’s education arm and digital impact measurement platform.


Suyin Liu Lee (Philippines Country Representative)

Suyin is the Country Head for 88tuition Pte. Ltd., a Singapore-based enterprise that provides video-based learning with the social objective of helping every child achieve their full potential. She spent almost 20 years in the finance industry in the US and Singapore focusing on data analytics and product development for Charles Schwab and Franklin Templeton. Suyin engaged in community development activities including managing a Community Reinvestment Act loan portfolio, volunteering as a Loan Committee Member for the Women’s Initiative for Self-Employment (WISE) and establishing a scholarship fund for Filipino college students. Upon returning to the Philippines, Suyin was appointed Executive Director for Asia Society. Her team pioneered cutting edge programmes in governance, economy, education, and culture to foster cooperation and impact across the public and private sectors. Suyin holds a BA in Management Economics from the Ateneo de Manila University and obtained certificates in International Monetary Policy from the University of Vienna and Finance from UC Berkeley.


Theresa Cua (Senior Manager, Communications)

Theresa joined Asia Philanthropy Circle as Manager for Communications and Programmes in January 2021. Prior to her appointment at APC, she has worked largely in international, non-profit environments in her dedication towards making a difference in the world. Her previous roles include managing the communications for the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), an intergovernmental dialogue, under the Public Affairs Team at the Asia-Europe Foundation. She also headed branding, communications, and marketing at several charities and impact investing firms, and helped develop engagement strategies for the Cultural Exchange team during its inception years at the Singapore International Foundation. She began her career at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (Manila), working on its local government, political party reform, and Mindanao Peace Process portfolios. Theresa graduated cum Laude with a BA in European Studies majoring in International Relations from the Ateneo de Manila University, and minor degree in French studies. She speaks—with varying degrees of fluency—English, Filipino, Mandarin, Hokkien, German and French, with a smattering of Japanese and Italian.