Board and Board Committees

Role of the Board

AWARE’s Board is committed to maintaining high standards of corporate governance and accountability to its stakeholders. Our stakeholders include the regulators, the clients we serve, our supporters (donors, members and volunteers), our partners, staff and the community at large.

The Board decides on the major strategic directions of AWARE, allocates financial resources, provides legal and financial oversight, reviews the performance of management, and ensures that the organisation serves its mission in accordance with its values. The Board meets every month to carry out its functions.

No Board members are remunerated for their Board services.

Our Board

Penelope Shone

1st Vice-President

Penny Shone was born in New Zealand. She has been a resident of Singapore since 1985, and an AWARE member for 20 years. Her career has unfolded in both the public and private sectors. Most recently, she led international public affairs and communications for General Electric across 150 countries. Prior to that, she was a managing director at Citigroup for 12 years, leading the company’s public affairs, communications and citizenship strategies across Asia Pacific. This included the supervision of 20,000 volunteers and $18 million in annual grants to NGOs.

Jean Low

2nd Vice-President

Jean Low is currently CEO of 1880, a private club focused on building community. Previously, she was Director of Finance at United World College of South East Asia, CFO at Mapletree Greater China Commercial Trust and Head of Risk Management at Mapletree Investments. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. An AWARE member since 2009 and board member since 2016, she cares deeply about education, social justice and gender equality.

Elisa Kang

Secretary

Elisa Kang spent 13 years in wealth management advising clients on asset allocation and participating in the evolution of impact investments, before pursuing a Master’s in Counselling at Monash University in 2014. From 2016-18, Elisa worked as a part-time counsellor at Singapore Management University. She began her involvement in gender justice in 2007, volunteering in a microfinance consultancy in India and an NGO fighting violence against women and the trafficking of women across the border in Nepal. Elisa has been involved with AWARE since 2016: as a trainer with Catalyse, a counsellor, a volunteer Helpliner and a project manager for the Women’s Helpline expansion. She is committed to discovering what connects people as a pathway towards regeneration, mutuality, safety and the creation of thriving communities in a flourishing ecosystem.

Aarathi Arumugan

Treasurer

Aarathi Arumugam is an entrepreneur who is passionate about connecting communities through causes close to her heart. Her career trajectory has taken her along different paths, from corporations to volunteer organisations to start-ups—experiences that she considers her personal MBA. Since becoming a member in 2009, Aarathi has volunteered with AWARE as a trainer, educating and raising awareness about workplace sexual harassment and comprehensive sexuality education. In 2019, she also conceptualised and executed a series of events called Kitchen Movements, to raise awareness and funds for a women's charity in Singapore. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, Aarathi saw it best to make the switch into employment, and currently serves as Daughters Of Tomorrow’s Financial Controller.

Zheng Huifen

Assistant Treasurer

Zheng Huifen has been an AWARE member since 2009 and is now a life member. She has volunteered with AWARE in various capacities, including the legal clinic, Helpliner training in Mandarin and updates to AWARE’s Constitution. Apart from AWARE, Huifen was a committee member of the Humanist Society (Singapore) between 2012 and 2017. At HSS, she helped to create a safe space for people identifying as atheist, agnostic, freethinking or secular. A corporate lawyer with a technology and payments focus, Huifen is also a founding member of the pro bono arm of the Association of Corporate Counsel in Singapore.

Asiyah Arif

Board Member

Asiyah Arif is a specialist dispute resolution lawyer who acts for clients in sensitive high-value commercial disputes and advises on employment matters. Asiyah led AWARE’s SHOut! Campaign to lobby for greater protection against workplace sexual harassment, and its We Can! Campaign to change social attitudes towards violence against women. Asiyah is committed to elevating the voices and stories of minority women in Singapore, and uplifting women from all backgrounds and walks of life.

Jasmine Ng

Board Member

Jasmine Ng is a filmmaker and educator who has executive-produced and directed award-winning shorts, feature films and international broadcast work. She is President of SAMPP, the Singapore Association for Motion Picture Professionals. Jasmine has also conceptualised many cross-disciplinary works for social causes, including civic awareness projects such as IPS PRISM for the Institute of Policy Studies, and the BOTH SIDES, NOW installation project, which explored death and dying with the support of Lien Foundation.

Wynthia Goh

Board Member

Wynthia Goh is Head of NEXT Digital at NCS. Previously, she was Head of Omnichannel at NTUC Enterprise, and before that led regional digital teams for Nokia, eBay, Avaya, SAP and Aviva, with roles in product management, business development, venture investment, digital strategy and marketing. Wynthia has a Master’s in Public Policy from the State University of New York and is a Fulbright Scholar. An AWARE member since 2009, Wynthia is also on the Women in Fintech subcommittee of the Singapore Fintech Association.

Board Committees

Board Committees serve as an extension of the Board and oversee specific aspects of AWARE’s work. They act as a resource for the management team, and help to ensure that all activities are aligned with AWARE’s vision, mission, strategies and goals.

There are eight Board Committees. Four oversee AWARE’s public-facing activities: Advocacy & Research, CARE, Catalyse and Fundraising. The other four oversee matters related to AWARE’s organisational strength: Audit, HR, Board Recruitment, Leadership & Governance.

Advocacy & Research

Chair:
Asiyah Arif (from Aug 2021)
Wong Pei Chi (until July 2021)

Members:
Ong Soh Chin
Ranjana Raghunathan
Teo You Yenn

Audit

Chair:
Soh Eng Kiau

Members:
Aarathi Arumugam
Neo Juven
Sherry Wong
Ying Wu
Zeng Lihui

Fundraising

Chair:
Wynthia Goh

Members:
Esther Chang
Ho Shyn Yee

Board Recruitment

Chair:
Schutz Lee

Members:
Jasmine Ng
Teh Hooi Ling
Zubee Ali

Care

Chair:
Elisa Kang

Members:
Cindy Ng
Grace Cheong
Ruth Chua

Human Resources

Chair:
Jean Fung

Members:
Jean Low
Lillian Wong

Catalyse

Chair:
Penny Shone

Members:
Kathy Park
Konstantin Strangas

Leadership & Governance

Chair:
Margaret Thomas

Members:
Elisa Kang
Penny Shone
Winifred Loh