Management
May Ling’s journey in the non-profit sector started in 2000 with the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), where she led the fund-raising team for the SHAREprogramme. She also worked on partner relations for the Community Chest, and after attaining her Graduate Diploma in Social Work, she served in the Service Development Division leading the team in children and youth services before she was head-hunted to rejoin the private sector.
Returning to her calling, May Ling’s homecoming to NCSS in 2014 was to contribute in the eldercare sector before moving on as Deputy Director to the Service Development Division. In her five-year stay, she conceptualised and spearheaded projects such as “Empowering Seniors” – an effort that rallied the leaders in the eldercare services towards a common goal of purposeful engagement and, the “Community Kitchen” project – where conversations and relationships are built to harness the strengths and interests of senior persons in the community with the people who matter in their lives.
In 2019, May Ling joined the Singapore Business Federation Foundation as their General Manager. With her dedicated team, she launched three flagship programmes:
The Industry-Led Compassion Fund which enables the business community to care for lower-income employees or those in need; the Employability Fund and, the Empower Circles, which build greater understanding and facilitate actions that drive inclusive hiring of different vulnerable groups. She also started the milestone Youth Connections, which bridged business leaders with youths for growth through various social networks and connections. At the same time, she spearheaded the inaugural Community Marketplace – an annual event by the Foundation to open doors for small medium enterprises to engage community agencies and spark collaborations for greater social impact. Her latest work at the Foundation also included the setup and operation of a new charity serving the health and wellbeing of our migrant workers’ community.
While May Ling graduated with a Business Administration degree from the NUS Business School, she has throughout her professional journey, interlaced her contributions in both for-profit and not-for-profit organisations, effectively amalgamating diverse experience and trans-disciplinary applications.
May Ling started her marketing career in the hospitality industry in public relations and advertising sales. She then moved on to consumer goods industry with Diethelm Keller Group; headed the B2B market division at 3M Singapore and was also appointed the Black Belt in 3M Global Six Sigma Organisation. When May Ling was invited to rejoin
3M Asia Pacific, Corporate Strategy and Marketing Division, she drove regional marketing excellence efforts in the Southeast Asia region as well as in Japan, Korea, and the Indian markets.
Today, May Ling continues to pursue her passion, tempering her long-term career goals with her purpose in life, having been awakened by the sudden passing of her father in 1998. She strongly believes that every individual, whether an employee, a volunteer, a board director, a practitioner, or a business leader, has an equal privilege and responsibility to make a difference in this island we call home. It is this very energy in the passionate and sincere people whom she has met in the social service sector and in the business communities that have been inspiring and energising May Ling to believe that we all can live life that is meaningful to self and others.
Gerard started his journey in the sector as a youth worker at Bukit Ho Swee Community Project (former name of Beyond Social Services) back in 1982, focusing on providing guidance to hard-to-reach children and youths in the streets who frequently got into trouble with the law because of drugs, gangs and other crimes. Over the years, his duties expanded as he moved on to head Bukit Ho Swee Social Service Centre, as part of a pilot project which eventually contributed to the development of the current island-wide network of FSCs and its service delivery model.
During his time as Centre Co-ordinator, he started the Hangout, a youth centre that addressed the culture of delinquency among the young in the neighbourhood, and conceptualised the Streetwise Programme – a national diversionary initiative for youth in street corner gangs which was adapted by the National Youth Council. Over the time that he has dedicated to the organisation, he has transformed Beyond Social Services from a neighbourhood-based organisation into an island-wide focused strong team that serves over 11000 families across 14 neighbourhoods today.
Gerard is a certified Counsellor in Marriage and Family Therapy and Clinical Member of Association of Marriage and Family Therapy Singapore. He is also a Trainer in Non-Violent Communication via Somatic Consensus and a facilitator for Community Workplaces.