About the Board
The AWARE Board comprises nine members that are elected by the members at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). The term for each member is two years and elections are held at the end of the term. Office bearers shall not hold the same office for more than two consecutive terms. Where there is a change of President, the Immediate Past President serves on the Board in an ex-officio capacity for an additional year.
Every board undergoes a board orientation process to introduce them to the role and responsibilities of the Board and each board member, and familiarise them with AWARE’s strategic plan and current work.
The Board conducts a self-evaluation of its own performance during its two-year term. The roles and responsibilities of the Board can be found here, and the 2022-2024 Board information here.
Process
The Board Recruitment Committee is responsible for identifying potential candidates for election to the Board with the goal of ensuring that current and future Boards have the talent, diversity of expertise, skills and personal attributes needed to steward the organisation. The Board works closely with the staff to identify suitable candidates for the Board and to provide them with suitable volunteer opportunities to expose them to AWARE’s work. The Board Recruitment Committee works closely with the Board to identify specific needs of the Board for the particular term and to ensure that there is a diversity of skills and personal attributes.
A few months before the AGM, AWARE will issue a notice to invite expression of interest to join the Board. Members are invited to nominate candidates for the Board about six weeks before the AGM. Only members who have a minimum of two years membership with AWARE and who fulfil the criteria set out in the Constitution can stand for election.
The AGM is alerted to any instance where a member wishes to serve on the Board for more than 10 consecutive years. Justifications must be made to the AGM and disclosed in the Annual Report where a Board member is retained for more than 10 consecutive years.
The President, Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer seats are voted in on separate ballots. The candidates for Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer are required to have relevant accounting qualifications and/or demonstrated financial expertise. AWARE’s elections are generally well-contested.
Our Board
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President: Aarathi Arumugam
Aarathi Arumugam
Aarathi Arumugam is an accountant and an entrepreneur. She has honed her skills in business, team management, and organisational strategy through her career trajectory, which has included corporations, start-ups, non-profits and raising a family. 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 and as a Board member. Aarathi currently serves as COO for EveryChild.SG.
Appointment date: 27 Apr 2024 -
Treasurer: Lihui Zeng
Lihui Zeng
With over 15 years of experience in the financial sector, Lihui Zeng brings a wealth of knowledge in audit, financial management, compliance, and operational risk management within banking institutions.
During her tenure as an external auditor specialising in financial institutions, she honed her skills in assessing financial systems, interpretation of accounting standards, risk management practices, and regulatory compliance, ensuring the integrity and transparency of financial operations.
Her subsequent transition into the banking sector has equipped her with in-depth knowledge of the complex banking regulatory framework and the ability to spearhead initiatives to ensure the implementation of robust controls that adhere to industry standards and regulatory requirements. Her other experiences include system implementation for handling new financial reporting standards, budget management, and financial analysis.
Appointment date: 27 Apr 2024 -
Assistant Treasurer: Anju Patwardhan
Anju Patwardhan
Anju Patwardhan is a globally experienced Fintech Venture Investor, board director, and former banking executive. She has lived and worked in Singapore, San Francisco, and India, in senior leadership roles at Citibank, Standard Chartered Bank, and at NUS/NUHS Singapore.
She currently serves on the board of companies in the US, Europe, and Saudi Arabia, and is on the global advisory group of DCI at Stanford University. She is passionate about longevity and financial well-being of seniors, and mentoring women leaders.
She has lived in Singapore since 1998 with her family. She loves reading, travelling, and spending time with her two dogs!
Appointment date: 27 Apr 2024 -
Board Member: Filzah Sumartono
Filzah Sumartono
Filzah Sumartono (she/her) is the co-editor of Growing Up Perempuan and Perempuan: Muslim Women in Singapore Speak Out. These anthologies are a collection of essays and poems about the intricacies, contradictions, and duality of growing up as a woman in the Muslim community. Filzah is also involved in Beyond the Hijab and End FGC Singapore, which are community-led organisations that focus on minority women.
Appointment date: 27 Apr 2024 -
Board Member: Ijin Tan
Ijin Tan
Ijin Tan has been a volunteer with AWARE’s SACC legal clinic since its early days in 2017. In her professional life, Ijin was called to the Singapore Bar as an advocate and solicitor in 2007. She was a litigator in the dispute resolution department at leading law firms for eight years, before moving in-house to various MNCs focusing on compliance-related matters including data privacy, anti-bribery, and internal code of conduct investigations.
She has been actively involved in pro bono work since qualifying as a lawyer. While in practice, she represented clients under the criminal legal aid scheme (CLAS) in court. Even after leaving practice, she continued to volunteer her evenings at the pro bono legal clinic with the Law Society. Her experience working with vulnerable communities sparked a desire in her to help individuals and effect systemic change.
Appointment date: 27 Apr 2024 -
Board Member: Joanne Theseira
Joanne Theseira
Joanne Theseira is a highly regarded business leader in the advertising industry. She is known for her ability to drive sustainable commercial growth and implement rapid transformation in the creative services sector. She serves as CEO of Publicis Groupe’s creative agencies and Chief Growth Officer for Southeast Asia, focused on driving innovation and strategic growth initiatives to fuel the region’s tremendous potential.
Jo has been recognised as an outstanding female leader in the industry. In 2022, she was awarded Campaign’s Women Leading Change Asia Pacific Business Leader Award, and the following year, she was named Southeast Asia’s Agency Head of the Year.
An out lesbian business leader, Jo launched Égalité in her organisation, a resource group for LGBTQ+ employees and their allies, and also volunteered for Red Dot for Pink Dot 2023 to raise funds for the event.
Appointment date: 27 Apr 2024 -
Board Member: Kanak Muchhal
Kanak Muchhal
Kanak Muchhal has passionately worked to support and empower women and vulnerable families for the last 10 years. Kanak currently manages The Inclusive Fund (TIF) at South Central Community Family Service Centre (SCC), a local charity that supports low-income and vulnerable families. In her current role, she is responsible for supporting transnational families who are not able to access sufficient formal forms of assistance due to eligibility issues. Her hope is to promote equality, inclusivity and social justice for these members in our community.
While working at Daughters of Tomorrow, she oversaw the delivery of all programmes and services to increase job readiness by curating workshops and new initiatives with volunteers and partners, impacting more than 1000 women. She believes holistic improvement in
quality of life, not just income, is needed for social mobility and aspires for every woman to harness their strength, experiences, and voice to create positive changes for themselves and their families. She is a fun-loving mother of three children, a hiking enthusiast, and a Sudoku whiz.
Appointment date: 27 Apr 2024 -
Board Member: Penelope Shone
Penelope Shone
Penelope Shone was born in New Zealand. She has been a resident of Singapore since 1985, and has been 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.
Appointment date: 27 Apr 2024 -
Board Member: Stacey Choe
Stacey Choe
Stacey Choe, with over 12 years in philanthropy, specialises in Southeast Asia and China. Co-founding Real Impact Advisors in 2023, she addresses Asia’s philanthropic needs. Formerly COO at Asia Philanthropy Circle, she led initiatives like the Asia Community Foundation. Expertise spans education, eldercare, gender, and more, securing over USD22 million for causes.
A skilled convener, she orchestrates events like the ASEAN Philanthropy Dialogue. As an adjunct lecturer at SUSS, she fosters social engagement. A 2019 Asia Foundation Development Fellow, Stanford alum in Non-Profit Management, she began in marketing before earning a Masters in Social Anthropology of Development from SOAS, University of London.
Appointment date: 27 Apr 2024 -
Immediate Past President: Ong Soh Chin
Ong Soh Chin
Ong Soh Chin is an editorial and PR consultant. Previously, she was Southeast Asia PR Director at Netflix, overseeing Publicity and Communications for Southeast Asia. Soh Chin has also served as Deputy Director, External Relations and Strategic Planning at the Institute of Policy Studies, as well as Asia-Pacific Editor and Speechwriter with the global editorial team at Shell.
A veteran journalist and editor who has covered the arts, entertainment, fashion, beauty, lifestyle, politics and current affairs in her career, she worked on different desks at The Straits Times, where she wrote regularly about women’s rights and gender equality. She recently obtained a postgraduate diploma in Counselling Psychology and intends to pursue a new vocation in the mental health space.
Board Committees
- The Board also sets up Board Committees to 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. The Terms of Reference for the Board Committees can be found here.