The Circles Experience

What Can We Achieve From The CIRCLES Experience?

Through CIRCLES Experience, the volunteers will be able to:

Understand that their circle of support can expand to include those who are different from them;
Design activities that promotes inclusion of persons with disabilities in their communities that can come under the longer-term CIRCLES programme; and
Foster respect for differences and to encourage relationships and friendships

What Would We Be Doing?

The CIRCLES Experience takes place as a facilitated workshop in three parts:

A briefing to understand the idea of community inclusion
Guided volunteering to support the TOs’ work in the classrooms to get a better understanding of the client’s daily curriculum.
An ideation workshop to brainstorm new ideas to promote community inclusion, which future volunteering groups could take on

Whom Is The CIRCLES Experience Suitable For?

CIRCLES Experienceis suitable for a group of no more than 6 volunteers who are keen to try volunteering with people with disabilities. The programme is usually conducted in a smaller group for an optimal experience during the interactive workshop.

How Do We Sign Up?

Interested group volunteers can reach out to the Volunteer Management team via email at sundachq@sundac.org or call us at 6265 9428.

Mr. Sugumaran S.

With a career spanning more than 15 years in the healthcare and charity sector, Sugumaran joined SUN-DAC in February 2024.

He brings experience in building and working with diverse, cross-functional, and high-performing teams and has driven growth and transformative initiatives in his current and past appointments.

He cherishes the opportunity to contribute to the growth of SUN-DAC and the social service sector in building an inclusive, forward-looking society.

MR STANLEY LIM

Stanley re-joined SUN-DAC Board of Management in September 2023. Heis the newly appointed Treasurer of SUN-DAC. He currently works as a Finance Director in a renewable energy company in Singapore and is also a Chartered Accountant (CA) from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Singapore (ISCA). His interests include travelling, nature walks and playing badminton.

MS. BELINDA NEO

Belinda joined the Board of SUN-DAC in September 2023. She is a Partner in PwC Singapore with more than 20 years of experience in providing audit and advisory services and her career in PwC included secondments to PwC in Hong Kong and in Myanmar. Belinda is a Public Accountant and Chartered Accountant of Singapore and also a ASEAN Chartered Professional Accountant (ASEAN CPA). Her passions are her 3 doggies she rescued from the Myanmar streets.

MR. LOW ENG HUAT, PETER

Peter Low is the immediate past Chairman of SUN-DAC. He served as the Chairman from 2012 to 2023. He is the Lead Assurance Partner (Pharma and Healthcare Group) of PwC Singapore and has more than 25 years of audit and business advisory experience. Peter Low is a Fellow Chartered Accountant of Singapore.

MS. Lim See Bing

See Bing joined the Board of SUN-DAC in September 2023. She is a Managing Director in Credit Suisse and has more than 20 years of experience in financial services and management consulting.

MR. MICHAEL KONNOTH

Michael joined SUN-DAC Board of Management in March 2016. Following a long career in Management Consulting, he is currently working at Credit Suisse. Michael has Masters degrees in Business Administration as well as Computing.

MR. ONG PANG HUAN, COLIN

Colin has been a member of SUN-DAC’s Board of Management since March 2015. He assumes the Chairperson of SUN-DAC Board of Management role in September 2023. He is a corporate and capital markets lawyer with more than 20 years of experience and is named as a leading lawyer by a number of legal publications. Colin also serves as a facilitator in the Advanced Corporate Practice module of the Preparatory Course leading to Part B of the Singapore Bar Examinations administered by the Singapore Institute of Legal Education, which provides training for qualified persons seeking admission to the Singapore bar.

Ms. Gurpreet Madan

Joined SUN-DAC in August 2023, Gurpreet Madan relocated back home to sunny Singapore after living and working in the UK for many years. She brings with her close to 10 years of experience working in the charity sector that encompasses a variety of income streams from individual giving to corporates. She hopes to put her knowledge and skills to use and raise some much-needed funds for SUN-DAC

Dr. Andrew Sayampanathan

Andrew joined the board since September 2019. He is a practising medical doctor with MOH Holdings. He is also a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons (Edinburgh). He obtained his Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) from the National University of Singapore. 

Doris Tan (Finance Manager)

Doris Tan joined SUN-DAC in February 2023 as Finance Manager. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree of Accounting (Information System) with Honours, with an extensive experience in being in charge of all financial function within the company, expertise in overseeing transactions, allocating budget, completing and reconciling monthly financial reports and statements; Fosters transparency, understanding, and ownership of financial reports and financial operational metrics across the organization. She wants to do something more meaningful in life and always believe in “Never Stop Dreaming; Never Stop Believing; Never Give Up, Never Stop Trying; Never Stop Learning!”

Andrew Ho (Centre Manager, UT)

Andrew joined SUN-DAC in 2023. He was from the corporate sector for more than 10 years before joining the social services sector for the last 10.5 years. He graduated with a Master of Counselling and a Bachelor degree in Business Administration. He gives awareness talks to various organizations and caregivers with the objective in helping people with special needs. He has more than 10 years of experience in leading and managing teams.

Steven Choo

Steven joined SUN-DAC in October 2022 and has been in the charity and social service sector for many years in senior positions. He was formerly an Engineer and a Banker for more than 15 years during his tenure in the corporate sector.

Sheryl Koh

Sheryl joined SUN-DAC in November 2022. She has been a general HR practitioner with the private sectors in various industries for more than 20 years. She is a seasoned HR Manager in the full spectrum of the HR functions in the areas of recruitment, compensation & benefits, learning & development, employee engagement, staff welfare, employee communication, performance management and managing HR projects in Singapore and ASEAN region. She has a Master of Arts in Human Resource Development from George Washington University.

Mr Matthew Wee

Matthew has a Graduate Diploma in Social Work from the National University of Singapore and a Master’s in Public Policy from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. He has over 20 years’ experience in drugs, penal and corrections field. He served in the a Ministry of Home Affairs and Singapore Prison Service with key responsibilities in offender management, policy and operations, strategic planning, community engagement and media relations.

Mr Naveen Sasidaran

Naveen joined the SUN-DAC Board of Management in September 2021. He is a partner with RSM Singapore, where he is responsible for auditing a diverse clientele, including publicly-listed organisations, privately-held organisations, multinationals, emerging businesses, as well as non-profit organisations. Naveen is a Chartered Accountant of Singapore, and a Chartered Accountant of England & Wales.

Mr Peter Ow

Mr Peter Ow joined the SUN-DAC Board of Management in September 2021. He was formally a shareholder and Managing Director of Residential Services of Knight Frank International Property Consultants. He has over 40 years years of experience in the field of Marketing, Management and Development of real estate and is currently a Property Consultant with Lum Chang Holdings.

Mr Jarod Ong

Jarod joined the SUN-DAC Board of Management in September 2021. Currently the Executive Director at UOB Kay Hian Pte Ltd, Jarod brings with him deep and broad experience in operations management, process and digital transformation across various industries. Jarod is a keen cyclist and enjoys time with his family.

Ms. Lee Chwee Ming

Chwee Ming joined SUN-DAC in January 2021. She was formerly from education sector for 13 years oversees the operations aspect for the department, organised conferences, forums & weekly seminars and recruitment exercise for faculty members. Prior to education sector, she spent 9 years with Community Mediation services managed 3 centres’ operations, spearheaded outreach programs and chart training roadmap for volunteers. She obtained her Bachelor of Business Administration with Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

Mr. Yaros

Yaros joined SUN-DAC in Dec 2014. He is in social service sector since 2009. He possesses Masters in Social Work and is accredited as Registered Social Worker. He started as Training Officer and grew to Centre Manager. His strengths are staff empowerment, serving leadership, community inclusion of persons with disability, system approach in running centre.

Ms. Vickneswary Jeraman

Vickneswary joined SUN-DAC in September 2014. She has 6 years of experience in social service sector and has worked on Case Management, Publicity and Event Management. She holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Psychology and a Higher Diploma in Psychology with Counselling. She is trained in areas such as Grief Therapy, Management of Actual and Potential Aggression (MAPA) and Serving Leadership.

MR. DAVID ALEXANDER ONG

David joined SUN-DAC Board in September 2018. He is an active volunteer with a heart for the disadvantaged and needy. He has more than 50 years of experience volunteering in many different social service agencies in various capacities.

MR. REYMOND THOMAS FERNANDEZ

Reymond joined the SUN-DAC Board of Management since September 2009. He is the Managing Director of Reyfern Real Estate Consultancy Pte Ltd, and has over 40 years of experience in the Real Estate sector. Prior to setting up his own company, he was the Regional Head of Corporate Real Estate (SEA) at Standard Chartered Bank. He possesses a Degree in Estate Management from the then University of Singapore.

MS. SHEELA PARAKKAL D/O KOCHUKRISHNAN

Sheela joined the SUN-DAC Board in May 2011. She is the Chief Human Resources Officer at Prudential Singapore where she leads People Strategy. A strong supporter of workplace diversity and inclusion, Sheela has spearheaded several industry-first initiatives such as removing the retirement age at Prudential and raising the CPF contribution rate for employees above 55 to be on par with younger colleagues. These ground-breaking changes mean that Prudential employees can work at the company for as long as they can perform and are rewarded based on performance. In recognition of her progressive workforce vision, Sheela was named Best HR Leader at the HR Fest Awards 2019. Sheela’s 24-year career spans across a spectrum of industries, specialisations, and geographies.

Ms. Desi Intan

Before joining SUN-DAC in August 2017, Desi was working in corporate sectors such as Food & Beverages (Singapore) and Property Development & Investment (Melbourne, Australia) for 15 years. She was a Finance Manager managing the whole spectrum of finance, accounts operation and regulatory compliance of the organisation. She graduated from Melbourne University (Australia) with Bachelor Degree of Commerce specialising in Accounting and Finance. She is also a Certified Practising Accountant with CPA Australia.

Ms. Natasha Jumari

Natasha joined SUN-DAC in June 2017. She graduated with a diploma in Mass Communication and has around 3 years’ experience in the charity and social service sector, in areas such as Volunteer and Donor Management, Community Partnership and Fundraising.

Mr. Arifeen

Arifeen joined SUN-DAC in March 2020. He has around 21 years’ experience in the social service sector, in areas such as working with clients with special needs (all kinds of disability), Special Olympics sports (used to be a Bocce coach), management of teams, and volunteer management. He was formerly working in the Accounting field. He possesses a Bachelor of Science in Psychology.