Meet Our Inspiring Alumni
From conducting groundbreaking research, pioneering circular economy practices to embedding environmental responsibility into core business strategies, our alumni exemplify how education and commitment can drive positive change. Explore their impactful journeys below.
Professor Tommy Koh
Law '61
AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE, MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, SINGAPORE
EMERITUS PROFESSOR, NUS FACULTY OF LAW
As a Singaporean diplomat, lawyer, professor, and author, Professor Tommy Koh has played pivotal roles in international environmental cooperation. Tommy chaired the preparatory committee for the Earth Summit (1990 to 1992) and chaired the main committee at the Summit (June 1992). As President of the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (1980-1982), he led successful negotiations. He is the patron of the Nature Society and co-editor of the book, Peace with Nature. Additionally, he is a Laureate of Champions of the Earth Award, United Nations Environment.
Grace Fu
Accountancy ‘85 + Master of Business Admin ‘91
Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations
Ms Grace Fu leads the development and implementation of public policies to advance Singapore’s sustainability and international trade efforts. As the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, she spearheads the push towards Singapore’s net zero targets and our circular economy initiatives, such as the Singapore Green Plan 2030 and Zero Waste Masterplan. She also represents Singapore at international climate negotiations, including the annual Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. As the Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, she oversees various bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations, carbon credits initiatives, and the development of Singapore’s tourism sector.
Janet Lim Yuen Kheng
Arts and Social Sciences '75
FORMER ASSISTANT HIGH COMMISSIONER, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Ms Janet Lim has been an Executive in Residence with the Geneva Center for Security Policy (GCSP) and currently a Fellow at the School of Social Sciences at the Singapore Management University (SMU). She is most known for her service as Assistant High Commissioner at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) where she worked in refugee crises all over the world, providing protection and aid to those displaced from their homes. Currently, she is engaged with wide ranging philanthropic projects in Singapore and the region.
Veera Sekaran
Arts and Social Sciences '75
Founder and Chief Greenologist, Greenology
PROFESSOR, OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, NUS
Professor Veera Sekaran is with NUS President’s Office. He is an expert in Regenerative Smart Agriculture and Urban Greening Systems using Nature-Based solutions. He lectures at Engineering Design and Innovation Centre (EDIC), Regenerative Smart Cities (NUS Cities) and Biological Sciences (DBS). He is also involved in campus development projects. He has established businesses that transform urban and natural spaces into sustainable ecosystems through regenerative nature-based solutions with Green Intelligence Networks.
Professor Koh Lian Pin
Science '01
Associate vice president and chief sustainability scientist, nus
Professor Koh Lian Pin is the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple Chair Professor of Conservation, Vice Dean of Research at the Faculty of Science, Director of the Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions, and Director of the Tropical Marine Science Institute. His research focuses on developing policy-relevant science and science-based decision support tools to help reconcile humanity’s needs with environmental protection. He was recognized as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in 2013. He was a Nominated Member of Parliament of the 14th Parliament of Singapore.
Anbarasi Boopal
Master of Science ‘06
CO-CEO (ADVOCACY), ACRES SINGAPORE (ANIMAL CONCERNS RESEARCH & EDUCATION SOCIETY)
Ms Anbarasi Boopal manages the advocacy department, including education, fundraising, the crime unit, campaigns and wildlife management in ACRES. She is passionate about institutional changes to end industrialised animal cruelty and empowering individuals, in particular youth on environment and animal-friendly lifestyle choices. She previously managed the organisation's rescue and rehabilitation arm and crime investigations for a decade.
Adelene Anthony Sinniah
Design and Environment '04
HEAD OF SUSTAINABILITY, AXIATA GROUP, MALAYSIA
Ms Adelene Anthony Sinniah has more than 20 years of experience in operations, consulting, corporate planning, and regional and global leadership roles. With a strong focus on sustainability practices, she spent over 12 years driving sustainable initiatives at the corporate level across various regions. She specializes in several technical areas related to the development of GHG emission inventory, sustainability strategy, ESG disclosure, and verification of non-financial data. She is currently head of sustainability at Axiata Group. She led the development of Axiata’s Net-Zero Carbon roadmap that provides alignment and facilitation for collaboration both internally and externally.
Aileen Tan
Arts and Social Sciences '90
Group Chief People and Sustainability Officer, Singtel
With over 30 years of experience across various industries, Ms Aileen Tan is Singtel’s Group Chief People and Sustainability Officer responsible for the Group’s overall people and sustainability agenda. Under her leadership, Singtel has won numerous global and regional accolades for its leading people and sustainability practices. In 2024, Aileen was recognized in Sustainability Magazine’s Top 100 Women in Sustainability globally and ranked among the Top 10 Sustainability Leaders in Asia.
Diane Tan
Law '06 (Graduate Diploma)
Deputy Director-General (International Affairs Division), Attorney-General's Chambers of Singapore
Ms Diane Tan is a NUS alumni making waves in sustainability. In 2021, Diane Tan was appointed as Singapore’s Alternate Member to the Committee to facilitate implementation and promote compliance under the Paris Agreement (PAICC). She was re-appointed as Singapore’s Member of PAICC in 2023.
Anirudh Krishnan
Economics '15
Senior Policy Manager, Natural Climate Solutions, at Conservation International
Mr Anirudh Krishnan is the Senior Policy Manager, Natural Climate Solutions, at Conservation International. He works on climate policy across the Asia-Pacific region, focusing on providing technical assistance to governments and other stakeholders to establish high integrity carbon markets and to channel climate finance towards the protection and restoration of critical natural ecosystems. He holds a master’s in public policy from Yale University and has deep expertise in catalysing evidence-based policies and programs.
Dr Amanda Zain
Medicine '12 + Master of Medicine '16
Deputy Director, NUS Centre for Sustainable Medicine
Dr Amanda Zain is a proactive force in driving clinical sustainability efforts and communities of practice in Singapore. As Deputy Director of the Centre for Sustainable Medicine (CoSM), she identifies opportunities for low-carbon clinical transformation and applications in various specialties, notably in her own practice as a paediatrician through the clinical translation of healthcare decarbonization. Amanda is currently a doctoral candidate specialising in evidence-based sustainable inhaler prescribing through behavioural and implementation science.
Dr Emily Yip
Engineering '04
Director Sustainability and Circular Economy Partnerships, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, New South Wales, Australia
Dr Emily Yip is an experienced public sector leader with over 20 years of delivering high impact sustainability policy and programs. She leads a multi-disciplinary branch delivering initiatives that drive market transformation towards a net zero and circular economy future in the government, business and residential building sectors. Key achievements include the delivery of the landmark Plastic Reduction and Circular Economy Act 2021 and the award-winning $50 million Home Energy Action program to support low-income and vulnerable households to access energy efficiency and renewable upgrades.
Dr Gamze Yilmaz Kanargi
Engineering '18
Sustainability Consultant, Engie Impact
Dr. Gamze Yilmaz Kanargi is a sustainability consultant at ENGIE Impact, where she leverages her R&D engineering experience and PhD expertise to help organizations achieve their sustainability goals. She specializes in conducting technology feasibility assessments, performing techno-economic analyses, and developing decarbonisation roadmaps for hard-to-abate industries such as mining, transportation, and industrial processes. With a deep understanding of state-of-the-art green technologies and technological innovations, she assesses implementation feasibility and employs critical thinking to guide decision-making in green technology adoption.
Harry Seah
Engineering '83
SENIOR CONSULTANT TO CHIEF EXECUTIVE, PUBLIC UTILITIES BOARD (PUB)
Mr Harry Seah provides strategic oversight to the entire water systems operations of PUB to ensure total integration, effective management so that PUB remains operationally effective and efficient to serve the water needs of Singapore. He was also the Director of Technology Development of Environmental and Water Industry (EWI) Programme Office, an inter-agency set-up to spearhead the development of the environment and water industry.
Hwee Lee
Arts and Social Sciences '89
Senior Director, Sustainability, UNIQLO
As an alumni in sustainability, Ms Hwee Lee leads sustainability solutions for UNIQLO, focusing on ESG challenges of business materiality. She drives global programmes carrying relevance and social impact in Singapore and ASEAN markets. She has international work experience in the private, people and public sectors, with specialty in sustainability, brand and stakeholder communications.
Joelle Chen
Architecture '02 + Master of Architecture '05
Head of Sustainability Asia Pacific, LaSalle Investment Management
A sustainability advocate in built environment and real estate, Ms Joelle Chen excels in developing sustainability and decarbonisation strategies. In her role, she is responsible for defining LaSalle’s Asia Pacific sustainability strategy, objectives and philosophy and driving a path to execution on appropriate programmes in collaboration with senior leadership and other stakeholders. She was previously the Head of Sustainability Asia at Lendlease, where Lendlease won the SGBC-BCA Leadership in Sustainability Awards 2024: Business Leadership in Sustainability (Impact) for their decarbonisation progress and industry transformation work.
Kee Wei Hui
Architecture '06 + Master of Architecture '07
HEAD OF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICE, MOH HOLDINGS PTE LTD
Ms Kee Wei Hui is Head of Sustainability Office at MOH Holdings Pte Ltd (MOHH), where she strategises and directs sustainability vision and approaches in enabling MOHH’s corporate office and public healthcare institutions' developments. A Registered Architect with Board of Architects Singapore since 2011, she has practised architecture and sustainable development in DP Architects and JTC Corporation as well as running her own architecture practice TAKE Architects. Prior to MOHH, she headed Development Advisory at Jones Lang LaSalle.
Associate Professor Lee Poh Seng
Engineering '99
Director, Centre for Energy Research and Technology
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ENERGY STUDIES INSTITUTE
Dean's Chair Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, NUS
Professor Lee Poh Seng’s primary research interests are modeling and experimental investigations of high-performance cooling techniques, energy efficient air conditioning system and low-grade waste heat recovery. The technologies developed by his group can be used to improve the energy efficiency and reduce the CO2 emissions of data centres, buildings and industrial applications. As a NUS alumni in sustainability, his work not only exemplifies the institution's commitment to environmental leadership but also contributes to addressing global sustainability challenges.
Kong Man Jing
Science '17
Co-Founder, Just Keep Thinking
Ms Kong Man Jing is the co-founder of the Science and Environment channel called “Just Keep Thinking”, where she combines education and entertainment to create consumable, engaging content on various social media platforms. She is passionate about Science communication and Environmental education to the mass public. She was one of the youth winners of the CI 10 for Zero Award 2023, EB Sustainability Leadership Youth A-List 2023 and Tatler.GenT List 2024 for her work. She has also attended COP28 as a youth partner of the Singapore Pavilion to share her Science Communication work with a global audience
Preston Wong
Business '13 + Law '16 + Master of Design and Engineering '24
CEO & CO-FOUNDER, TREATSURE
LECTURER, SUSTAINABILITY LAW & POLICY, YALE-NUS
ADJUNCT FACULTY, SUSTAINABILITY LAW, SMU
Mr Preston Wong is the CEO & Co-founder of treatsure, Singapore's leading app platform reducing food wastage in businesses. Trained in law, accountancy and environmental management at NUS, he teaches sustainability law at Yale-NUS College and SMU. In 2023, Preston received the UOB-BT Sustainability Impact Leader of the Year Award and was appointed an ASEAN Youth Fellow and Youth Panel Lead by the government.
Nichol Ng
Arts and Social Sciences '00
Group CEO, X-Inc Pte
Co-Founder, The Food Bank Singapore
As the CEO of X-Inc, Ms Nichol Ng has launched a project in support of Local High Tech Farms to bring to fresh local produce to more F&B Establishments. The Food Bank Singapore has also grown from re-distributing 2tons to food in 2012 to 1600tons 2021.
For her effort in feeding the needy, Nichol was named as one of the 10 honourees in The Peak magazine’s The Peak Power List 2016 and listed in Forbes Asia’s 2017 Heroes of Philanthropy and Harper’s Bazaar’s The Power List 2018. In 2021, she was the Southeast Asia honouree of the YPO Global Impact Award Regional, which recognises young CEOs for their impact outside of YPO, celebrating CEO impact that is both sustainable and scalable.
Dr Pang Chin Hong
Doctor of Philosophy (FoE) ‘07
Head of Group Sustainability, Mapletree Investments
Dr Pang Chin Hong is currently the Head of Group Sustainability at Mapletree Investments. He was a member of the BCA Built Environment Advisory Committee from 2019 to 2022 and Board Member of Singapore Green Building Council from 2017 to 2019. Chin Hong received the SGBC-BCA Sustainability Leadership Awards 2019 as Green Advocate of the Year. He is currently a Volunteer Career Advisor at Workforce Singapore and a Member of the Sustainability Taskforce at REIT Association of Singapore.
Peter Mari Govindasamy
Science '92
Director-General (Climate Negotiations) and Dean (MTI Academy), Ministry of Trade and Industry Singapore
Mr Peter Govindasamy is Director-General (Climate Negotiations), Chief Negotiator (Pacific Alliance-Singapore FTA), Dean (MTI Academy) and Adjunct Senior Fellow at the RSIS. Peter has over 30 years of experience with MFA and MTI at the UN, WTO and other International Organisations on UN, Trade, Investment, and Sustainable Development issues. He is chairing the UNFCCC's Katowice Committee on Response Measures, and the Inter-linkages between the Technology and Finance Mechanisms. He was Senior Adviser to the UAE Presidency of COP28.
Praveen Hassan Chandrashekar
Design and Environment '12
Director, MEP & Environmental Design, Surbana Jurong Consultants Pte Ltd
Mr Praveen Hassan Chandrashekar is a Certified Green Mark Advanced Accredited Professional (GMAAP), LEED Accredited Professional, EDGE Expert, and GRI Certified Sustainability Professional with experience ranging across different typologies for projects including in Singapore and across the region. He was part of the design team that oversaw the planning, design and supervision of Asia’s first high-rise rotatable laboratory located at BCA Academy. The project received “2017 Minister’s Award” and “IES Prestigious Engineering Achievement Award 2017”. He was the project lead for formulating the new standards on “Design for maintainability” involving Govt. agencies, designers, and built environment stakeholders. Praveen was awarded the prestigious “SGBC-BCA Leadership in Sustainability Award 2022”.
Dr Shelley Zhou
Engineering '05
Head of Corporate Sustainability, Hang Seng Bank, Hong Kong SAR
Dr Shelley Zhou is the Head of Corporate Sustainability at Hang Seng Bank, providing leadership in the development and execution of a holistic sustainability strategy for the Bank. Prior to this, she was Managing Principal at The Capital Markets Company Limited where she developed ESG products and solutions for financial institutions in Asia-Pacific, established a capable team to deliver net-zero strategy advisory and ESG consultancy services, and provided internal capacity-building and external executive training on climate and ESG related topics.
Dr Rajni Kaushik
Engineering '14
Assistant Director, Sustainability, Ashoka University
Dr. Rajni Kaushik is the Assistant Director for Sustainability at Ashoka University, where she leads the institution's sustainability initiatives to create a sustainable and eco-friendly campus and culture. An environmental consultant with a strong passion for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), she has spent the past decade merging science and sustainability to foster a cleaner future. Her work encompasses microbiome research, air and water monitoring, and the development of the non-sewered sanitation sector in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).
Samantha Thian
Business '18
Founder, Seastainable Co.
Co-Founder, Ecoworks
Ms Samanatha Thian founded Seastainable in 2017, promoting marine conservation across ASEAN countries. She is also responsible for the development of Stridy, a tech-based solution for community cleanups. She is part of the Climate Change Delegation representing Singapore for Y20 2023 in India and is Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient for her work in social impact. She was awarded the 10 for Zero Award in 2023.
She is currently working on her next startup, co-founding Ecoworks, pioneering alternative delivery models to the everyday consumer.
Savera Weerasinghe
Master of Public Policy '22
Founder, Ananta Sustainables, Sri Lanka
Ms Savera Weerasinghe founded Ananta Sustainables, a sustainable packaging provider in Sri Lanka, carrying out women-led community projects to reduce single-use plastic waste and consumption in Sri Lanka. She has been recognised by Cosmopolitan Sri Lanka as one of 35 Under 35 women in Sri Lanka, and as a Asia21 Young Global Leader, Class of 2019. Savera was also a part of the Youth Advisory Group for the World Bank Solutions for Youth Employment, and the Social Enterprise World Forum. She was a member of UNDP’s Global Plastic Taskforce, and the APAC regional lead for Circular Economy for Southpole. She was the host and producer of Samavāya podcast for the Asia Society India Centre. She is currently a strategy consultant for the Institute for Environment and Sustainability for the National University of Singapore and a freelance consultant for EarthAction, Switzerland.
Sourabh Sharma
Computing '04
Executive Director, LiveBetter Sustainability Platform @ DBS
Mr Sourabh Sharma is the creator of LiveBetter, a one-stop digital platform for green products and services to help customers accelerate their sustainability journeys at DBS. The platform empowers DBS’ 10 million everyday banking customers to take a variety of actions — such as contributing to eco-friendly causes, investing in green funds and discovering eco-friendly products & merchants. The product also allows customers to track their carbon footprint based on daily spends and offset the unavoidable emissions with the purchase of carbon credits.
Deborah Tan Lucking
Design and Environment ‘79
Director of Sustainability, Fentress Architects
Ms Deborah Tan Lucking is Fentress’ Director of Sustainability, managing over 7,000,000 sq. ft. of LEED projects, primarily in the civic and cultural realms. Her advocacy work through the Alliance of American Museums Environment and Climate Network, and the US Green Building Council’s LEED for Airports Working Group has resulted in sustainability performance criteria that are tailored for the museums and aviation building sectors. She is also a member of the AIA Colorado Committee for the Environment. In 2021, she was elevated by the American Institute of Architects to their College of Fellows, for her contributions towards technical advancement in the field of sustainability.
Tan Szue Hann
Architecture ‘06 + Master ‘07
Head of Sustainability & Deputy General Manager, Sustainable Urban Renewal, Keppel Ltd
Mr Tan Szue Hann leads sustainability across real estate, and building solutions across at Keppel’s Sustainable Urban Renewal business. He is Chairman of Sustainability at the Singapore Institute of Architects, and was Singapore’s Young Green Architect of the Year in 2015. He has since headed the sustainability and sustainable development departments of organisations such as Surbana Jurong and Marina Bay Sands. In 2021, he co-founded IxSA, a global think-tank on sustainability and innovation. His impactful work spans corporate sustainability, sustainable development, green building, and circular design, with notable projects like the award-winning ParkRoyal on Pickering and the innovative BCA SkyLab.
Tham Wai Wah
Master of Science '99
Senior Directo/Chief Engineer (Engineering and Project Management) and Chief Sustainability Office, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA)
Er. Tham Wai Wah is the Chief Sustainability Officer and Senior Director/Chief Engineer at the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). He spearheads MPA's sustainability initiatives, including the Maritime Decarbonisation 2050 Framework and efforts to decarbonize the harbor craft sector. He oversees all engineering planning and project implementation inclusive of building, infrastructure and reclamation projects such as the Next Generation Tuas Mega Port, Net-Zero Energy Buildings and solar deployment at all MPA facilities. Er. Tham has introduced innovative construction methodologies, digitalization, and sustainability initiatives, earning industry recognitions and awards.
Vishnu Vardhan Sridhar
Science '13
Director, Sustainability & Innovation, Procter & Gamble
Mr Vishnu Vardhan Sridhar is Director of Sustainability & Innovation at Procter & Gamble (P&G). Based in Singapore, he leads efforts on sustainability and product innovation for P&G Beauty in the AMA (Asia, Middle-East & Africa) region. Outside of corporate work, he conducts workshops to educate public on climate change as part of the Climate Fresk organisation. He is also a volunteer at the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity and Research and engages in reforestation activities around Singapore.
Veronica Lai
Law '92
Former Chief Corporate and Sustainability Officer, StarHub Group
With more than 25 years of telecoms and media experience, Ms Veronica Lai led StarHub’s Sustainability, Legal, Corporate Secretariat, Regulatory, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations functions. Under her leadership, StarHub was recognised as the World’s Most Sustainable Telco in 2022, and the World’s Most Sustainable Mobile Operator in 2023, by Corporate Knights Global 100. She is listed on Legal500’s Green GC Powerlist since 2023. Veronica serves on the Management Committee of the Global Compact Network Singapore, the Singapore chapter of the UN Global Compact. She also served on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Singapore Advisory Committee.
Woo Qiyun
Environmental Studies + USP ‘20
Founder, The Weird and Wild
Ms Woo Qiyun, a sustainability communicator and National Geographic Young Explorer, founded The Weird and Wild which is an Instagram page that aims to make climate information interesting and accessible.
Through comics and visuals, she aims to talk about climate science in a way that is nuanced yet impactful. Her work has garnered recognition from platforms like the National Geographic, BBC, and VOGUE, The Straits Times. Qiyun was recently selected as a 2024 Global Citizen Youth Leader Award recipient for her work.
Yesu (Andrew) Lu
Computing '07
Director, Product Management, Cisco
Mr. Yesu (Andrew) Lu serves as Director of Product Management in the Engineering Sustainability Office (ESO) at Cisco. He passionately nurtures and promotes DC-microgrid solutions like FMP (Fault Managed Power) and PoE (Power over Ethernet) for sustainable building infrastructure.
Before joining Cisco, Andrew's career spans across multiple sectors including industrial automation, intelligent-building system integration, and home automation. He is also a board member and the current President of the FMP Alliance.
Zhang Ting-Ting
Design and Environment '01
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, SINGAPORE FASHION COUNCIL (SFC)
Ms Zhang Ting-Ting is the Singapore Fashion Council Chief Executive Officer, having previously served as Director of Sustainability. Through SFC, she creates meaningful international and regional networks to drive sustainable practices in the fashion value-chain, from apparel manufacturing to post-consumer textile sectors. In 2024 she was invited to be part of the Expert Advisory Panel for The Earthshot Prize, in the “Build a Waste-Free World” category. In 2022, she became a curriculum advisor to Arkki Singapore. In this role, she contributes to the implementation of an award-winning curriculum from Finland that seamlessly integrates sustainability with design-thinking coaching.