Overview
As a registered charity and an Institution of Public Character (IPC), we are subject to regulations of The Charities Act. This includes requirements for adherence to Accounting Standards, audit and duties of Disclosure.
Documented policies and procedures are in place for financial matters in key areas, including procurement, receipting, payment, and quotation sourcing, delegation of authority and limits of approval.
No governing board member is remunerated. The CEO is not a governing board member of the charity.
As a registered charity and Institution of Public Character, we abide by the Code of Governance issued by the Charity Council.
Guidelines are provided for broad range of issues including Board Governance, Conflicts of Interest, Financial Management and Controls, Disclosure and Transparency. We are required to submit a Governance Evaluation Checklist (GEC) in accordance with the requirements of the Charity Council.
The full responsibility for providing accurate and updated checklist information rests with the respective Boards. You may wish to refer to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Governance Evaluation Checklist.
We fully comply with the requirements of the Singapore Personal Data Protection Act (2012). Please click here to see our Privacy Statement in full.
Our Commitment To Service and Quality Standards
Our Directors
Our Board of Directors from Children’s Wishing Well (CWW) comprises of eminent individuals in various professional fields such as financial services, law, and civil service. We regularly evaluate the Board’s performance and effectiveness through board retreats and external reviews conducted by consultants.
Work Arrangements For The Board Committees
Each Board Committee will be chaired by one Board Director, and its members may comprise a different Board Director and/or a Board Committee Member (non-Director). The staffing secretariat of each Board Committee will be the CEO or an appointed full-time staff.
Each Board Committee has their own Terms of Reference (TOR) which can be found here. The Board is also guided by the Board Charter which sets out the over-arching strategy, roles and responsibilities, culture and conduct of the Board.
The Board Committee structure is as follows:
Hamilton Lau / Board Chairman
Hamilton joined the Board of Children’s Wishing Well in 2022 and became its Chair later in the year. He has been an education leader for over ten years, including four years as the Chief Executive Officer of The Learning Lab (TLL), Singapore’s best known tuition and enrichment provider. He has also served in senior roles with two of the world’s largest K-12 private schools groups, GEMS Education and Cognita. Hamilton recently left TLL to dedicate more time to both CWW and his family, but continues to advise in the education sector.
His professional career in Asia started over two decades ago, in investment banking and legal roles with Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and the law firm of Skadden Arps, which took Hamilton and his family from Tokyo to Hong Kong and on to Singapore, where they have lived since 2013.
Hamilton is an American and is a proud product of Hawaii’s state public schools. He earned his bachelor’s from Stanford and his dual MBA and law degree from Columbia University. Having a strong lifelong interest in community service, he volunteers his time with students at Children’s Wishing Well and helps to raise awareness for the organisation.
Chanel Lim / Vice Chair
Chanel joined CWW in 2019, and was appointed to the position of Vice Chair in 2022. She also leads the HR and Nomination Committee. In her professional role, she serves as the Head of HR at the Clermont Group, a prominent international business group headquartered in Singapore, with responsibilities encompassing all aspects of personnel management within the group. Before her tenure at Clermont, she held the positions of Chief People Officer and Board Director for GoBear. Chanel amasses over two decades of HR management expertise across large organizations and high-growth startups. Prior to her roles at Clermont and GoBear, she was the Director at the globally renowned consulting firm Willis Towers Watson, offering strategic advice to clients on diverse HR transformation, M&A due diligence, integration, and operational excellence.
Chanel holds a Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science from the National University of Malaysia.
Sandra Seah / Advisor (Legal)
Sandra is a corporate lawyer with Bird & Bird. She joined CWW (then SAC) as Member and Director in 2006 and remained as Member and Board Advisor after the mandatory board tenure ended.
She has worked with VWOs and NPOs for more than 15 years, and currently serve on the Board/Exco of industry associations such as SEAS, ESI, HFCAS, SGBC, GCNS and WMRAS.
She regularly advises regulators and corporations in regulatory compliance, pathfinder projects and public procurement and hopes to use her skills to support CWW in its mission to help disadvantaged youths.
Sandra believes in CWW’s ability to harness its resources effectively to make a difference to the lives of its beneficiaries and to foster a culture of generosity and giving. She see her role as helping CWW maintain its strong reputation for integrity and good governance.
Danny Chan / Treasurer
Danny was previously the Chief Operating Officer in Tsao Foundation, a Singapore registered charity. Before that, he was the interim Executive Director of Wishing Well in 2017-2018.
He had also previously worked in senior management roles at global MNCs in the ICT and BPO sectors for more than twenty years. He has extensive experience in business, operations, and large team management, with expertise in driving business changes in commercials and operations. He has worked in Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
Danny joined the Board of Children’s Wishing Well in 2017. He enjoys traveling and competing in running events, and holds a passion to support underprivileged children and those with special needs, to realize their full potential. He had led youth groups and volunteered in church community activities.
Cindy Khoo / Director
Cindy is a civil servant, currently serving as Managing Director at Enterprise Singapore. In her career in the Public Service so far, she has worked in a variety of Ministries, such as Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Health, covering portfolios ranging from trade promotion to corporate governance and leadership development. In her most recent role, she was Deputy Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office.
As a former Malaysian who has grown up in and benefited from the Singapore school system, Cindy is passionate about ensuring that Singapore remains a land of opportunity for all, where social mobility is alive and real for those born into disadvantaged circumstances.
She joined the Board of CWW in 2019, following a posting in the Ministry of Education, where she conceptualised and initiated the UPLIFT programme to address the holistic needs of at-risk students, by better integrating social service delivery amongst various players in the community including schools and VWOs such as CWW. She hopes that through her contributions in CWW, she continues to help provide opportunities for to children to fulfil their potential and achieve their dreams.
Shereen Farzana / Director
Shereen is Director, Strategic Planning and Corporate Services at the Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) which is a Self Help Group established in 1991 to uplift the socio-economic status of the Indian community in Singapore.
She is a results-driven and a resourceful Chartered Accountant with 10 years of experience in overseeing Finance, Audit, Procurement, and Strategic Planning functions ensuring correct stewardship of all public funds. Being an Engineer by education she has developed a natural ability for logical thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving.
She is experienced in overseeing the project teams handling the configuration and successful implementation of various systems inclusive of B2B E-procurement systems to enhance organization-wide operational efficiency. She plays a key role in developing, implementing, and reviewing Financial and Procurement policies for effective management of the charity. She volunteers her time to assist other charities with financial and governance matters and derives her motivation from being able to help others and getting to be closer to the community.
Trevor Xie / Director
Trevor was the founder of Student’s Advisory Centre, which was the predecessor organisation before Children’s Wishing Well.
He is currently the Director of a Financial company, Conservation Capital Pte Ltd and serves concurrently as an associate lecturer in a Ngee Ann polytechnic. He is a fitness enthusiast and holds a national record in the Ironman Triathlon. A marathon swimmer, he has swum from Indonesia to Singapore and across various islands. He is passionate in uplifting the less fortunate in society, and the promotion of sports and education to the public. He hopes to serve the community in increased capacities when he retires from his corporate adventures.
Dr Jamie Mervyn Lim / Member
Dr Jamie Mervyn Lim is currently the CEO of Ren Ci Hospital, being on secondment from the National Healthcare Group.
He joined CWW in 2023 as a board member and also contributes in the Services Committee. He finds great meaning in serving the community, specifically the disabled, the disadvantaged kids and the sick elderly. Dr Lim also sits on the Board of Directors for Special Olympics Singapore and his alma mater, St Joseph’s Institution.
Our Management
