The Social Factor has a strong team of professionals which supports the various programmes that we run. Each member of the team brings to the table something special; and we are very grateful for the work that each one does!

Brandon Chan

Brandon strongly believes in the importance of seizing every opportunity to lend a helping hand and to impact a life. He believes that there is a capacity for growth and change in every person; and that there is a real joy and contentment to be part of that change.

Character development is such an important aspect of a person’s life, and Brandon believes that building one’s character requires much patience, learning and effort. Since young, he has been an active participant in sport, and he graduated from Nanyang Polytechnic with a Diploma in Sports and Wellness Management. He became a coach, and has never looked back since; involving himself in the coaching of children and youth at various capacities.

Brandon has coached many teams from the Secondary to National level in the sport of Tchoukball. He then decided to further his studies and completed a Degree in Sport Management in Australia. According to Brandon, living abroad has allowed him to see many different aspects of life. He was part of a brainstorming group for the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.

Brandon is a frequent traveler and often does cross cultural missions to other parts of the world. He believes in equipping the next generation of young people, building bridges for all to succeed.

Sarah Ismail

Sarah strongly believes in being purposefully passionate about life, learning from people and about their unique life experiences; being generous in sharing and paying it forward. She has had years of working experience in the youth development sector, specifically in the social service, and arts and culture sectors. Her professional capabilities include project management, youth community building, festival management, arts management and developing youth mentoring programmes, among others.

As an Associate Lecturer at a local polytechnic, she endeavours to develop curious minds, and enable confident and socially conscious individuals to be empowered in their ideas, thoughts and actions. She believes in staying abreast with youth culture to effectively engage students in imparting key learning outcomes in lessons.

In her personal capacity, Sarah actively does volunteer mentoring work with at-risk youths in residential homes, as well as with visually-impaired youths who have a keen interest in the arts. As a mentor, she serves by imparting lifeskills and experience, motivational values, character development, professional experience and career guidance to youths from these disadvantaged backgrounds.

Dr Sophian Kayat

Dr Sophian is a well-established Social Service Professional who has dedicated over 24 years of his life serving the community. He believes firmly in upholding the rights of the vulnerable and protecting their well-being. He is a dynamic team leader who possesses the ability to partner with other helping hands for the betterment of society.

The years have equipped him with vast knowledge on topics ranging from child’s development to marital conflicts. He is also a Registered Social Service Practitioner (SASW),  certified in Supervision for Social Services and received Training in Clinical Supervision.  Dr Sophian’s recent completion of his Ph.D. in Counselling with Washington International University, United States of America, is the testimony of his Lifelong Education and continuously upgrading in his area of expertise.

Dr Sophian was presented with the Long Service Award for 15 years of Voluntary Service in 2011 by the then Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, and received national recognition for – Individual Award in Category for Best Practice & Child Focus in Protecting Victims of Family Violence in 2008 from then MCYS Minister Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan.

Dr Sophian’s progression from a Care Staff, Life Coach, hypnotherapist, ‘Syariah Certified Marital Counsellor, ‘State Protector for Juvenile, Care & Protection Order’, Superintendent of a residential home for children and young persons to currently holding two portfolios as Head of a Gazetted Place of Safety for vulnerable children; and the Divisional Manager a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), gives him the excellence platform and opportunities to advocate, impact and make a difference to a wider spectrum of clientele within the society.

Lim Li Zhen Sthenos

Li Zhen has been a social worker for 11 years, with the first 2 years involved in community social work and the remaining 9 years in medical social work. She has a special interest in palliative social work, loss, grief and bereavement. Li Zhen had 5 years of direct clinical social work experience in Assisi Hospice and Dover Park Hospice; working with an interdisciplinary team of medical personnel and therapists to provide psychosocial care for patients and their caregivers.

In the course of her work, Li Zhen provides psychoeducation on coping with stress and adapting to grief and loss for caregivers and fellow health care professionals.

She is currently pursuing her Masters in Counselling at the Singapore Bible College and provides consultations for junior palliative care social workers  on a free-lance basis.

Lim Phay Yen

Phay Yen has three decades of teaching experience. She holds a Master in Education, with a specialisation in English Language Education, and received her BA (Honours) degree and post-graduate Diploma in Education from the National University of Singapore.

Phay Yen began her career as a History and General Paper teacher at Raffles Junior College and moved on to teach Language and Communication Skills at the Singapore Polytechnic (SP) where she was an adjunct staff for more than ten years.

Phay Yen has had many opportunities to conduct courses in a cross-cultural context for both students and professionals. For several years, she had an interesting experience teaching an intensive bridging course at National University of Singapore (NUS) for Ministry of Education (MOE) scholars from China, and has conducted English Communication workshops for graduate students from China attending a Masters programme at the Lee Kuan School of Public Policy, NUS. During her stint as a part-time lecturer at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), she also enjoyed teaching English to adult learners from Vietnam and Indonesia at NTU’s Centre for Continuing Education.

Phay Yen now tutors part-time at NUS’s Centre for English Language Communication in communication skills courses to undergraduates from the Engineering, Computer and Business Schools. She has also taught undergraduate communications courses at the NTU Language and Communication Centre, and ran workshops at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

As an Associate Trainer at the Civil Service College since 2008, Phay Yen enjoys her interactions with participants from various government agencies who attend her courses on Grammar, Writing and Editing.

Students like Phay Yen because she is friendly, patient approachable. Her lessons are engaging, up-beat and interesting. She teaches with clarity, gives detailed personal feedback to her students, and encourages and motivates them to do their best.

Besides her classroom experience in tertiary education, Phay Yen has written assessment books and study guides for secondary students, mainly in History and Social Studies, such as the Social Studies Revision Guides for Sec 3, ‘N’ and ‘O’ level. Among other publications is ‘Discovering History’, Secondary One History textbook and work-book which she co-authored in 1999.

Sum Tze Wei

Tze Wei graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the Australian National University, and also has a Masters in Theological Studies degree (specialising in Education) from Asia Theological Centre. In addition, he obtained his Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) in 2014, and Advanced Certificate in Training and Assessment (ACTA) in 2016.

After Tze Wei discovered his passion in teaching and training, he made the switch to Christian Education at Hope Church Singapore, where he designed, wrote, taught and graded various modules for the in-house Bible School. He also had a working stint in Ho Chi Minh City, where he further developed an appreciation and understanding of a different culture.

Tze Wei is currently an associate lecturer with the London School of Business and Finance (School of English), and has had teaching stints with Kaplan Higher Education Academy (Professional Business English Program). Tze Wei is also an MOE-registered external trainer, and he facilitates in motivational and study skills workshops for MOE schools.

Besides being well-organized in his work, Tze Wei is a creative teacher who uses his vast reservoir of activities to make the learning experience fun and memorable. He is highly versatile and adaptable to the dynamics of the classroom, able to think on his feet and calmly respond to unexpected challenges. He is passionate about self-improvement and constantly self-evaluates in order to teach the students better. He takes the initiative to build rapport with students and is well-loved by them.

Shirley Tham

Suki Tong

Suki has been active as an educator, working with children for more than 10 years. Currently, she provides psycho-education and training with emphasis on cultivating mental, emotional and interpersonal skills as the basis for enhancing and enriching school, family and vocational life.

Suki has many years experience as an educator in the area of special needs and works extensively with children with learning disabilities. As a facilitator and provider of life skills training in the area dealing with love relationships for teenagers in the Singapore polytechnics, she has helped students awaken to their potential to effectively embrace life as a caring and compassionate adult.

As a child and adolescent counsellor who has worked with children with psychological needs, Suki has worked effectively with children and adolescents from different nationalities. This involved helping students deal with stress at school, as well as managing behavioural problems and anxiety.

Moses Wong

Moses is a professional trainer and motivational speaker. His background is in hotel management, and he has spearheaded the opening of four 5-star hotels in Singapore, Malaysia and China at the managerial level. He is currently a corporate management consultant, and has been responsible for numerous business manoeuvres such as overseas expansion, corporate restructuring and the sale of global patents. Moses is also recognised as a professional trainer by the Malaysia Tourism Board.

Moses is a strong communicator and has conducted numerous sessions of corporate training. He has also trained many youths in the university, polytechnic and secondary school contexts.

Winnie Yip