We are a diverse team of program staff, subject expert advisors and experienced leadership. We are equally proud to be part of a vibrant community, and to work in close consultation with a group of research partners.
Leadership
Khai is the Executive Director of Octava Pte Ltd, a single-family office with investments in real estate, fintech, and biopharma. As Chairman of Octava Foundation, he is dedicated to addressing Singapore’s unique social challenges.
Khai believes in stepping up as a Singaporean to fill gaps where structural policies may fall short, focusing on impactful, accessible solutions. He is committed to innovation and supports changemakers and with bold visions.
He is a member of the Asia Philanthropy Circle and serves on various boards and advisory groups for charitable organisations and impact funds.
Leadership
Raman is a passionate advocate of venture philanthropy and collective impact, and firmly believes in the potential of private capital collaborating with public and social purpose sectors to enable sustainable and just societies.
While starting her professional journey in the private sector working across UK, India and Singapore, she has spent the past 10 years in the practice of venture philanthropy, working with diverse philanthropists, foundations, impact investors and social purpose organisations.
At Octava Foundation, Raman stewards philanthropic investments in Singapore and across the Asia region supporting social innovation in Education, Student Finance and Technology in Education.
Team
Mun Hoe is a former banker with close to 20 years of experience working in the financial sector with major banks. After an extended medical leave of absence, Mun Hoe re-evaluated his priorities and was on a quest for a new beginning with a keenness in social impact related work.
Mun Hoe first joined the Octava family as an Investment Manager under Octava Impact Investment, which gave him the opportunity to work closely with start-ups and high-growth companies targeting social issues. He has since transitioned to join Octava Foundation with a focus on program evaluation, design and implementation for Octava Study Awards, in the Student Finance vertical. He also supports the finance and process functions internally.
Team
Felicia previously spent six years in the public service, initially advancing local efforts to better support individuals with mental health challenges through service planning and piloting initiatives, before supporting government’s efforts to nationalise an early childhood development program for families facing socio-economic barriers.
At Octava Foundation, Felicia oversees the Young Learners Fund in the Education domain, identifying and supporting catalytic solutions that create equitable learning opportunities for primary school-aged children.
Team
As a local non-profit native, May has broad social sector experience, from traditional charities to government grantmaking and corporate philanthropic advisory. She believes change starts at the margins and aspires to weave support systems in community.
May leads an upcoming domain in Mental Wellbeing. She also oversees a development program for Octava’s bursary recipients, and supports communications-related work for the Foundation.
Investment Committee
Ting Yong is a strategic leader and seasoned financial professional who has been instrumental to the foundation since its inception in 2017. As Treasurer and a founding Investment Committee Member, he brings astute financial governance and strategic oversight, helping to ensure the foundation remains both mission-focused and financially resilient.
Ting Yong serves as Investment Director at Octava Pte. Ltd., a Singapore-based family office. He leads investment strategy, portfolio management, and growth planning—driving long-term value creation across a diverse portfolio spanning real estate, property development, financial technology, and artificial intelligence sectors. Prior to Octava, Ting Yong held senior leadership roles at DBS Bank’s Investment Banking Group, where he headed the Transportation & Logistics and Electronics teams. He holds an MBA in Banking and Finance and a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the National University of Singapore, and is a qualified CFA.
Advisor
Dr. Alice Wong is an education leader who harnesses the transformative power of learning to inspire and shape human potential. With a strong focus on early childhood development, she brings deep expertise in designing and delivering training programs for teachers and caregivers—particularly those working in vulnerable communities and complex environments. Dr. Wong has held senior leadership roles, including Chief Programs Officer at OneSky Foundation and Executive Director at Playright, where she spearheaded innovative blended learning approaches to adult training in early childhood education. Prior to her nonprofit leadership, she spent over a decade as a faculty member at leading tertiary institutions in Canada and Hong Kong, specializing in curriculum design, teaching, and education. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto (OISE) and a Master’s in Education from York University. Dr. Wong continues to serve in advisory and consultancy roles, advancing educational innovation and equity worldwide.
Advisor
Dr Joanne Yoong is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Research For Impact, a Singapore-based think-tank dedicated to making the behavioural and social sciences accessible, inclusive, and transformative for all. She is an applied micro-economist and interdisciplinary researcher working on consumer and household decision-making in vulnerable populations. Dr Yoong holds multiple faculty appointments and is the author of over eighty peer-reviewed articles in leading economics, medical and public health journals. She has worked on projects around the world including Singapore, the United States, India, China, Ghana, Kenya, Cambodia, Indonesia and Iraqi Kurdistan. Dr Yoong received her PhD in Economics at Stanford University as an FSI Starr Foundation Fellow after an early career in financial services, and her AB summa cum laude in Economics and Applied and Computational Mathematics from Princeton University.
Advisor
Tom Kaye is an international education expert with 15 years of experience working with organisations, including UNICEF, the World Bank, and governments. His experience includes designing, implementing and evaluating education programs in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
Tom is currently the Senior Advisor, Global Programmes, at UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited. In this role, Tom works with governments, development partners the private sector, young people, and UNICEF colleagues to build and scale innovative approaches to support the world’s most marginalised 15- to 24-year-olds to transition into decent work. Before joining GenU, Tom was EdTech Hub’s Global Country Engagement Lead, where he built and led a team of 15 people who provided support and guidance to education decision-makers globally on how to impactfully deploy EdTech tools to make education systems more effective, efficient and equitable. Tom is a dual master’s graduate with a Master’s of Public Administration from the Australia and New Zealand School of Government and a Master’s of Evaluation from the University of Melbourne. Tom has also undertaken professional development including at Harvard University and University College London.
Advisor
Better Purpose works to shape and accelerate the work of organisations that seek to make a difference through education. Better Purpose brings rich and varied experience in the education sector, gained from helping clients to address critical challenges, and from operational experience of building and running organisations. The team draws on experience from ‘big four’ consulting (including PwC), start-up consulting business (GEMS Education Solutions), international research and policy organisations (OECD, UNICEF, UNDP and RAND Corporation), philanthropic organisations (Comic Relief, Dubai Cares) and education not-for-profits working internationally (Education Development Trust, the Varkey Foundation, and Ark Education Partnerships Group). The team helps partners navigate complexity by collaboratively defining the challenge to be addressed, curating the right team members and experts to explore the challenge, and finding the right set of solutions to meet the needs of the specific context. We bring capabilities in programme management, stakeholder engagement, strategic consulting, policy analysis, research, and monitoring and evaluation.
