Melissa Aratani Kwee (born 1972).

Un l recently, Melissa Kwee was the Chief Execu ve Officer of the Singapore Na onal Volunteer and
Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), where she served in that capacity since 2014. Under her leadership, the
NVPC has spearheaded na on-wide social ini a ves such as h ps://www.giving.sg/, a simple, safe,
and trusted na onal dona on pla orm to inspire the public to contribute their resources and me to
support 640 registered chari es with Ins tu ons of a Public Character (IPC) status in Singapore.
Giving.sg has raised more than $400 million in dona ons from more than 560,000 registered users.

Melissa also spearheaded the Company of Good ini a ve in 2016 to rally organisa ons in Singapore
to do good strategically. This ini a ve has since grown into a network of more than 2,400 companies.
At the height of the pandemic, Melissa ini ated the Migrant Workers Colabs bringing together public,
private and people sectors to reimagine a total quality of life for migrant workers, bringing hope and
agency to counter frustra on and despair.

As the eldest daughter of Kwee Liong Tek, she is also the third-genera on scion of the Pon ac Land
Group. Melissa received the Singapore Youth Award and ASEAN Youth Award in 2007 and 2008
respec vely for her leadership and service in the non-profit sector.

Melissa was an Interna onal Baccalaureate (IB) student at United World College South East Asia
(UWCSEA) from 1983 to 1990. A er spending almost two years volunteering in Nepal, she then
enrolled in Harvard University where she studied Social Anthropology. The Fulbright scholar spent an
addi onal year a er university to research ethnic-based community leadership in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Since returning to Singapore in 1996, Melissa has ini ated numerous social ini a ves. Over the years,
her por olio has grown to include work that empowers young women and other marginalised
communi es in Singapore. Melissa is also on the Board of Directors for Prison Fellowship
Singapore and the Board of Advisors for Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT).

Melissa was the president of UNIFEM from 2002 to 2006 where she ini ated campaigns rela ng to
women’s rights as well as child exploita on. In 2001, Melissa ini ated a financial management
programme for foreign domes c workers. This UNIFEM pilot project evolved into an independent
organisa on called Aidha that provides financial educa on for foreign domes c workers. In 2005,
UNIFEM started a pe on to “make it a criminal offence to engage with anyone below 18 years of age
while overseas”. The movement intended to increase awareness about child-sex tourism among the
public and businesses in the tourism sectors.