PANEL CONVERSATION

MELISSA QUEK

Melissa Quek is a choreographer, performer and educator whose interest lies in creating a visceral experience for the audience. Melissa has served on a number of arts award and grant panels, managed and designed five editions of the MOE-NAC Dance Talent Development Programme, coordinates the NAC-MOE SP-CCA (Ethnic Dance) and was a Teaching Artist to teach Primary School Science through the arts. Melissa occasionally writes dance reviews, articles and edu-packs to make contemporary dance more accessible.

She has contributed to various multi-disciplinary productions and with The Kueh Tutus (a collective dedicated to creating dance for young audiences) she has created several works that have been presented at The Artground, Toured to regional libraries and appeared in the Esplanade’s Festivals Octoburst! and March On.

Melissa is Head of the School of Dance & Theatre and is leading the Diploma in Dance at LASALLE College of the Arts.

ASSOC PROF PHILIP YAP

Philip Yap is a Senior Consultant Geriatrician in the Department of Geriatric Medicine, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. He is also an adjunct professor with the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS, and Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, NTU. He oversees the running of an integrated dementia care system in the North & was actively involved in the building of a dementia-friendly community in Yishun, the first of such initiatives in Spore.

EMILY ONG

Emily Ong was an early childhood educator and a Special Educational Needs learning consultant. After her diagnosis and initial grief, she is determined to continue living like she always has, making contributions to the society through her passion in volunteering.

Emily is an active dementia advocate both locally, regionally and internationally. She is also a co-facilitator of the ADA ‘Voices for Hope’, which is a step-up program for people living with dementia and their care partners.

She was involved in the wayfinding project of the Kebun Baru and continue to be a committee advisor to the dementia inclusive community project of the KB Community Club. Emily is also very active in her dementia education work through her personal Facebook Page, ‘Living with mild cognitive impairments and YOD.’

SEE YEN THENG

As the Director, Caregiving and Community Mental Health Division, Agency for Integrated Care, Ms See Yen Theng leads the building of sector capability and development of integrated mental health networks. One of the key initiatives is the implementation of Dementia Friendly Communities (DFC) which aims to bring together health and social care providers, community partners, businesses and faith based organizations to support those with dementia and their families in a safe and inclusive community.

She also led in establishing the Dementia Nursing Home Design Resource Panel which is multi-agency comprising clinicians, policy makers, administrators and operators to develop a set of design guidelines and recommendations to make the nursing homes dementia friendly. Her team developed useful caregiver resources to provide information and tips, as well as piloted new respite programmes for caregivers where they can take a break.

CHRISTINA QUAH

Christina is a Homage Care Professional with more than 1,500 visits with Homage under her belt. Having been a primary caregiver to her mother and late father-in-law, Christina discovered a passion for caregiving and eventually joined Homage as a Care Professional in early 2018.

Families who have engaged Christina often applaud her for her creativity in engaging seniors with dementia through simple puzzles and craft. Christina is also a certified Dementia caregiver, having successfully completed a “Work with Clients with Dementia” competency-based certification programme by the Alzheimer’s Disease Association (ADA) in July 2019.