Meet the People

Dr Jochen Reb is a Professor of Organisational Behaviour & Human Resources as well as the founding Director of the Mindfulness Initiative @ SMU at the Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Singapore Management University (SMU).

He is a globally leading scholar in the areas of mindfulness at the workplace and judgment and decision making, with numerous publications in top-tier journals. He focuses much of his energy on teacher training, in particular for Mindfulness-Based Strategic Awareness Training (MBSAT). Jochen also directs the MAD (Mindfulness and Decision) Lab that engages in cutting-edge research on mindfulness and decision making.

Dr Juan Young is the developer of the Mindfulness-Based Strategic Awareness Training (MBSAT) course and an affiliated faculty member at the Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Singapore Management University (SMU). Juan has extensive business experience in leading management positions in the finance sector and other industries (UBS, KPMG) and as entrepreneur and investor.

An experienced teacher himself, he has taught Master students in Strategy, Risk Management and Positive Psychology at distinguished universities. Juan also implemented an Executive Master program in Positive Leadership and Strategy hosted by IE University.

Grace Tan is a Manager at the Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Singapore Management University (SMU). She is the area administrator of the Organisational Behaviour & Human Resources (OBHR) group. Grace maintains and assists the back end of the Mindfulness Initiative team in areas of customer and client communications, and course logistics.

Rachel is an Executive at the Mindfulness Initiative @ SMU. She assists in the main operations of the Mindfulness Initiative, including supporting the research, education and organising and marketing Mindfulness programmes.

Earl Allan is a certified Engage & Grow coach. He currently facilitate workshops and programs that shift mindsets and behaviours to positively impact people and business outcomes. He has the privilege of working with and supporting senior and middle management of local and regional teams in the Pharmaceutical, Luxury Fashion & Beauty, Engineering and QSR space.

Earl values the importance of putting people first - whether it is interacting in a social or business setting, or managing teams and people across regions and cultures, or developing team structures and solutions.

Khai Imm is a clinical psychologist with her own private practice, and a mindfulness teacher who has received training in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindful Self-Compassion. She has personally benefitted from her own practice of mindfulness, and hence feels passionate about sharing it with others to help them cope better with their lives and find inner peace.

Ching is a certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Teacher trained from the Mindfulness Center at Brown University. Her glowing enthusiasm for mindfulness, health and vitality lead her to work with The Mindfulness Initiative @ SMU and is also in-charge of the Community Outreach and Social Media for SMU MI on top of her work as a Strategic Content Producer. She is passionate about living true to her heart and soul and empowering others to find peace, joy and compassion towards themselves and others.

Leïla Parmentier is a Qualified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher and the founder of Mindfulness Paradigm. She discovered Mindfulness after having suffered from chronic stress and burnout in her past corporate roles, and her practice has become an essential part of her life since.

Today, in parallel to her career in the banking industry, she teaches the MBSR program to help others build their own resilience and develop a greater sense of well-being through Mindfulness, like she has experienced herself.

In addition to Mindfulness, Leïla is also passionate about Neuroscience and Psychology. She believes that anyone has the power to transform himself, and her greatest sense of fulfilment comes from supporting others in their journey by sharing her knowledge & personal experience, and by offering them a safe space to develop a greater awareness of themselves and reach their full potential.

Leila Sierra is a Certified Coach, a Mindfulness teacher and the Founder of Mindful-Choices. Leila brings 15 years of global experience among leading corporates in London, Paris, & Singapore to her coaching and to her Mindfulness-based courses. Additionally, she is part of the International Coaching Federation as giving back to the coaching community is close to her heart.

Leila is currently in her 3rd year of Bsc hons in Psychology. Leila is dedicated in sharing her passion for Mindfulness to her clients, participants, and to society. She is also an advanced yoga practitioner, an avid reader and a proud mother of two kids.

Dr. Lim Ka Tiek (KT) has 30 years of experience in the active application of mindfulness. He gained much of this experience through working in a stressful environment as a leader responsible in advanced manufacturing process and automation.

KT was the former Senior Director of Advanced Manufacturing Technology and Master Black Belt of Lean Six Sigma for a Multinational Corporation. In this role he travelled globally to champion continuous improvements and transformations in manufacturing technology.

KT holds 14 United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) issued patents and a Doctorate in Industrial Engineering.

Ms Maisie Loh

Maisie Loh is a certified mindfulness trainer. Personally taught by Dr Juan Young, her mindfulness journey began a decade ago through her experimentations in meditation. The experience of attaining a calm mind at work and facing life’s stresses motivated her to the practice of mindfulness daily.

This experience has also helped her embrace difficulties leading projects and teams at work while bringing present-moment awareness to her inner experience. Maisie is motivated and dedicated in sharing these benefits of mindfulness to others. She is also a certified yoga teacher.

Ms Mallika Kripalani

Mallika Kripalani is the Founder and Director of The Conscious Zone. As a Mindfulness and Acceptance & Commitment Trainer (ACT), she runs training sessions for corporate clients, and conducts school and public workshops on ACT, and mindfulness techniques to reduce stress and boost resilience.

Mallika currently runs the ACT with Mindfulness and Parenting with Mindfulness Courses with SMU. She aims to help people identify problems and integrate mindfulness practices in the workplace and at home, to build greater peace of mind and healthier relationships.

Michelle Mah is a qualified mindfulness, life skills and wellbeing trainer and the Founder of Rebalance. She has studied extensively with research-backed and secular global programmes including: MBSR under UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness, Centre for Mindful Self-Compassion, Mindful Schools, as well as the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute (SIYLI).

Michelle is also a registered facilitator with the Ministry of Education (MOE). She is also a certified 300hr yoga instructor, Mindful Birth educator in prenatal, postnatal, active birthing yoga and an avid advocate for mental and emotional wellness.

Ms Mohseena Parveen

Mohseena Parveen is a qualified mindfulness teacher, trained in secular Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program from University of California, San Diego. She is also certified Laughter Yoga and Children’s mindfulness teacher. She holds certification in Positive psychology and is a licensed PA trainer. She comes from creative background of architecture and a successful career in media. She has conducted numerous mindfulness and laughter yoga workshops for corporates, universities, public events, and community centres.

Dr Monika Young

Dr Monika Young holds a Doctorate in Economics from the University of St. Gallen. She has extensive professional experience in Switzerland and abroad (USA, Latin America, West Africa) in a series of fields: corporate finance, banking management consulting, project management, macro-economic planning.

Monika completed her Executive Master in Positive Leadership and Strategy at IE University in Madrid, Spain, that included Mindfulness-Based Strategic Awareness Training (MBSAT) as a core course. Her focus currently resides on integrating mindfulness, management, and everyday life in a practical approach.

Ms Sheryl Bathman

Sheryl Bathman is a psychotherapist and senior mindfulness teacher who has worked with the local, expatriate, and corporate communities in Singapore for 20 years. She is a clinical member of the Singapore Association for Counselling, and the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia.

Sheryl pioneered the teaching of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in Singapore in 2010. She is also a qualified Mindful Self Compassion (MSC) program teacher. Sheryl is passionate about bringing mindfulness and compassion to her clinical clientele, course participants and to society as a whole.

Mr Sriven Naidu

Sriven Naidu brings 20 years of global experience to his development and delivery of corporate training programmes. Since 2018, he has been customising and delivering Mindfulness-based courses for clients including INSEAD, Singapore Management University, the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, The School of Positive Psychology, and IMD.

Sriven also enjoys applying mindfulness to physical exercise and interpersonal communications. Sriven holds an LLB from National University of Singapore and an MBA from INSEAD. He has also won 4 teaching awards and is currently an Executive-in-Residence at IMD.

Tanya is a British educator who has lived in Singapore since 2012. With a background in student wellbeing and teaching communication skills and compassion to medical students, Tanya has expanded her teaching interests to include mindfulness and self-compassion. Through her own practice, she has developed strategies to attend to her own wellbeing and thus be more present for her students. She has taught mindfulness to students, educators, clinicians and members of the public and has completed her teacher training for MSC (Center for Mindful Self-Compassion) and MBSR (UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness/SMU).

Ms Veronica Chia

Veronica Chia is currently the Founder and Director of an electronic engineering firm that specialises in design and build of test equipment used in manufacturing medical devices. Apart from her technical competency, Veronica also completed her master’s dissertation on self-awareness of effective leaders, marking the beginning of her journey into mindfulness.

She is currently working on her certification for Mindfulness-Based Strategic Awareness Training (MBSAT). Veronica hopes to share this acquired knowledge and technique to others, in hopes of transforming them to thrive as leaders in the workplace.

Dr William Tov

Dr William Tov is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the School of Social Sciences, Singapore Management University. His research focuses on personality and daily well-being. In particular, he explores how personality traits influence daily behaviour and social interactions, which in turn can influence well-being.

He also examines how the mixture of positive and negative emotions in daily life contribute to a person’s sense of satisfaction and meaning. Will is further interested in links between mindfulness and well-being in everyday life, especially how mindful people regulate their emotional experiences in a daily context.

Dr Devasheesh Bhave is an Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources at the Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Singapore Management University. He received his Ph.D. from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

His research interests include work design, emotional labor and customer service, and the psychology of workplace technology. His research has been published in the Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management, Personnel Psychology, and other outlets.

Dr Jared Nai

Dr Jared Nai is an Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources (OBHR) at Lee Kong Chian School of Business in Singapore Management University (SMU). He currently serves as an instructor and course coordinator for Human Capital Management.

Jared's research focuses on issues of diversity and inclusion that are key challenges for societal wellbeing in Singapore. Commentaries on his research articles have been featured in Harvard Business Review Blog, the London Business School of Economics Business, and The Straits Times, and Society for Personality and Social Psychology Blog.

Dr Hiro Saito

Dr Hiro Saito is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the School of Social Sciences, Singapore Management University. He has been practicing mindfulness in both secular-scientific and Buddhist traditions. Drawing on his training in mindfulness, social science, and design thinking, he is currently pursuing innovations in higher education to enable universities to become truly "learning organizations" that will facilitate transformative learning, holistic growth, and collective well-being in a constantly changing world.

Mr Theodore Masters-Waage

Theo Masters-Waage is a mindfulness practitioner, teacher, and researcher. His research is conducted alongside the Mindfulness Initiative investigating the nexus between contemplative and behavioral science; focusing on how mindfulness - and related practices - influence decision making and how this process can be harnessed for the greater good. Theo also has a thirteen year meditation practice and is a certified MBSR teacher through the Mindfulness Initiative.

Ms Charis Loo

Charis is a current a PhD student in Management and Organization at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business.

Charis’ research interests center around biases in decision making and why individuals often fail to act in accordance with their professed ethical beliefs and values. In particular, Charis is interested in investigating how mindfulness can lead to greater awareness and better decision making in organizational contexts.

Ms Eva Peters

Eva Peters is a mindfulness practitioner and researcher, as well as a certified yoga teacher. Her research focuses on how mindfulness can be applied in the workplace and in entrepreneurial settings to support people’s wellbeing and productivity. Eva is particularly interested in how mindfulness affects leadership dynamics, teams, and interpersonal relationships in emerging and established organizations.

Ms Ezzah Zafeerah

Ezzah Zafeerah is a research assistant at the Mindfulness Initiative. She is a mental health advocate who has personally benefitted from mindfulness practice and is passionate about sharing its benefits with others.

Ezzah’s research interests include stress and emotion self-regulation, attachment theory, and cultural orientation in the context of the workplace. She is particularly interested in how mindfulness can shift our automatic responses to stressors at work, and therefore positively impact performance, productivity and conflict resolution in professional settings.