PREP VENTURES PTE - Key Persons
Clare has over 14 years of experience in the Early Childhood field, and has held various management and teaching positions, both in private and government schools. Clare's latest pursuit in education saw her attaining the Masters' of Education, specialising in Early Childhood, with Monash University.
Inspired by her voluntary experience as a youth, Clare has since continued to reach out to the community in various ways helping children, youths and families in need.
Clare is Education Director of Prep Junior and believes that the foundational years are crucial for young children to develop a love for Mandarin.
Dr Chua has had more than 4 decades of experience in the Early Childhood field. Her professional experiences include lecturing in early childhood studies, working with parents and teachers, and developing innovative programmes for children in language development, creativity, emotional and social development (EQ), and in the integration of children with special needs. She has also set up several preschools with innovative programmes for early childhood including a child development centre that focused on children's engagement with nature.
Her love for children and the English language led to her accomplishment as a children's author for preschoolers, especially in the area of language development. Dr Chua's "Read with Phonics" programme introduces phonics to children with music, rhymes, stories and an acute sense of humour to make it an enjoyable and successful experience for children. She has also written a series of early readers called "The Jelly Bean Family", and has published several songs for preschoolers in a music series called "Sing, Shake and Roll".
Dr Chua has been adjunct faculty with Wheelock College Singapore, the SEED Institute and the Singapore University of Social Sciences, and was also a SPARK consultant with ECDA. She was also a mentor in early childhood centre leadership at NTUC First Campus.
Job Titles:
- Senior Business Development Manager
Jia Ying is a Senior Business Development Manager, with 10 years of client-facing experience.
She is currently an Assistant Director at Moody's Analytics, managing the relationship with top global accounts across ASEAN and Greater China. Her previous experiences include relationship management at Citibank Singapore Ltd & Fashion TV. At Prep Junior, she helps with marketing and maintains relationship with parents, partners, schools and sponsors. Jia Ying has a keen interest in early childhood education, and as a parent of a bubbly two year old, she strongly believes that there should be a greater emphasis on language learning, as early as infant stage.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer at Veev Interactive
Lara Lai is Chief Executive Officer at Veev Interactive. Under her leadership and guidance, the company has achieved significant milestones in its educational products development and successes in its corporate training projects. With over 20 years of experience in the field of new media education, she has been at the forefront of many high profile initiatives that leverage on technology to enhance the learning process. Lara has led the development of innovative products that have been deployed nationwide for Ministries of Education in Singapore and the region. As a seasoned educator with an extensive background in training, she has led and conducted various programmes that focus on upgrading pedagogical competencies for teachers.
Lara holds a Master of Arts in Media Education from the University of London and Master of Science in Educational Research Methodology from Oxford University.
Job Titles:
- Marketing & Business Development Intern
Job Titles:
- Content Director
- Senior Brand Manager
Steve is a Senior Brand Manager, with 10 years of success in consumer goods.
He is currently the APAC marketing lead for Symrise's APAC Cosmetic Ingredients Division, and is consulting with Prep Junior as their Content Director. Prior to this, Steve worked at both Razer Inc and Procter & Gamble, helping to launch award winning products across multiple categories, globally. Steve has always had a passion for youth development - and serves as a INSPIRIT member on the National Youth Council. Steve strongly believes in a globally connected world, where it is because of our differences, that we are one.
Theodora Lai has over 10 years experience private equity and corporate development, with a focus on education and technology in Singapore and China. Theodora believes that education has the ability to transform lives, and has been an active volunteer helping youths and disadvantaged families in the community. Theodora is Founder of Prep Junior, and is thankful for having passionate and talented team members and partners, to bring this Mandarin learning resource to preschoolers in Singapore.
Theodora obtained a dual MBA from Tsinghua University and MIT, and holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Finance from Singapore Management University.