Former CEO of NVPC must always have books around

Who: Ms Melissa Kwee, 53, was the former chief executive of the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) from 2014 to 2022.

- Clement Yong

Who: Ms Melissa Kwee, 53, was the former chief executive of the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) from 2014 to 2022. With her at the helm, NVPC established donation platform Giving.sg, which has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for various causes. It received a record $95.5 million in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since stepping down, she has established neighbourhood group Queenstown Kakis, which organises activities at coffee shops like hongbao-craft sessions during Chinese New Year so people can form organic connections. There is now a community calendar that involves people who live in the area.

Ms Kwee also remains active with her family's real estate enterprise, Pontiac Land Group.

"I read mainly non-fiction, but I also love children's books and poetry, for example, The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science by Joyce Sidman.

My mother loves butterflies and I recently discovered the first documentation of metamorphosis was in the drawings of scientist Maria Merian. This could make a great idea for an exhibition at the Art Science museum.