Preserving the Past, Shaping the Future

From passion to profession

The year 2018 marked a turning point for Yvonne. Taking a course on Politics, Business and the Common Good in the UK, she was struck by a question posed by her professor. "If you're rethinking your career," he challenged, "what about ensuring you do good while you make a living?"

After 15 years in the fast-paced world of commercial television with Fox International Channels, "it was a eureka moment," she says. Volunteering had been a consistent part of her life, but the possibility of integrating social impact into her "9 to 6" had never truly occurred.

Serendipitously, she learned about Temasek Trust and its nascent social impact hub. "The drawings for Temasek Shophouse were underway, and they were looking for someone to head the project," she recalls. A two-hour conversation with then-CEO, Cheo Hock Kuan, had her firmly on board.

The idea was to bring changemakers under the same roof, and provide a space - and opportunities - for collaboration, co-working, and knowledge exchange, she says. To that end, Temasek Shophouse would house Temasek Trust, Temasek Foundation, and Stewardship Asia, as well as coworking partners like Asia-focused impact investor. Other spaces would allow people passionate about giving back to meet, host events or workshops, and draw in the public. Ultimately, it aspired to be the foundation for an ecosystem centred around social impact.

"In 2018, a social impact hub was still a novel concept. No one really knew how to take that idea and make it come alive," she says. "Were we a co-working space? Another community centre? We also had to think of the kind of tenants and events we wanted to bring in." These needed to be aligned with the Shophouse's mission.

"I remember going to meet the owners of Foreword Coffee," she says. " I had to wait for an hour, but it was an interesting hour observing how they put differently-abled people on the front lines and taught them so patiently. I knew even before speaking to them that they were the right people to invite into our space."

The team also experimented with promoting biodiversity, including rehousing a beehive found in Mandai on the Shophouse's rooftop, and creating a ten-metre-high Art Deco-inspired 'green wall' that forms its centrepiece.

"I remember wondering at one point whether we had bitten off more than we could chew," she laughs. "But then I realised that we had to walk the talk and integrate our values into every aspect of the Shophouse.

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