Gregory Tham
Gregory Tham Kah Jun is a fresh graduate from the Concurrent Degree Program student at the prestigious National University of Singapore. He graduated with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Economics (First Class Honours) and a Master in Public Policy from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
Gregory Tham has won awards for his policy analysis of socio-economic issues. Notably, he bagged the best paper award at the 2nd Asia-Pacific Systems Dynamics Conference, where he developed a computational model to study the dynamics of income inequality in Singapore. More recently, he co-led an award-winning case study on public rental housing, as well as developed tools for policymakers to understand the relationship between trade and sustainable development at UNESCAP.
Gregory actively volunteers for low-income families across communities in Singapore. Having successfully pioneered a mentorship program at Casa Clementi, he contributes to the birth of Cahaya Community and now leads as our Director of Social Development. His leadership skills are honed through his experience as a Youth Leader with the National Youth Council where he oversaw a community development project in Cambodia. Through his volunteering experience, he has gained so much from those who have so little, and he believes that it is only right for all of us as individuals blessed with the gift to love and be loved to help those in need.
He is deeply passionate about economic research, international development, and social policy. When he is not envisioning himself as a Ph.D. extraordinaire, he speaks of the people sector and the public sector with fervent admiration, spiced with the zeal for holistic development.
We at Cahaya Community are impressed with his abilities, with some of us suspecting he was from the future. We are still trying to send him back, with increasing desperation.
Relevant Work:
The Urban Poor in Singapore: Educational Outcomes and Aspirations An anchoring thesis that demonstrated his early interest in social issues, the paper identifies children’s hopes and dreams of a better tomorrow, and muses on the factors needed for us to reach there together.
Public Rental Housing in Singapore - A last resort? This perceptive case study explores the role of public rental housing scheme in Singapore, with insights into the equalisation of social opportunities. It naturally won the Distinguished Prize in the Case Writing Competition 2018/19 at the NUS Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
