Speakers’ Profiles
Puan Sri Dr. Petrina Guneratnam
Puan Sri Dr. Petrina Guneratnam was born in Singapore of Buddhist/Taoist background. At the age of eighteen, she received the call of God on her life to full time ministry. After graduation from the Bible College of Malaysia, she pioneered the first Assemblies of God church, the Glad Tidings Assembly of God in Klang, Malaysia.
Petrina was the Senior Associate Pastor of Calvary Church (1972 - 2024), the current Pastoral Overseer of Calvary Church (2024- present], the Co-Founder of Calvaryland (2006-present), a Christian nonprofit organisation serving the marginalised communities, and the Co-Founder and Vice-President of the Calvary International Ministries a non-profit international evangelistic and church planting ministry (2002 - present).
Called specially to women's ministry, Petrina has taught and preached in Women's Conferences and Family Life Seminars, both locally and internationally. She was involved in co-organising the First Women's International Network Conference in 1989 held in Los Angeles, California and was one of the main speakers.
Petrina has been given due recognition for her vital supportive role to her husband, Dr. Prince Guneratnam who served in various positions, both nationally and internationally besides being the Senior Pastor of the largest Assemblies of God church in Kuala Lumpur and the first national General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God of Malaysia (a position he has held from 1974-2000). In recognition of her outstanding leadership qualities and ministry, on September 13, 1998, she was conferred an Honorary Doctor of Divinity by the Southwestern Assemblies of God University at Waxahachie, Texas.
Deborah Priya Henry
Deborah Priya Henry, of mixed Malaysian-Irish parentage rose to fame when she was crowned Miss Malaysia World in 2007 and again, Miss Malaysia Universe in 2011. Deborah took to the runway and fashion editorials at the tender age of 15. Her modelling career took her to Hong Kong, India, London and various parts of South East Asia. She currently works as a TV host and moderator for international conferences.
The University of Queensland graduate who majored in Political Science and Economics, has been consistently championing children and refugee rights. In 2009, responding to the plight of the refugees and their rights to fair and equal opportunities to education, Deborah co-founded Fugee School. A few years later Fugee Org was established as the umbrella organisation featuring its flagship programme Fugee School and Fugee HiEd which runs a university scholarship programme.
Deborah actively advocates for the rights of refugees and social issues. She’s a children’s rights advocate for World Vision and refugee rights advocate for UNHCR Malaysia. In these roles, she has represented Malaysia on mission trips to Brazil, Myanmar, India and Lebanon.
In 2013, Deborah was listed in Forbes list of Asian Philanthropists, being recognized for her active participation in championing social causes. In 2018, Deborah was nominated by the U.S. Embassy in Malaysia to represent the country in the prestigious International Visitor Leadership programme (IVLP) organized by the US State Department - ‘Global and Regional Responses to Refugee and Migration Issues’, in the U.S. More recently she was invited exclusively to moderate a talk with Former US first lady Michelle Obama and Hollywood actor Julia Roberts in conjunction with the “Leaders: Asia-Pacific”, and inaugural APAC event held by the Obama Foundation.
Heidy Quah
To be updated soon.
Melissa Ngiam
Melissa is the Chief Executive Officer of Yayasan Generasi Gemilang (GG). Passionate about impactful social work, she plays a vital role in building meaningful corporate partnerships and spearheading programmes alongside her team. Since joining GG in 2011, Melissa has led the organisation with a keen eye for detail and a drive for excellence.
Melissa is a Chartered Accountant, a member of the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and a certified Corporate Social Responsibility Manager under the MIM-ARM Certified Professional CSR Manager programme. She is also an Associate Member of the Malaysian Association of Social Workers. In addition, Melissa holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne.
Terence Ooi
Terence left a corporate career in 2014 to serve in Cambodia, establishing literacy centres and training educators. He later continued similar work in Sabah, improving access to education in rural communities.
In 2020, he co-founded Wiki Impact, a platform spotlighting social and environmental issues, and Faithour, which inspires Christians to live out their faith. Terence also serves on the board of Malaysia’s Media Council.
Currently, he leads the Campus ministry at Skyline SIB, Kota Kinabalu with his wife. Terence is married to his teenage sweetheart, Deborah, and together they’re raising two children.
Anderson Selvasegaram
Anderson Selvasegaram is the Executive Director of SUKA Society. He founded the organisation in 2010 as a solution focused organisation in the area of protecting and preserving the best interest of children.
The organisation he is leading works on the following key areas – creating access to education for indigenous children, restoring victims of human trafficking and protecting unaccompanied and separated minors through community placement and case management. In 2015, SUKA Society won the prestigious UN Malaysia Award in conjunction with the United Nations’ 70th Anniversary.
Anderson holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University Putra Malaysia and a Masters in Advance Child Protection from the University of Birmingham. He is an alumni of the International Visitor Leadership Program run by the US Department of State. In 2016, he was appointed as the International Detention Coalition (IDC) Regional Advisor for South East Asia.
Samuel Isaiah
Samuel Isaiah’s story began in a rural indigenous (Orang Asli) school, an experience that deeply inspired his lifelong commitment to transforming education from the ground up.
Today, he leads PEMIMPIN as Executive Director, driving large-scale initiatives that, through EdTech, leadership fellowships, and prize initiatives, empower over 60,000 educators across 7,000 schools in Malaysia to create lasting change. Samuel is recognised as one of Asia’s Most Influential in Education by Tatler Asia (2021 & 2022) and is the inaugural recipient of Malaysia’s prestigious Anugerah Harapan Merdeka (2022), honouring outstanding contributions to the nation.
Beyond his personal accolades, he co-founded the Malaysia Teacher Prize to celebrate exceptional educators nationwide, and LADAP+, Malaysia’s first teacher professional development application, advancing teacher growth and excellence. Samuel believes meaningful reform starts in the classroom, and continues to champion the teachers who make it happen, building an ecosystem of leadership that transforms students, schools, and education systems.
Sasibai Kimis Steenland
Sasibai left a successful career in the finance industry to start the award-winning, Malaysian conscious lifestyle brand and social enterprise, EARTH HEIR®️. Earth Heir’s story began with a desire to create thoughtfully designed; contemporary heritage pieces handcrafted by master artisans in Malaysia. Earth Heir is B Corp certified and Fair Trade certified by the World Fair Trade Organisation. Today, EarthHeir.com and the Earth Heir retail store are a curated social impact & sustainability marketplace with products from social enterprises and NGOs all over Malaysia, showcasing beautiful, Made in Malaysia social impact products supporting communities in Malaysia.
Earth Heir won the British Council and Arthur Guinness Projects Social Enterprise Award 2015 and Sasibai was one of Wharton’s “40 under 40” award winners in 2015 and an Eisenhower Fellow in the 2015 Women's Leadership Program. She is also a Vital Voices Grow 2019 Fellow, and an Asia21 Young Leader 2017 with the Asia Society. She was also awarded the Tatler Hero Award 2020 and the Trade Leadership for the Digital Age Award by US National Foreign Trade Council in 2021.
Prior to Earth Heir, Sasibai was a Vice President in the Investments division at Khazanah Nasional (Malaysia), a Director in the Private Equity team at First Avenue Partners LLP (London), worked in Ghana with Opportunities Industrialization Centers International and the United Nations Development Program, and in New York as an Investment Banking Analyst at Lehman Brothers.
Sasibai received a B.S. in Economics (Finance and Management) cum laude from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and an M.Phil in Environment and Development from Cambridge University. She has spoken widely at universities, conferences (such as TEDx) and forums in Malaysia, Mauritius, Singapore, Indonesia, U.K., United States, Switzerland, Japan and Australia.
Jenny Pui
A passionate social worker with a Master's degree in Social Work from Tunghai University, Taiwan. Jenny is a registered member of the Malaysian Association of Social Workers.
Since 2018, Jenny has been working in refugee and stateless spaces in Malaysia. Working within an incomplete social and welfare structure has prompted her to reflect on and examine the nature and value of social work, leading to new insights into social work practices. She is dedicated to promoting international social work in cross-cultural and diverse contexts. She was the former Social Work Director of ElShaddai Centre Berhad, Malaysia.
Before committing to the social sector, Jenny acquired substantial experience in the marketplace, working full-time in business development and engaging in entrepreneurial ventures. Additionally, she holds an A.C.C.A. professional accounting qualification.
Jenny is currently the Co-Founder of Social Work Without Borders, a new initiative promoting cross-cultural and cross-borders collaboration for refugee and stateless protection and advocacy.
Wong Xiao Cheng
Xiao Cheng serves the poor by building up impact leaders, connecting and partnering with people. As the COO of YTL Foundation, she believes in building a better society through leadership transformation and holistic education. Xiao Cheng is a Board Member of Malaysia Impact Alliance, catalysing impact investing in Malaysia.
Xiao Cheng is also a Founding Partner of Earth Heir, a pioneer and award-winning social enterprise that celebrates Malaysia’s varied heritage art forms. As the former Head of Acumen Academy in Malaysia, where she also pioneered the inaugural Southeast Asia Acumen Fellowship—laying the foundation for a regional ecosystem of impact leaders.
She is an Acumen Fellow, an alumna of The Global Good Fund and Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship. Awarded with Prestige 40 Under 40 and The Vice Chancellor Global Graduate Prize, She was also a Star Scholar from Nottingham University Business School.
Alex Lee
Co-founder of Humankind, a social enterprise, working for the psychological well-being of all communities, especially communities that are marginalised and vulnerable. We believe that everyone is needed, valuable, and belongs.
HumanKind generates revenue for organisational sustainability and utilise evidence-based methodologies, the arts, and an asset-based community development framework to design solutions together with communities.
One such initiatives is BuddyBear - our volunteer led, toll-free phone and text psycho-social support helpline providing child-friendly and child-dedicated psychosocial support resource for children who needed a safe space to share their worries and concerns.
Dr. Andrew Kok
Dr. Andrew is the director and co-founder of Autrui Global. Autrui (pronounced “Al-Troo-I”) is inspired by the Old French word that means ‘others; other people; someone else.’ Autrui Global was founded in 2019 with the vision to close the healthcare gap for refugees and asylum seekers through a sustainable and inclusive approach. The non-profit organisation’s flagship project, The First 1000 Days, supports underserved women and babies during the crucial first 1000 days of life.
Dr. Andrew is passionate about achieving efficiency and equity in the delivery of primary healthcare. He believes that collective health security is ultimately the sum of individual health security. He is especially interested in the field of digital health and health economics.
Nellie Low
Nellie was born in Ipoh, Perak. She is married to Chandy Samuel, and together they have two adult children, Melissa and Daniel Samuel. She was working in the corporate sector in the hospitality and F& B industries for 27 years before answering God’s call to full time ministry in Calvaryland, a Christian nonprofit organisation.
From Corporate to Ministry:
“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33) – kept appearing before me in various forms from the time I felt the Holy Spirit’s prompting and God’s direction to serve. Resigned from a corporate career of 25 years, I asked the Lord to place me out of my comfort zone.
Caregiving for the elderly has been both rewarding and challenging. Just when I think I have learned to manage well, I am reminded that human behaviour and emotions are unpredictable. At times, I felt inadequate—believing I was not spiritual enough, lacked experience, and had insufficient knowledge in elder care.
God impressed upon me this truth: In learning to surrender to Him, He uses and places us exactly where He has chosen. Our readiness to serve Him and others is measured by His standards, not ours. The foundation of serving God is our love for Christ.”