Anne Neo, Centre Manager, Lions’ Befriender, Singapore

1) What does public service mean to you? Can you share more about your role in the public sector?

Public Service means serving the members of the public. Beneficiaries may range from young to old, robust to frail and across the boundaries of social economic status.  

I am trained as a pharmacist, working in a public healthcare institution.

Currently, though, I am a Centre Manager at an Active Ageing Centre managing various stakeholders like sponsors, partners, schools and other social service agencies to implement beneficial programs that will enrich the lives of older persons aged 60 and above.  

2) Tell us about a project you championed. What impact did it have on the community?

I founded a ground-up initiative called The Giving Collective.

One of the projects under The Giving Collective was to engage healthcare professionals like doctors and pharmacists to conduct health talks in the community.

I gathered a group of 3 pharmacists and we conducted health talks on chronic disease management at homeless shelters, daycare centers and active ageing centers to raise awareness of the impact of lifestyle and behavioral changes on their health.  

The recipients mentioned that they learnt a lot from the sessions about chronic disease management and the impact of food and lifestyle.

They left feeling hopeful and empowered to change their lives for the better.   

3) As a young professional, how has your unique background or perspective allowed you to identify a solution that others in your organisation might have overlooked?

My background in healthcare has provided me with a fresh lens to look at my clients with on a daily basis.

I look at them not just as seniors, but as active members of the community who still have the capacity to choose the life they want as they are not (yet) confined to a bed -either in the hospital or at home.

Hence, it motivates me to think of new and beneficial programmes to implement that will maintain their health and wellness, and help them age well in the community.  

One of the solutions I am hoping to pilot is a medication review clinic.

Our regional healthcare community teams are highly stretched; hence medication review is under the purview of nurses and wellness coordinators.

I am currently working on a project with some independently run pharmacist clinics and neighborhood GPs to pilot a pharmacy review service for eligible seniors in the community.  

4) What is your personal strategy for maintaining your creative energy when faced with bureaucracy?

My strategy is to get buy-in from people in the upper management / senior management team who will be directly involved in or may have a say in the final decision-making process.

This does not have to be an official approval document; it could be an informal text exchange or an informal email to kickstart the process.

This way, with the support of the upper management, the process of change management or quality improvement projects may be expedited.  

5) If you had just one area to invest in to accelerate transformation in the public sector (regulation, technology, talent, etc.), which one would you choose and why?

Talent. Skilled manpower, especially, younger individuals with a fresh lens to think out of the box who themselves may be considered “educated” older persons or youths who have parents who are older persons that fall within the age range of our target group.  

These group of staff will be better equipped to think of innovative projects, facilitate technological applications and automation projects amongst the current pool of older clients who may not be as technologically savvy.  

6) What is your greatest ambition as you grow in your public service career?

My greatest ambition is to be able to inspire my clients and co-workers to shift their mindset from medicalising healthcare to thinking of health as a lifestyle and behavioral perspective.  

Stepping out from healthcare into the community, I realised that most of the seniors feel resigned to their fate and that it is “normal” to be diagnosed with the three highs-diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol-and that having to take medications to combat these diseases is a given.  

However, many of the seniors are not aware of the impact that lifestyle can have on improving their quality of life even if they have been diagnosed.

In some cases, clients may be able to reverse their diagnoses from diabetes to pre-diabetic states!

However, diet, lifestyle, sleep, social connections all play a part in this change.  

7) What is a “universal value” that connects everyone in your department – from interns to directors – and how do you use that to drive collaboration?

Connecting Seniors, Enriching Lives. I always bear this in mind when thinking of the direction to guide my team and projects.

With this mantra in mind, I decided that, at least for the upcoming financial year, I will aim to achieve 2 things with each project we plan and implement:  

1. Build communities  

2. Planning with intention (paying attention to the physical, mental and social needs of seniors in every programme, not just run the programme for the sake of implementing programmes) 

These two goals have shifted my direction in accepting and sourcing for collaborations.  

8) What is the best piece of advice you’ve got for the next generation of public servants?

“Pay attention to self-care”. As public servants, we give so much of our time, energy and attention to our clients and beneficiaries that sacrificing personal time becomes second nature.

However, it is important to identify signs of burning out e.g. Spending time on weekends replying emails, poor sleep and rectifying them early.  

Set boundaries such as logging off after work hours, learning to say “No” to projects or tasks beyond your capacity.  

Your clients need you, but you can only do good work when you take good care of yourself mentally, physically and socially.  

9) What is a myth you wish to debunk about young public servants?

Public servants are underpaid and overworked.  

There are many organisations and each organisation has their own set of guidelines and rules.

Increasingly, more organisations especially social service agencies, have flexible working hours or working hours that are favourable to those with family eg: new mothers.

Terms and conditions are negotiable to a certain extent, and it is not true that public servants “eat grass”.  

10) Write a letter to your future self in 2035. Please keep it within 200 words.

Dear Future Anne, 

You’ve completed your Masters in Public Health—something that once felt distant. I hope the journey shaped not just your knowledge, but your purpose. 

Are you still serving seniors in the public sector, walking alongside them with the same compassion and respect? Did you manage to achieve your long term goal of working with policymakers—helping shape systems that are more equitable, integrated, and human-centered?  

Did you bridge the gap between ground work and policy like you once hoped? 

I also wonder—did you stay connected to what makes you, you? The community work, the creativity, the small initiatives that started it all. Are you still finding ways to make health personal and meaningful? 

How many children do you have now? Do you spend your weekends with family now, going on holidays, exploring new places and bringing him out with you on your projects and meeting new people like you always planned?  

If you’re thriving, I’m proud of you. 
If you’re struggling, remember why you started. 

With hope, 
Anne Neo from 2026 

The story was made possible due a partnership with the CHI FLYING (Future Leaders and Young INnovators Guild) Network, hosted by NHG Health's Centre for Healthcare Innovation, with over 300 members connecting young health and social care leaders across Singapore and beyond.