Ms Quek Pearl Ning

Pearl Ning is a passionate people and community developer who champions participatory practice, service-user voice and collaborative solutions to complex social issues.

At TRANS Family Services, she has pioneered initiatives that shift communities from being recipients of support to active partners in creating change. Through Golden ConneXion (GX), she mobilised seniors to advocate for improvements in their living environment, strengthening their sense of purpose, dignity and community ownership. She also established “It’s KU (Know Us)”, a service-user advisory panel that enables clients to co-create services and outreach strategies, strengthening trust and responsiveness.

Pearl Ning has advanced practice through research, including a study on mental health recovery that highlighted the importance of purpose, meaningful relationships and connection beyond symptom reduction. She also pioneered an iterative community development supervision model with her team, addressing a gap in local professional practice.

A strong people developer, Pearl Ning builds trust, facilitates collaboration and empowers others to take ownership. She played a key role in bringing together five social service agencies in the East Region to develop shared practice priorities and strengthen regional collaboration.

Her influence extends beyond TRANS Family Services. She has contributed to social work education at NUS, co-developing the Community Development module and receiving a Teaching Excellence Award. She has also led a sector symposium and practice research initiatives that place service-user voices at the heart of professional learning.

Through her resilience, integrative thinking and commitment to participatory practice, Pearl Ning has strengthened community development, professional capability and service-user empowerment in Singapore’s social service sector.