Letter from the Co-Chair

By Daphne Schieveen

My last letter as a co-chair since we are relocating back to the Netherlands soon. I joined NMSG in August 2016 and in May 2017 I started as one of the co-chairs. For almost 2 years I have been a part of NMSG where I have met many people, made new friends and have learned so many things. I have enjoyed being the co-chair of this amazing group of ladies (and I hope that feeling has been mutual ;-). I will definitely bring all those experiences back with me and I know for sure they will help me back into working life!

My role will be in good hands with Amanda Laverick. She has been a part of the committee for a longer time already and has done so many things for NMSG! Together with Elizabeth Grace she will continue to execute all the planned changes for 2018!

Unfortunately I am not the only one who is leaving the committee. Kirsten Farrelly has left us after being a part of the committee for 4 years! She was our amazing treasurer and has done this job very well! Last year she gave birth to her second son and now it is time for her to go back to work. We will miss her so much in the committee, but wish her all the best and we know we definitely will see her again at one of our events!

Kirsten thank you for all your time and your lovely personality over the past years!

Louise Montefiore will take over the treasurer role, at the moment she is doing the membership role and she will do a great job as our new treasurer!

Another long serving committee member who is leaving is Ivy Esquero. Ivy was our discounter coordinator and our host for the Dutch club. Ivy has just changed jobs which means she can’t combine her job with NMSG anymore. Ivy was a fantastic addition to the team and has helped us out with so many things. Ivy always had good suggestions and ideas how to improve or change something. We will miss you as well on the committee! Ivy was in charge of our Wine&Wisdom event in April, which was a big success!

Alex Fawcett has also decided to step back. She joined us last year to host the sensory play at Kaboodle. During her time at NMSG she got pregnant of her second child and she will step back to give birth and enjoy the precious time with her newborn!

Thank you for all your time and effort and perhaps we can welcome you again after a few months!

As the committee is always changing, we also have new members to add to our committee!

We are welcoming Nerissa (Neri) Mae, she is a fulltime mum from Manilla. She has a two and a half year old daughter who keeps her hands full. Before kids she worked for a life insurance company and she started a digital marketing company in Manilla. She is ready to spend some time doing volunteer work where she can start building her interests again and we are very happy that we could add her to the team! In case you come and join our next Blue House event on UE square, Neri will be there for a chat!

We have also found a new host for the Botanic Walk and for our new Garden House event on Thursday afternoon. The events will be in good hands with Beverly Jones. Beverly is a first time mom to a beautiful daughter, Charlotte. She has been in Singapore for a couple of years now and prior to that she lived in Dubai for almost a decade. Welcome Beverly and we are happy to have you on board!

Jacky Nicoll has also decided to join our lovely committee! Jacky is from South Africa and is now living in Singapore for 5.5 years. Prior to living in Singapore she has lived in London. She has two kids, a 9 month old and a 2.5 year old. At the moment she is a stay at home mom and she is looking forward to joining our committee! You can say Hi to Jacky at the talks as she will be our talk coordinator!

After a long time looking for a new host for B&B east, we can now welcome Saraswati Datar to our team as the B&B Host for the East! She is a freelance columnist and scriptwriter, who has worked with media companies in India and Singapore for the past 9 years. She is currently based in Singapore where she has worked for The Moving Visuals Company as a scriptwriter and researcher on television shows, and as a content writer for an events + PR firm. She also puts in double shifts at Mom Inc. and is passionate about books, gender, literature, cappuccinos and reading to her three-year-old Khaleesi. She is ready for a chat with all the pregnant ladies and curious to see all the newborns!

And our newest committee member will be Shazia Aziz. She is really excited to be joining us in the membership role! She’s from London and has lived in Wimbledon her whole life, before doing a small stint in the Middle East for work, and being relocated to Singapore in July 2015 for her Husband’s job.  In 2014 March, Shazia gave birth to her first child, Anaya, and she also has a Son, Isaac, who is 18 months old and was born in Singapore. She’s a stay at home mum, and hopes to start working again when her youngest child turns 3 or 4 years old. Shazia and her family live in Newton. You probably won’t meet her in person, but if you have any questions about your membership she is more than happy to answer them!

Welcome Shazia, Neri, Jacky, Beverly and Sara.

We have still some vacancies, if you want to join our team, gain some new skills, get to know the committee during our committee socials and send us an email on cochairsnmsg@gmail.com