Trina Liang-Lin grew up appreciating good Hokkien food cooked by her beloved grandmother in her kitchen and was her sous chef from a tender age. As a child, she spent many happy weekends on her family’s farm (pigs, chickens and vegetables) in Lim Chu Kang. Both her grandmother and mother passed away when she was young – from diabetes complications and cancer respectively. She understands how ill health can adversely impact a family. She believes in the healing power of food and that the young should be empowered on their journey to learn more about their food world regardless of socio-economic background.

Trina is the founder of FoodSteps, the free school nutrition education outreach programme for primary school kids in Singapore which targets kids from lower income backgrounds. She is also the chair of World Food Future, an annual conference in Singapore targeting food consumers interested in their rapidly changing food world – from nutrition to food sustainability, security and the future of food.

Away from the food world, Trina Liang-Lin is a pioneer and specialist in the Asian bond market securities sector and has held senior positions in a number of global investment banks in Hong Kong, London and Singapore. Trina holds a Masters degree in Finance and Accounting from the London School of Economics and a Bachelors degree in Economics from the National University of Singapore.

She sits on the boards of the Community Foundation of Singapore, Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations (Vice-President), Victoria Junior College (Vice-Chair), Singapore Repertory Theatre, BoardAgender (Co-chair) and is an advisor to the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC). Trina is past-President of both the Singapore Committee for UN Women and the Financial Women’s Association of Singapore (FWAS) and has previously served on the boards of Sentosa Development Corporation (Audit), the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) and the Economics and Employment committee of the government’s feedback unit, REACH. She is a member of the Young President’s Organization (YPO).

In 2014, she was appointed Chairperson of the Philanthropy in Asia summit organized by NVPC. From 2015 she was appointed co-chair of the President of Singapore’s Volunteer and Philanthropy Awards (PVPA) – the highest recognition for volunteerism in Singapore. She together with her husband set up the Lin Foundation in 2016. In Nov 2018, she and her husband were named Forbes Asia’s 2018 Heroes of Philanthropy. Also in Nov 2018, Trina received Singapore Tatler’s Philanthropy Award.

In Aug 2018, Harper’s Bazaar Singapore named her on their Power List. She was voted Woman of the Year (Business & Finance) by Women’s Weekly in 2006 and Her World’s Most Inspiring Women under 40 in 2010. She was named both Straits Times’ 50 Young Singaporeans to Watch (2004) and 20 Women to Watch (2006).

Click here to download Trina’s bio in pdf.