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GENERAL COUNCIL

The role of the General Council is to safeguard the structure, objectives and brand of Smile Asia. It advises the member charities to ensure that all of their plans are aligned. It invites and approves new member charities to the group, as well as new General Council Members.

A/Prof (Dr) Vincent Yeow

Co-Chairman

A/Prof (Dr) Vincent Yeow is Managing Partner of Dream International Holdings. He is also a Visiting Consultant at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Singapore where he had headed the Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Centre and Cleft and Craniofacial Centre from 2004 to 2014. He was the President of the Singapore Association of Plastic Surgeons. Dr Yeow has personally volunteered and led more than 30 surgical missions across various countries since 1995. Dr Yeow is the founder of Smile Asia. He also led the formation of The Smile Mission Ltd (formerly Operation Smile Singapore Ltd) and currently its Chairman.

Ranjit Barthakur

Co-Chairman

Ranjit Barthakur is the Founder and Chairman of Globally Managed Services, an operational consulting incubator founded in 2002. He brings over 35 years of varied experience in managing and leading companies in a wide range of industries, including Fast Moving Consumer Goods, Telecommunications, Tourism, Technology, Environment, Ecology, Outsourcing and Healthcare. He co-founded several initiatives under the theme of Balipara Tract & Frontier Foundation, which promotes agriculture and biodiversity based community initiatives He was formerly the Chairman of Mission Smile (formerly Operation Smile India Trust).

Carl Treleaven

Vice Chairman

Carl Treleaven is the Vice Chairman, of Bright Faces, Inc. Previously, he was Vice Chairman of Operation Smile, Inc. Professionally, he is the Chairman and CEO of Westlake Ventures, which invests in development stage companies, as well as EM Labels in Mexico City and ServingLynk, Inc. Mr Treleaven is also actively involved with Rotary, having served as a District Governor, and participated in various missions to eradicate polio. He is a named inventor on more than 30 US and international patents, has been licensed as a CPA, and is also a published author. He and his wife live in St. Petersburg, Florida, USA and have two adult children.

Dr Peter Pang

Member

Dr Peter Pang is the Director of the Plastic and Aesthetic Centre and the Hair Transplant Centre of the Union Hospital. He also practices at Paragon Medical Centre. He received his MBChB degree from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1994. He completed his residency and fellowship training at the Prince of Wales Hospital and has been granted the fellowship of Royal College of Surgeons (Edinburgh) and Hong Kong Academy of Medicine (Surgery). He is the Council Member of the Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Society in Hong Kong. Dr Pang is the Chairman of Beam International Foundation (formerly Operation Smile China Medical Missions Ltd).

Chan Kok Choy

Member

Mr Chan Kok Choy’s professional career is in banking. He is the General Manager of Vattanac Bank, a position he has held since the bank’s opening in 2002 in Cambodia. Prior to joining Vattanac Bank, he had 18 years of international banking management experience in parts of Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia. Mr Chan founded Smile Cambodia (formerly Operation Smile Cambodia) in 2004. He was the Chairman from 2004 to 2015. Currently, he is the Vice-Chairman of Smile Cambodia.

Michael Wu

Member

Michael Wu is the Vice Chairman of Future Smile Charitable Foundation in China. Previously, he was the Board Member of Operation Smile Hangzhou Care Center. He is the Chairman of Verna Management Company, which invests in private medical entities in eastern China. He is also an Independent Board Member of China Chanhigh International Holding Group, which invests in landscaping, real estate and construction in mainland China. Mr Wu has been associated with children's charity since 2001.

Keiji Matsushima

Member

Keiji Matsushima had been an advertising professional for over 40 years. He had overseen the implementation of some of the world's finest advertisements. He was the CEO of Dentsu America, and later of Dentsu Wunderman. He had completed his Masters from University of Tokyo in 1961, and went on to pursue an advertising career. Currently, he is an entertainment consultant and continues his passion of writing movie reviews. Mr Matsushima is the Chairman of Kodomo-ni-Egao NPO (formerly Operation Smile Japan NPO).

MANAGEMENT COUNCIL

The Management Council manages the implementation of the Smile Asia initiative as advised by the General Council. It creates and manages standardised structures and protocols, among other roles. It also enables sharing of resources between member charities.

Abhimanyu Talukdar

Secretary-General

Abhimanyu Talukdar is the Executive Director of The Smile Mission Ltd., which is also the International Secretariat of Smile Asia. He has 20 years of experience in media, fundraising and general management. In the last 10 years, he had been involved in international programme and fundraising coordination across 20 countries. Mr Talukdar completed his Post-Graduate in Mass Communication from Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. He is a co-founder of Smile Asia, together with A/Prof (Dr) Vincent Yeow and James Fox.

James Fox

Member

James Fox is the Chief Executive Officer of Bright Faces, Inc. Bright Faces provides comprehensive care for children suffering from cleft lip and palate. By working with local organisations, Bright Faces is able to provide high quality, efficient and cost-effective care. Previously, Mr Fox lived in Vietnam while running a regional programme office for another medical charity. He directly coordinated medical missions as well as oversaw programmes in Asia. Mr Fox and his wife live in Chicago with their son. He is a co-founder of Smile Asia, together with A/Prof (Dr) Vincent Yeow and Abhimanyu Talukdar.

Dr Theavy Mok

Member

Dr Theavy Mok is the Medical Director of Smile Cambodia. He works with the Cambodian government and regional hospitals to plan and undertake medical missions and education programmes in the country. In 2014, Dr Mok founded the Cambodian Society of Plastic, Reconstructive, and Aesthetic Surgery and remains is the current President. He also started and chaired the first Plastics Residency Program at University of Health Sciences. Currently, Dr Mok is a Deputy Director of Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital.

Melissa Wang

Member

Melissa Wang is the Vice Secretary of Future Smile Charitable Foundation in China, Director of Hangzhou Beam Charitable Care Center (formerly Operation Smile Hangzhou care center). She has over 13 years’ experience in running children’s medical charity in China. She is also involved in AHA educational program since 2005 and has organized over 100 BLS/PALS/ACLS courses for over 2,000 healthcare professionals all over China.

Dr Tarun Sahni

Member

Prof (Dr) Tarun Sahni initially served as a doctor with the Indian Navy. He then returned to India to establish India’s first private hyperbaric center which he currently heads. He is the founder and current president of the Hyperbaric Society of India and also founder and Chief Executive of Advent Healthcare, a niche healthcare strategy-consulting firm. He is also a trustee with Mission Smile India.

Phoebe Low

Member

Phoebe Low is the Programs Manager of Smile Asia’s International Secretariat, The Smile Mission Ltd. She joined the team in October 2015 and has successfully coordinated over a dozen missions since her addition and advised on various fundraising events. She helps with the secretarial work of Smile Asia.

Conrad Dennis

Member

Conrad Dennis is a professional with over 39 years of experience in the Plantation Sector. He headed a team which set up Tea Estates and Factories and oversaw the Amalgamated Plantations Tea Estates in North Bengal. Conrad was involved in the setting up of telemedicine in the APPL Estate Hospitals and was on the Managing Committee of the 75 bedded Referral Hospital. He is also on the Institutional review Board of the Tata Cancer Hospital. He is currently the Chief Operation Officer of Mission Smile, India.

MEDICAL COUNCIL

The International Medical Council is responsible for credentialing of volunteers for international participation. It also advises the International Secretariat on drafting and updating of Smile Asia Medical Policies & Guidelines.

Prof Wang Guomin

Chairperson

Prof Wang Guomin is Director of the Department of Oral, Maxillofacial Surgery & Cleft Lip/Palate Centre, at Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, and School of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China. He is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon and a speech pathologist specializing in cleft palate and functional speech disorders. He received his medical degree from Shanghai Second Medical University, and obtained MD degree in Maxillofacial Surgery from Showa University, Tokyo, Japan. He also took his advanced training as a visiting scholar in oral & maxillofacial surgery at the university.

Dr Manbir Batra

Vice Chairperson

Dr Manbir Batra

Dr Rashmi Taneja

Member

Dr Rashmi Taneja has worked at various prestigious institutions in India and United States, and has extensive experience in the field of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Dr Taneja had completed her Fellowship in Craniofacial Surgery from University of California, Los Angeles. She is certified by American Board of Plastic Surgery and a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgery. She has a number of publications and research papers to her credit.

Prof Shu Maoguo

Member

Prof Shu Maoguo is the Chairman of the Plastic & Aesthetic & Maxillofacial Surgery Department in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University. He is also the Vice Chairman of the craniomaxillofacial branch of the China Plastic & Aesthetic Association. He specialises in several kinds of complex plastic surgery including organ reconstruction, sequential treatment of cleft lip & palate, craniomaxillofacial trauma etc. Prof Shu also initiated a new surgical technology, ‘heart-shaped suture’, which significantly minimises postoperative scar.

Prof Emeritus Lester Mohler

Member

Prof Emeritus Lester Mohler practiced Plastic Surgery from 1970 to 1996. He was the Chief of Plastic Surgery in Mt. Carmel Medical Center and was also the President of the Ohio Valley Society of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeons. In 1986, he introduced a cleft surgery advancement technique called the Mohler Repair – named after him. Prof Mohler received several awards and presented at many surgical conventions throughout his career. He has volunteered in over 60 international medical missions for cleft lip & palate, and continues to do so even after his retirement.

Dr He Feifang

Member

Dr He Feifang is the Chief Physician & Assistant Director of Department of Anaesthesiology & Pain Medicine, Deputy Director of the Centre for Intracranial Hypotension Management, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University; Vice Executive President, Branch unit of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University. He is also the Committee of Branch of Pain Management, Chinese Association of Integrative Medicine and Chinese shock Wave Medical Professional Committee. Dr He has joined numerous medical missions across various countries since 2007. He is also the board member of Future Smile Charity Foundation.

Dr Josephine Tan

Member

Dr Josephine Tan is a Senior Consultant at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital and headed the Department of Paediatric Anaesthesia from 2006 to 2015. She completed her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from National University of Singapore in 1988 and became a specialist in Anaesthesiology following training in Singapore and Canada. She has been involved in many surgical missions as a volunteer and Anaesthesiology Team Leader.

Prof Ramkumar Venkateswaran

Member

Prof Ramkumar Venkateswaran is an Anaesthesiologist who completed medical schooling from JIPMER, Pondicherry in 1985 before joining Kasturba Medical College, Manipal University where he served as Chairman of Anaesthesiology. A passionate clinician and academician, his career spanned 35 years at two prestigious institutions. A popular invited speaker at international conferences, his interests include intensive care, resuscitation science and medical simulation.

Dr Denise Chan

Member

Denise Chan serves as the Chief Anesthesia Advisor for Bright Faces. She completed her residency in anesthesiology and fellowships in pediatric anesthesiology and global pediatric anesthesiology at Harvard Medical School.  She served as the co-chair and co-fellowship director of the global anesthesia division at Stanford University. She was a faculty member of the Rwanda Human Resources for Health Program, part of the Clinton Global Initiative. Denise currently works as a pediatric anesthesiologist in Chicago, where she lives with her husband and two sons.

Dr Chng Chai Kiat

Member

Dr Chng Chai Kiat is Head and Senior Consultant, Dental Service, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital. He lectures at the Orthodontic and Pediatric Dentistry post-graduate programs. He holds the current appointment of Chief Dental Officer of Singapore. He is also a board member of the Dental Specialist Accreditation Board in Singapore. His areas of interest include biomaterials, cleft and its relation to airway space and sleep apnea; and on Surgery-First. He completed his Bachelor of Dental Surgery and Masters in Dental Surgery (Orthodontics) from the National University of Singapore. Subsequently, he completed a Fellowship Program in Cleft and Craniofacial Orthodontics from Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan.

Deborah Smith

Member

Deborah Smith is a Registered Nurse with advanced certification in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgical Nursing. She has been a nurse for over 40 years with experience in both surgical and paediatric nursing. She has helped to develop and managed ambulatory surgical facilities in the United States. She is the Clinical Nursing Advisor for Bright Faces, Inc.

Heather Harper

Member

Heather Harper is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse and received her Doctorate in Nursing Practice in 2018. She has over 20 years of experience in healthcare working as a Operating Room Nurse in several hospitals in United States, Laos and Rwanda. She has been volunteering in international medical missions since 2001.
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