Meet our Lead Thrive-Synergist & Founder

Meet our Lead Thrive-Synergist – James Lim

A social worker by profession, James has a passion for helping people and organizations grow and thrive for good. As such, you will find him meaningfully engaged in various training, consulting, coaching and mentoring with individuals, social purpose entities and governmental institutions.

Having experienced burnout and depression, and witnessing how they affects one’s work, health and family life, he now dedicates his time to helping people and organizations understand burnout and begin to prevent and overcome it. His story and work in Emmaus have also been featured in publications (e.g. Thomson Reuters, Salt & Light, thir.st), panel discussions (e.g. with psychologist, counsellor and social worker, Peatix and Dads for Life) , podcasts, and digital magazines (e.g. Asian Entrepreneur).

With close to 20 years of working experience in the social services, social entrepreneurship as well as people management and development, James worked with charities such as The Salvation Army, Care Corner Singapore and SHINE Children and Youth Services. He led efforts to enhance non-profits capability and grow impact through strategic volunteer partnerships. Through the years, he was involved in various organizational development projects and worked closely with members of the management and operations team, to ensure the effective recruitment, selection, deployment, equipping, engagement, retention and partnerships with the unsalaried workforce of these non-profits.

He is a Certified Volunteer Administration, conferred by the Council for Certification of Volunteer Administration.

He continues to speak extensively on these topics of mental resilience and of strategic volunteer management at conferences, talks and has also been featured in media and publications.

In collaboration with the National Council of Social Service, he trained over 70 Volunteer Management practitioners on strategic volunteer partnerships through the Volunteer Management Circuit programme. Today, he is also an Associate trainer with the Civil Service College and trains public officers on strategic volunteer partnerships.

In combining his passions in mental resilience and of strategic volunteer management, he also founded Emmaus Strategies, an award-winning Social Enterprise, in 2017 and today, he continues to “fuel good” in what he does.

Connect with James