16th ISB BGIC Keynote Speakers - Darren Tan & Chloe King

Darren Tan

Darren Tan heads the Education and Community Outreach efforts at ComCrop, which is Singapore's first and only AVA-licensed rooftop greenhouse farm. In his role, he ensures the continuity of knowledge to the next generation of farmers, as well as help the farm stay relevant and supportive of the community they are in.

ComCrop is Singapore’s urban farming pioneer. The company reinvigorates marginalized spaces such as rooftops of buildings in Singapore and bring communities together to harvest the highest quality pesticide-free produce. Where possible, ComCrop employes senior citizens and marginalized communities for harvesting, packaging fresh produce and other farm activities. ComCrop uses advanced hydroponic technology to grow produces in space constraint environment while allowing for greater yield, thus improving food security.

Having experienced different perspectives in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in various roles as an educator in a local Secondary School prior to joining ComCrop, he is able to provide balanced perspectives on Singapore’s unique context.

In 2017, he was awarded the YSEALI (Young South-East Asian Leaders Initiative) Professional Fellowship by the U.S. Department of State, representing Singapore as part of a contingent from South-East Asia that spent 6 weeks in the U.S. on an exchange focusing on environmental sustainability.

He was nominated to be part of the Our Singapore Leaders Programme (OSLP) in 2018, an apex leadership programme for young adult leaders across the 3P Sector to develop a network of high potential young Singaporeans who understand what makes Singapore tick and are willing to step forward for Singapore.

Passionate about sustainability and food systems, he is part of the MEWR-NYC Youth Circles, a group of young leaders who work closely with the two agencies in matters ranging from ground-up initiatives to co-deliberation of upcoming policies, in addition to sharing youth perspectives for informed decision making. Separately, he also mentors through the US Embassy Alumni Mentoring Programme, and the 2019 Youth Action Challenge (a programme designed to support youths to influence policy change and start their ground up initiatives as part of the Singapore Youth Action Plan.

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Chloe King

Chloe King is a 2019 Fulbright U.S. Research Scholar currently conducting research in sustainable tourism in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. The Fulbright U.S. Scholarship Programme is the largest U.S. exchange programme offering opportunities for students and young professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university and school teaching worldwide.

Chloe is also the winner of the prestigious British 2020 Marshall Scholarship scheme, a highly competitive scholarship programme funded by the British government, where she will pursue master’s degrees at the University of Cambridge and the University of Edinburgh, U.K.

She created and co-founded a company to decrease food wastage and food insecurity in the Washington D.C area, particularly around college campuses. Chloe also developed the Food Waste Warrior Project to recruit schools to reduce food waste, and it has expanded to 9 U.S. cities and has received $500,000 in funding from the Kroger Foundation. While her research in Indonesia is focused on the social, economic, and environmental impacts of tourism in various locations (she has researched in Raja Ampat, Bali, East Flores, and currently in Wakatobi National Park), Chloe has also engaged youth leaders to understand how the next generation envisions ecotourism initiatives to contribute to a sustainable future.

Having studied International Environment at the Elliott School, Chloe intends to dedicate her career to conservation work and hopes to work at the United Nations to help achieve its mission of protecting the world’s oceans. Chloe has also developed projects which have resulted in increased environmental awareness and greater economic opportunities for local communities.