Conference Presenters

Learning for Everyone

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The 2027 Empowering Lives Conference brings together a diverse lineup of speakers who are passionate about creating inclusive, supportive environments for individuals with special needs. Each presenter is thoughtfully selected based on five guiding principles—Relevance, Impact, Inclusivity, Feasibility, and Engagement—to ensure sessions are meaningful, practical, and inspiring.

Our speakers will cover a wide range of critical topics, including strategies for working confidently with persons with Mild Intellectual Disability (MID), early prevention and mental well-being support for adolescents with ID, and building strong caregiver-family relationships. You’ll also gain insights into teaching Workplace Literacy for future employment, managing caregiving stress, and understanding intellectual disability across the lifespan. Other sessions will explore therapeutic communication skills, sensory-based approaches for classroom engagement, suicide intervention training, crisis behavior management, and frameworks for person-centered care.

In addition, selected workshops have been specially curated to offer Continuing Education Points (CEP) for allied health professionals, making this conference not only an opportunity for learning and networking but also a valuable step toward professional development. Through these sessions, expect real-life experiences, actionable strategies, and evidence-based practices that empower educators, caregivers, allied professionals, and employers to make a lasting impact.

Track: Mental Health & Emotional Well-being

Dr. Wei Ker-Chiah

• The Powerhouse Profile: A recipient of the Public Administration Medal (Bronze) and the Region Chief (East and West) at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), Dr. Wei is a titan in the field of developmental disability psychiatry. As the Vice-Chairman of APSN Ltd and Programme Director for the MOH-IMH Assertive Interventions in Developmental Disability (AIDD), he is at the forefront of national policy and clinical care.

• Why You Must Attend: Social service professionals and mental health practitioners will gain exclusive insights into “bridging the health/social care divide”. Dr. Wei will reveal how his Assertive Intervention Model creates a holistic community ecosystem that prevents institutionalisation and empowers adults with complex dual disabilities to live with dignity.

Track: Inclusive Employment

A/Prof Kenneth Poon

• The Powerhouse Profile: As an Associate Professor at NIE and a primary consultant for the NCSS Quality of Life (QoL) Study on Persons with Disabilities, A/Prof Poon is the architect of the benchmarks used to measure empowerment in Singapore. His work provides the quantitative backbone for the Enabling Masterplan 2030 (EMP2030), ensuring that progress is not just a goal, but a measurable reality.
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• Why You Must Attend: For social service leaders and employment specialists, this session offers a data-driven roadmap to vocational success. A/Prof Poon will demonstrate how meaningful daily activity directly correlates to personal dignity, providing the statistical evidence needed to drive inclusive hiring practices across Singapore’s private and public sectors.

Track: Innovative Teaching & Learning Strategies

Mr. Simon Reynolds

• The Powerhouse Profile: With an illustrious 33-year career at the Ministry of Education (MOE), including a transformative 14-year tenure as Deputy Director of Curriculum Planning and Development, Mr. Reynolds is the ultimate authority on Singapore’s educational landscape. He currently serves as a Senior Consultant at Principals Academy and a lecturer at the National Institute of Education (NIE), where he shapes the next generation of educators.

• Why You Must Attend: Mainstream and SPED educators alike will gain an “immediate, massive advantage” by learning from a leader who intimately understands local classroom constraints and syllabus design. His session on process-oriented drama therapy offers a revolutionary, hands-on toolkit to build social-emotional resilience and manage neurodiverse classrooms with confidence.

Track: Caregiving & Family Support

Dr. Sarah Hurwitz

• The Powerhouse Profile: An Associate Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, Dr. Hurwitz is the Director of the Action for Access Global Special Education Lab, an initiative dedicated to expanding inclusive educational access worldwide. Her research is highly cited for evaluating how evidence-based practices and international laws shape the destinies of students with severe developmental disabilities
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• Why You Must Attend: Educators and policy advocates will explore cutting-edge international partnerships and learn to implement parent-mediated intervention models that are proven to reduce caregiver stress. Her session is vital for anyone looking to align local practices with the highest global standards of inclusive policy and family-centred care.

Track: Enabling Technology (with cross-alignment to Mental Health & Emotions)

Dr. Matthew S. Goodwin

• The Powerhouse Profile: Holding prestigious joint appointments at Northeastern University’s Khoury College of Computer Sciences and Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Dr. Goodwin is a world-renowned pioneer in computational behavioral assessment. He is currently ranked #1 for long-term potential and technical innovation in the field of AI for special education. Dr. Goodwin is a leader at the Institute for Experiential AI, where he bridges the gap between hard data science, machine learning engineering, and clinical caregiving to create the future of autism intervention.

• Why You Must Attend: SPED trainers, mainstream educators, and allied health professionals will discover a “game-changing” approach to classroom management. Dr. Goodwin’s work uses assistive wearables and AI-driven analytics to predict behavioral distress and meltdowns before they visually manifest. In a tech-forward hub like Singapore, his session provides a concrete blueprint for using technology as a “co-pilot” for safety, enabling professionals to move from reactive crisis management to proactive, data-driven de-escalation.

Call for Papers & Presenters

We invite researchers, educators, allied health professionals, and practitioners—both local and overseas—to share your expertise at the 2027 Empowering Lives Conference.

This is your opportunity to present applied research that is practical, innovative, and transformative, aimed at improving the lives and learning experiences of individuals with special needs. We are looking for papers and presentations that offer real-world solutions, evidence-based strategies, and fresh perspectives across education, employment, mental health, caregiving, and technology.

Join us in shaping meaningful conversations and driving progress in the special needs community. Your insights can inspire change and empower stakeholders to create inclusive environments where everyone thrives.