Our Founders
Emily
Emily is co-founder of Columbia Academy. She holds a Master’s degree in Early Childhood from the University of East London, UK, a degree in Psychology from Simon Fraser University, Canada, and a Specialist Diploma in Early Childhood Education. Emily has been in the Early Childhood industry since 1996. She is an expert in literacy-focused curriculum and developed the Cerebrum Enhancement Program (CEP) which has been implemented successfully in Columbia Academy’s program. Her passion, dedication and commitment to the development of curriculum relating to early childhood has led her to conduct field studies and research at the Arboretum Children’s Center in Stanford University (USA) as well as literacy development in young children in Singapore. Besides being a consultant at our preschool, she is currently lecturing at SUSS (Singapore University of Social Sciences).
James
James is the Founder of Columbia Learning Centre and Co-Founder and Director of Columbia Academy Pte Ltd and Columbia Junior Academy Pte Ltd. He holds a degree in Business Administration from Simon Fraser University, Canada, and a Specialist Diploma in Early Childhood Education. James has been in the Early Childhood industry since 1996. At that time, he discovered a need for quality pre-school programmes and started an enrichment school for pre-school children with his partner. He went on to become the first male in Singapore to be a certified pre-school teacher after completing a specialised diploma in Early Childhood Education. This led to the establishment of Columbia Early Learning Centre, which was a licensed child care centre with the then Ministry of Community Development. He went on to establish a total of four education centres, specialising in the education and care of students from birth to twelve years of age.
