Karen THAM:

Karen Tham is an Adjunct Professor with 30 years of international experience in architecture, urban planning, and landscape architecture. She has practiced in Boston, San Francisco, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Karen is a licensed architect in the USA, a certified city planner in both the USA (AICP) and Singapore (SICP), and an accredited landscape architect in Singapore (SILA).

She holds a Master’s degree in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the University of Oregon. Previously, she served as the Executive Director of Urbanism + Planning at AECOM and as Managing Director and Global Lead at Surbana Jurong, where she led the design, delivery, and implementation of a wide range of diverse projects.

A passionate advocate for sustainability and resilience in design, Karen has earned the Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR) certification from the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP), and the ABC Waters Professional certification (ABCWP/SILA). Her commitment to sustainable practices, combined with her expertise reflects her dedication to creating innovative, resilient and future-ready environments.