Dr Jason Ong

Co-founder and Director
Ed.D, University of Leicester

Jason is a serial entrepreneur and lifelong learner. He embodies the spirit of enterprise and has a wealth of experience across different industries. He has been in the education sector for more than 20 years and continues to look for the most innovative and exciting ideas and people to make learning come alive for learners.

Matthew Ong

Co-founder and Lead Coach
Ed.M, Harvard University

Matthew is an international award-winning educator with more than 20 years of experience in teaching and learning. For his passion and innovative methods, he received the President's Award for Teachers, the top honour for educators in Singapore. He graduated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and continues to serve as an Alumni Admissions Ambassador for the school.

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Mark Ooi

Writing Coach
M.A. (Applied Linguistics), SUSS

As a keen writer and learner, Mark is passionate about creative writing and poetry.

He holds a Masters in Applied Linguistics from SUSS. On top of being one of the top MATSL graduates of 2022, Mark is the recipient of The Lee Foundation Achievement Award. He finds joy in working with students to help them understand and apply writing strategies well. When he is not at the Playground, Mark enjoys learning French and serves at a local university.

Tan Ban Huat

Writing Coach
M.A., NUS

Certificate of Gifted Education (High Distinction), UNSW

Ban Huat has extensive experience in gifted education, having served as a teacher in an independent school, Head of Department in an autonomous school, and Lead Specialist at MOE HQ. He is able to bring out the best in his students, many of whom have won prestigious scholarships to top universities, including Oxbridge and Ivy League colleges. Ban Huat has contributed to online and other publications, with travel and heritage being his favourite topics.

Gabriel Emille González

Lead Outdoor Education Coach and Head Spanish Instructor
BA, University of Arizona

Gabriel grew up with a special affinity with nature and has a deep understanding of the importance of being connected with our natural environment. He designs programmes that help us learn to move and move to learn.

Jean Esther

Lead Wellness Coach
MSc (Education), University of Sydney

As a former medical professional, Jean deeply understands the importance of mental, emotional and physical well-being. She has travelled around the world in search of various groundbreaking methods to develop a sense of inner balance and compassion. She brings these experiences to Learning Playground to help learners discover the inner strength within themselves to learn and live better.