LUCA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
ADVISORY BOARD - Our Advisors
Dr. David Sheddan is a Team Leader for Global Hope Services International. He has served in Asia for twenty-six years as he strives to find ways to help people improve their lives. He has taught English, and has led or arranged seminars for improved methods of self-sustaining agriculture. During the past seven years, he had also worked with impoverished families who lost their homes to natural disasters and had helped approximately 371 families to rebuild their destroyed homes. He graduated from Carson-Newman University with a Bachelor of Arts degree, and earned his doctorate in 1999.
Ms. Mary Sheddan has a Bachelor of Science in Education, and a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction. She has taught elementary through high school classes, and is certified in several disciplines. For over thirty-five years, she has taught in both the United States’ public schools and international schools in Asia. Recently, she has served as a teacher at Dalat International School in Penang, Malaysia. During the twenty-six years that Mary has been in Asia, she has enjoyed working cross-culturally with people of different nationalities.
Dr. Fong Choon Sam is Dean of Academic Studies at Baptist Theological Seminary Singapore. A graduate of National University of Singapore (BA Hons, English), he began his career as a pre-university teacher. When he joined Christian ministry, he pastored Hosanna Baptist Church for 12 years until he joined the faculty of his alma mater, Baptist Theological Seminary (BTS) in 2005. He has been a full-time lecturer at BTS for 12 years and he teaches missions, research, religions, and church history. He is a member of the Foreign Mission Department of the Singapore Baptist Convention.
Dr. James B. Law and his wife Gwynne have home educated their six children over the last twenty years. Through their journey they have experienced many aspects of public, private, and home education. Dr. Law earned his B.A. from the University of Kentucky in Business Administration, and both M.Div and Ph.D. from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Gwynne earned her B.A. from the University of Alabama. Prior to the birth of their children, Gwynne served for six years as a teacher in high school and elementary schools. Dr. Law has served as senior pastor of First Baptist Church Gonzales, Louisiana, U.S. since 1993. In addition to his pastoral responsibilities, he oversees a theological initiative with Advance International that brings accredited theological education to pastors and church workers throughout the world who have little to no access to such training. Dr. and Mrs. Law are glad to support the work of Principal Joshua Tham and the Light Unity Christian Academy in an advisory role.
Dr. Grace Yap is a counsellor cum psychologist by training. She began her work-life in Malaysia in the late 1990’s as a professional counsellor upon completion of her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from the United States of America. With the conviction of “education is the best approach to develop healthy minds and to reduce psychological issues”, she set foot in tertiary institutions to work directly with emerging adults. In between, she took a four-year break to embark on her PhD journey to strengthen her proficiency in working with young adults. After obtaining her PhD from Monash University, she re-embarked on her career with Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychology and Counselling under the Faculty of Arts and Social Science.
Ms. Melissa Tham is currently the Internal Audit Project Manager at one of the Class I freight railroads in North America and has vast experience in the Audit and Assurance Services, having served as Audit Manager of a global public accounting firm in the United States. She is a Certified Public Accountant. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the Acadia University and her MBA with honours from the University of Central Oklahoma. She also sits on the co-workers board of a church, involved in financial planning and reporting and served in the music, children and youth ministries.
