Zuraidah Atan

Founder and Chairperson of Yayasan Sukarelawan Siswa Student Volunteer Foundation (YSS), a disaster relief organization

“Inculcating the spirit of volunteerism is one thing, but at the end of the day we want the students to have organizational skills and leadership skills, so that when we mobilize them, they know what to do.”

Zuraidah believes that by empowering low-income youth to do community development in disaster-prone areas in Malaysia and elsewhere Southeast Asia, she can equip them with leadership skills they will not otherwise develop in the education system. Through her volunteer organization YSS, which operates in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, she provides opportunities for young people to gain confidence and internalize the organizational and professional standards required to assist disadvantaged communities. Prior to her work with the Ministry of Education, Zuraidah spent twenty-five years in the banking industry. She also ran her own decade-long legal practice. Her varied professional capabilities equips her to serve in voluntary roles such as advisor to the National Cancer Society of Malaysia.