Biography

Ariel holds a Bachelor of Arts (Summa Cum Laude) in Sociology from University at Buffalo and a Master of Arts in Sociology from Nanyang Technological University. For her Master’s thesis, she explored how mutual aid functions as a relational infrastructure of care, solidarity, and political practice within Singapore’s tightly regulated civil society landscape. The study explored how collective practices of redistribution reorganise care and political responsibility under conditions of differential precarity.

Before embarking on her MA programme, Ariel spent three years as a Research Assistant in Nanyang Technological University, the National Institute of Education, and the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities.

Her research interests lie in state and societal relations, social inequality, social movements, and prefigurative politics.

She is supporting Samuel and team on the project “Impact of Co-Located Community Hubs on Social Capital and Community Capacities: Evaluation Framework and Development of Recommendations” and other projects under Urban Psychology Laboratory.

Education

• Master of Arts in Sociology, Nanyang Technological University (2026)
• Bachelor of Arts (Summa Cum Laude) in Sociology, University at Buffalo (2020)

Publications

• Chng, Samuel., Neo, Harvey., Tan, Ariel. & Li, Bayi. (2023). The Role of Labour Unions in a Just Transition: Insights from the Workers. Singapore Labour Journal, 2(1), 39-53.