In September 2022, Mary Ann was named by the United Nations as one of ‘The Healthy Ageing 50’ – the 50 pioneering global leaders working to make the world a better place for older people.

The Tsao Foundation was set up by Mary Ann’s paternal grandmother, Tsao Ng Yu Shun, to improve the quality of life of older persons. Its innovative community-based programmes and services give older people access to integrated medical and psycho-social care in their homes and communities. The ComSA (Community for Successful Ageing) project in Whampoa, launched in 2013, takes a population heath and whole community approach to healthy longevity. The foundation also conducts research into population ageing issues and runs training and education programmes for the public and for professionals.

In 1992 Mary Ann was a paediatrician in the United States with a busy private practice. She enjoyed her work, but when her grandmother asked her to help set up the foundation, she readily agreed because she felt her heart was in public service.

In her private practice, she cared for a handful of people. But as a public health physician, she would be in a position to impact systems change to provide better and more accessible care for all.

Mary Ann was also keen to return to Asia. She was born in 1955 to a business family that had fled from Shanghai to Hong Kong in 1949 ahead of the communist revolution. Her father, Frank Tsao, had to rebuild the business almost from scratch, and over the years grew it into a shipping and logistics conglomerate in Asia.

When she was 12, Mary Ann was sent to the United States to live with her aunt, Linda Tsao Yang, because of the political instability in Hong Kong. Linda was an economist who, after years as a homemaker, became the first Asian woman to represent the US in a development bank. As the American executive director at the Asian Development Bank, she fought for the rights and well-being of women.

“She taught me to be fiercely independent and to believe that women can do anything and be anything we want to be. And when we persevere and succeed in a men’s world, the success is not just ours, but also for other women,” said Mary Ann.

When Mary Ann came to Singapore to set up the Tsao Foundation, there was very little information about the situation of older people. The demographic data showed that Singapore’s population was ageing rapidly, but there were few academics looking at ageing-related issues.

So Mary Ann did her own field research, spending time at void decks of HDB blocks in the Chinatown, Redhill, Tiong Bahru, and Bukit Merah areas to talk to the older people and assess their needs. In those days, many HDB blocks did not have lifts serving every floor, so older people with even mild disabilities tended to become home bound.

One of the earliest programmes Mary Ann started was the Hua Mei Mobile Clinic. Launched in 1993, it was the first service in Singapore dedicated to delivering medical and socio-emotional care to homebound frail elders in the community.

In 1996, she launched the Hua Mei Seniors Clinic, Singapore’s first outpatient clinic providing primary health care to adults above 40 years old. The Hua Mei Seniors Clinic was later the only test site chosen in Singapore for piloting, using World Health Organisation standards, an age-friendly primary healthcare clinic for elders.

The Tsao Foundation today has four main initiatives – the Hua Mei Centre for Successful Ageing, Hua Mei Training Academy, International Longevity Centre Singapore, and Community for Successful Ageing (ComSA). Its aim is to develop innovative and replicable service models to enable healthy ageing and ageing in place. Its work has inspired and helped inform the programme development of other civil society and public organisations, both in Singapore and Southeast Asia.

Mary Ann’s contributions in the ageing or longevity sector have been recognised by Singapore with the Public Service Medal, the Public Service Star, and the Public Service Star (Bar). She has served as the technical advisor and resource person for various multilateral agencies, including WHO Geneva, UN Economic and Social Commission for the Asia Pacific, as well as on the boards of international NGOs on ageing such as HelpAge.

Since 2009, Mary Ann also served on the board of FBNA (Family Business Network Asia) and is the Chair for her family office, where she actively promotes investing for impact and businesses as a force for good.

In September 2022, Mary Ann was named by the United Nations as one of ‘The Healthy Ageing 50’ – the 50 pioneering global leaders working to make the world a better place for older people.

The Tsao Foundation was set up by Mary Ann’s paternal grandmother, Tsao Ng Yu Shun, to improve the quality of life of older persons. Its innovative community-based programmes and services give older people access to integrated medical and psycho-social care in their homes and communities. The ComSA (Community for Successful Ageing) project in Whampoa, launched in 2013, takes a population heath and whole community approach to healthy longevity. The foundation also conducts research into population ageing issues and runs training and education programmes for the public and for professionals.

In 1992 Mary Ann was a paediatrician in the United States with a busy private practice. She enjoyed her work, but when her grandmother asked her to help set up the foundation, she readily agreed because she felt her heart was in public service.

In her private practice, she cared for a handful of people. But as a public health physician, she would be in a position to impact systems change to provide better and more accessible care for all.

Mary Ann was also keen to return to Asia. She was born in 1955 to a business family that had fled from Shanghai to Hong Kong in 1949 ahead of the communist revolution. Her father, Frank Tsao, had to rebuild the business almost from scratch, and over the years grew it into a shipping and logistics conglomerate in Asia.

When she was 12, Mary Ann was sent to the United States to live with her aunt, Linda Tsao Yang, because of the political instability in Hong Kong. Linda was an economist who, after years as a homemaker, became the first Asian woman to represent the US in a development bank. As the American executive director at the Asian Development Bank, she fought for the rights and well-being of women.

“She taught me to be fiercely independent and to believe that women can do anything and be anything we want to be. And when we persevere and succeed in a men’s world, the success is not just ours, but also for other women,” said Mary Ann.

When Mary Ann came to Singapore to set up the Tsao Foundation, there was very little information about the situation of older people. The demographic data showed that Singapore’s population was ageing rapidly, but there were few academics looking at ageing-related issues.

So Mary Ann did her own field research, spending time at void decks of HDB blocks in the Chinatown, Redhill, Tiong Bahru, and Bukit Merah areas to talk to the older people and assess their needs. In those days, many HDB blocks did not have lifts serving every floor, so older people with even mild disabilities tended to become home bound.

One of the earliest programmes Mary Ann started was the Hua Mei Mobile Clinic. Launched in 1993, it was the first service in Singapore dedicated to delivering medical and socio-emotional care to homebound frail elders in the community.

In 1996, she launched the Hua Mei Seniors Clinic, Singapore’s first outpatient clinic providing primary health care to adults above 40 years old. The Hua Mei Seniors Clinic was later the only test site chosen in Singapore for piloting, using World Health Organisation standards, an age-friendly primary healthcare clinic for elders.

The Tsao Foundation today has four main initiatives – the Hua Mei Centre for Successful Ageing, Hua Mei Training Academy, International Longevity Centre Singapore, and Community for Successful Ageing (ComSA). Its aim is to develop innovative and replicable service models to enable healthy ageing and ageing in place. Its work has inspired and helped inform the programme development of other civil society and public organisations, both in Singapore and Southeast Asia.

Mary Ann’s contributions in the ageing or longevity sector have been recognised by Singapore with the Public Service Medal, the Public Service Star, and the Public Service Star (Bar). She has served as the technical advisor and resource person for various multilateral agencies, including WHO Geneva, UN Economic and Social Commission for the Asia Pacific, as well as on the boards of international NGOs on ageing such as HelpAge.

Since 2009, Mary Ann also served on the board of FBNA (Family Business Network Asia) and is the Chair for her family office, where she actively promotes investing for impact and businesses as a force for good.