The Tina Sergeant Professional Development Initiative supports freelance practitioners and educators to make professional development a viable part of their career.

SDEA awards selected applicants $500 to attend SDEA training programmes so that they can grow and give back to the community. This allows them to continue investing in their development, even more so now, due to the loss of income during the pandemic.

"Freelancers who are often paid on an hourly basis, think twice or thrice before they commit to any form of professional development as they not only fork out their own money, but forgo income to attend classes," said Harris Jahim, ex-SDEA Committee member who spearheaded the project.

The initiative is named after SDEA founding member Christina (Tina) Sergeant who volunteered much time as a committee member from 2002, until she passed away in 2013. She was a strong advocate for SDEA's mission to use drama in various sectors of the community and to promote professional development. Tina regularly attended talks, workshops, and masterclasses to enhance her own knowledge despite her experience.

"We named the initiative after her because we wanted to remember a dear friend and colleague, and her practice of constantly learning and giving back to the community she belonged to." Peggy Ferroa, SDEA President 2011-2015

Support professional development and help drama educators level up by donating! Visit https://sdea.org.sg/practice/tina-sergeant-initiative/