𝗗𝗿. 𝗢𝘄 began her academic journey in 1977 at the Department of Social Work, National University of Singapore (NUS), where she earned the NUS Teaching Award in 1994. She was tenured and later served as Head of Department (2008–2015), a period marked by transformative initiatives that strengthened faculty development and forged impactful partnerships within the social service ecosystem.

Under her leadership, the 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 (𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸) 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲 was launched to meet the needs of practitioners seeking specialization in direct practice and management. She also spearheaded the establishment of the 𝗦 𝗥 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 (𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟮) and the 𝗔𝗻𝗻 𝗪𝗲𝗲 𝗡𝗨𝗦 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗔𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗻𝗶 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 (𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟱), both of which continue to advance social work education and honour alumni contributions.

Her commitment to research excellence led to the creation of the 𝗠𝗿𝘀 𝗟𝗲𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗚𝘂𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱 (𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟳), supporting translational research to improve social work practice. From 2019–2025, Dr. Ow served as its Grant Manager, while mentoring countless students across Honours, Master, and PhD programs.

Beyond academia, Dr. Ow has been a tireless advocate for the community, serving on advisory boards for 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 and 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯 𝗥𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗯𝗼𝘄 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗲 and many others for decades. She has also contributed extensively to scholarly publications and edited seminal works in social work, shaping discourse across Asia.

Her outstanding service has been recognized with the 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 (𝟮𝟬𝟬𝟴) and the 𝗣𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 (𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟲).