Our People
I dedicate my time to the Advocates Leadership Team because I think it’s empowering for us as students to get involved in both volunteering and the behind-the-scenes organisational process!
Sonja Chen, Vice-President 2019-20, Kids4Kids Advocates Leadership Team
Michele Lai - Founder
Michele Lai is the Founder of Kids4Kids. She has over 10 years of experience in Hong Kong and Australia with multinationals including Toyota, Inchcape and Cable & Wireless HKT in strategic marketing and planning. Michele holds a Bachelor of Business degree from Curtin University, Western Australia. Based on the belief that our children are our future and we need to invest in all of them, Michele feels very fortunate to be able to give back to the community through her work with Kids4Kids and hopes to continue this volunteering career together with her children. She has been awarded as Ashoka Fellow since 2019. Read more: https://www.ashoka.org/en/fellow/michele-lai
Shirley Kuan - Board Co-Chair
Shirley Kuan was previously an Investment Director of HSBC Private Equity with more than seven years of experience in investment and restructuring activities in Asia. Prior to this, she was a senior consultant with Ernst and Young. Shirley is a qualified Chartered Accountant in England and Wales and holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. As a mother of two, Shirley believes that children should understand that there are many less fortunate children in this world and they can help to create a better life for them.
Kyran Sze - Board Co-Chair
Kyran Sze is the Chairman of KYSS Properties. Prior to setting up his own company, Kyran was one of the founders of Aedas, one of the world’s largest architectural groups, with 40 offices and over 2,500 employees worldwide. He was the Managing Director, Executive Director and Senior Director of Aedas Limited, and was the Project Director and Authorized Person responsible for numerous projects. During his tenure, the firm won numerous international and local awards in architectural design, interior design, quality project and building. Kyran contributes to over 80 voluntary, institutional and charity organisations in Hong Kong.
Jack Lee
Jack Lee was born in Hong Kong and moved to Montreal, Canada when he was six. In high school, Jack was involved in a variety of community service events and initiated several fundraising campaigns to benefit those affected by natural disasters. Upon his return to Hong Kong, whilst working in banking, he continues to be actively involved with various small-to-medium-sized charities, such as the Sakka Foundation, which he founded. Jack strongly believes that, given the right tools and guidance, youths have infinite capacity and creativity and can work together to create a positive impact throughout their lifetime.
Libby Vaughan
Libby Vaughan is an Australian citizen who has been living in Asia for sixteen years, originally based in Singapore and now Hong Kong. Libby’s business background is in Sales Management and Marketing. Libby has over sixteen years experience in the IT resourcing and workforce management industry, spanning both the private and public sector. During this period she was Business Development Director of Manpower IT in the UK and Managing Director of CTG, one of the UK’s largest IT resourcing and managed solutions companies. Libby is a Board Director and established the Cambodian Children’s Fund Hong Kong chapter in 2011, she is also a Board Director of the Song Saa Foundation and Kids4Kids HK. In 2017 Libby joined Social Career as Development Director, to manage corporate relationships and to develop Social Career’s strategy beyond Hong Kong.
Anita Leung
Anita has been a legal practitioner for more than 25 years. She handles the full spectrum of both contentious and non-contentious intellectual property and information technology work. Prior to joining David Lo and Partners as a consultant, Anita was a partner with two top international law firms in Hong Kong, Jones Day and Baker & McKenzie. Apart from her legal practice, Anita spends a lot of time on pro bono work and public service, helping SMEs, start-ups, charities and social enterprises to meet their legal needs. As a mother of 3, Anita is also passionate about raising the social awareness in children and encouraging them to give back to the society.
Ariel Shtarkman
Ariel is the Founder of Orca Capital, a boutique investment practice focused on real estate and PropTech. She is also the co-Founder and Managing Director of Atom Assets, a real estate investment platform for family offices. Previously, Ariel was with Citibank Real Estate Structured Finance in Hong Kong, where she structured debt instruments for real estate developers, REITs and private equity funds. Before joining Citibank, she worked in real estate private equity funds sponsored by ING Clarion in New York (covering US) and ING Real Estate Investment Management in Hong Kong (covering Asia).
Ariel holds an MBA from Columbia Business School with concentration in Real Estate, and BSc from Tel Aviv University with double major in Computer Science and Business Administration. She serves as Senior Content Advisor for ULI Asia Pacific, is a member of the ULI North Asia Executive Committee, and a founding member of Columbia Business School Alumni Network of Hong Kong. Ariel is fluent in English, Hebrew and Russian, and conversant in Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. Her other interests include martial arts, travel, integration of technology and real estate and the future of education.
Crystal Lam - Executive Director
Crystal comes to Kids4Kids with over 15 years of listed company board advisory and consulting experience from London, Eastern Europe, Beijing, Singapore and Hong Kong. She has held leadership and consulting roles at global headquarters of key industries such as tech, clean energy, education, biotech, luxury, and banking, and with prestigious organisations such as HSBC, China Aerospace Science & Technology Group, Integrated Management Systems, CUHK, PwC Singapore, and EY U.K.
Crystal has devoted her career to building transparent and accountable governance teams in global listed companies, advocating for a safe, inclusive and sustainable workforce around the world, and has dedicated herself to bringing this excellence and innovation to the charity and NGO world.
A lifelong learner, Crystal first gained her legal education at King’s College London, an English degree at the University of Exeter, and her Juris Doctorate degree at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She has since pursued postgraduate education at esteemed universities such as the MIT Sloan Executive Program and Harvard Business School.
Crystal represented Hong Kong at the University Scholar Leadership Summit at the United Nations Asian headquarters in Bangkok in 2017, gaining significant in-person education on UN SDGs from leaders in the field. She has since developed her own SDG ideas into assisting low resourced mothers and young families, helping the local community in need.
Crystal is native to Hong Kong and was one of the first generation of gifted and talented children tested and certified by the Hong Kong government, and has pursued her own journey of learning and a global career with the goal of improving the governance of organisations and promoting the overall wellbeing and development of youth and future workforce around the world. She is dedicated to the Kids4Kids mission and brings to the Kids4Kids team a wealth of experience in strategic planning, marketing, program and people management.
An avid dancer, Shakespeare scholar, and experienced yoga teacher, Crystal has represented Hong Kong at various international competitions around the world and won awards and recognition for her art. She is dedicated to celebrating a multiplicity of success within the community and diverse voices of all youths.
Emily Lai - Assistant Manager
Emily has been interested in sustainability, social innovation, and cultural education since her studies in England. She is a growth-oriented person who enjoys working with young people and being passionate about exploring new ideas with different parties. Working in the non-profit sector for the past 4 years, she believes that everyone is their own leader and a positive impactor in building a sustainable community together. Emily is responsible for the Youth Impact Journey programs, organizing impact events, and engaging with stakeholders. She works closely with the team to connect, communicate, and collaborate with our future leaders and the community.
Selina So, Assistant Manager – Engagement
Selina is a nature lover. She enjoys sharing and discovering the world with young people. Selina is responsible for the Young Entrepreneurs program, managing the training for storytellers and organizing impact events. By enjoying every precious moment with the kids, she hopes that the kids can discover their own world and make changes to the others.
Carly Lau - Senior Program Officer
Carly is responsible for My Story Creation, and manages interns and office ambassadors. She enjoys developing and implementing new ideas and solving problems with creativity and believes that it is important to encourage young people to step out of their comfort zones, as this helps them be more flexible and adaptable in this fast-changing world.
Jennifer Lee - Administrator and Program Supervisor
Jennifer started at Kids4Kids as a dedicated volunteer with our various programs. She later joined the HQ office in 2021 as Administrator. Jennifer is dedicated to supporting the Kids4Kids' vision to empower our next generations to create positive impact in the community, and believes that we are all never too young to change the world.
Bringing in relevant skillsets and NGO work experience, Jennifer administers the office operation and program activities to facilitate the growth and wellbeing of the team.
Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Boston University, and is a devoted parent of a teenage son.
Ysabel Chan - Junior Program Officer
Ysabel was introduced to Kids4Kids during her secondary school years, where she became involved with our Youth Impact Journey programs, and was selected to work with the HQ team to learn more about NGO operations.
Ysabel has a creative and driven mind, and is a beloved member of the team. She has contributed ideas and plans for our programs, and particularly enjoys connecting with beneficiaries. She creates a friendly and happy atmosphere.
Monica Lee - Education Specialist
The Advocates Leadership Team (ALT) is a group of passionate and dedicated Kids4kids volunteers chosen each year from local and international secondary schools to work together on community projects. The team provides students with the opportunity to develop their organizational, planning and leadership skills, while learning to manage projects from their conception and execution to impact measurement and reflection. The team is responsible for organizing Kids4Kids events including the annual ‘Sharing for a Cause’ collection drive each May, the ‘Powered by Youth’ leadership forum and other events throughout the year. Since 2010, there have been over 100 advocates.
To learn more about our Youth Development programs, visit Kids4Kids Youth Website.
Aims
Requirements
Eligible candidates MUST fulfill the following criteria:
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Be a full-time student at a Hong Kong secondary school
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Have a commitment to serving the community
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Demonstrate good conduct and outstanding academic / extra-curricular performanceand / or be award recipients
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Have experience in volunteer work or service to the community
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Be proficient in English, Cantonese and/or Putonghua
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Sign a written commitment to put all possible effort into participating in ALT and be dedicated to serving the community
