Meet our team
Board of Directors
Professor Kar Him MO
Co-founder, Chairperson
Assistant Professor, School of Architecture and Urban Studies Programme, CUHK
Professor Izzy Yi JIAN
Vice Chairperson
Assistant Professor, Department of Social Science and Policy Studies, EdUHK
Mr. William SIN
Co-Founder and Director
Chief of Innovation Strategy, Good Lab
Dr. FAN Ning
Director
Founder & Chairman, Health in Action & Forget Thee Not
Ms. Sarah MUI
Director
Co-founder & Design Director, OneBite Design Studio
Ms. Queenie Man
Director
Founder & CEO, Project Futurus & Elderly Commission member
Advisory Board
Prof. Jean WOO (Geriatrics)
Emeritus Professor of Medicine and Director of CUHK JC Institute of Ageing
Mr. Timothy MA (Social Work)
Founding Executive Director, Senior Citizen Home Safety Association (SCHSA)
Ms. Cindy WONG (Social Work)
COO, Golden Age Foundation
Ms. Iris TAM (Urban Planning)
Former Managing Director, Urban Renewal Authority (URA)
Ms. Kathy WONG (Social Work)
Former Vice President, International Play Association
Former Executive Director, Playright Children's Play Association
Prof. WONG Hung (Social Work)
Associate Professor, Department of Social Work, CUHK
Ms. Stella CHENG (Occupation Therapy)
Professor of Practice, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, PolyU
President, Asia Pacific Occupational Therapy Regional Group
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With a PhD in Built Environment from the University of Nottingham, Dr. Weixuan Chen’s (Victor) research keenly focuses on urban regeneration and governance within the Chinese context. His contributions to the academic community are highlighted by his work published in respected journals such as Political Geography and Habitat International.
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Esther is currently working on a study on a pilot implementation of intergenerational housing in Hong Kong. Her initial interest in housing stemmed from learning about spatial justice issues through interning and volunteering with housing advocacy organizations. Prior to joining Happy Ageing Lab, she was an Associate Project Manager at a real estate development consulting firm based in Philadelphia, PA, where she coordinated the planning, financing, and construction of affordable housing projects in the US. In her spare time, Esther can be found getting calligraphy ink all over her arms, attempting to find the pangram on NYT’s spelling bee, or at Broadway Cinematheque—somewhere in the last few rows, finishing off a box of Maltesers (pre-pandemic, of course).
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With the educational background in architectural conservation and communication & media, Happy has worked in the design and museum fields before joining HALF. From managing museum-grade exhibitions to engaging in community projects, she has been working on a diverse range of initiatives. Alongside this, she has an insatiable curiosity for exploring cities and unearthing their hidden gems. There's something truly magical about wandering through the streets and uncovering the stories that shape our urban landscapes.
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Kelvin is a Chartered Town Planner with a passion for creating positive societal change through spatial innovation. Before joining Happy Ageing Lab, he gained professional experience working as a planning consultant and developer. He is now seeking a purposeful, community-driven career, which has led him to the current role at Happy Ageing Lab, where he focuses on community planning, placemaking, and social innovation. He views his role as a "town planner in the community" to understand community needs through dialogue, drive idea creation and innovation, and foster multidisciplinary collaborations to achieve win-wins for society.
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With an academic background in Psychology and Urban Studies, Natalie is passionate about exploring how the built environment can serve as a large-scale intervention to improve physical health and psychological well-being within larger populations. Drawing from an interdisciplinary perspective, she seeks to understand how urban spaces can foster more sustainable, healthy, and ultimately happier cities. In her spare time, she loves being surrounded by nature, playing, collecting, and listening to music, as well as taking long walks through the city :)
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Danyang LEI(Dannie) holds a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Guangzhou and a Master of Urban Design at CUHK. Now she is pursuing her PhD in the School of Architecture at CUHK with the main field of interest in public space and healthy ageing, social inclusion, and intergenerational space. She believes there is causality between the built environment and human action and tries to demonstrate it scientifically. She hopes her research and practice could inform different sectors of society for a better future. Dannie has a wide range of hobbies yet is a master in none, including but not limited to drawing, dancing, music and cooking.
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With a background in urban studies and planning, David has always been fascinated by the organic interactions between urban environments and individuals. While recognising the reality of an urban environment is often limited by its framework, depending on multiple physical and socio-cultural constraints, he is keen on pushing boundaries. David started his planning career in a community based creative start-up where he was responsible for bringing communities together through innovative ways. He later joined the CUHK Jockey Club Institute of Ageing, focused on developing the understanding of older people's needs in the residential environment. With his experience working closely with the two ends – built professionals and individual users, he sees Happy Ageing Lab as a bridge that connects all parties, and he hopes it will empower individuals for a better, more people-oriented society.
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With a background in landscape architecture, Wanying LIANG (Wren) has developed a profound interest in exploring the dynamic relationship between humans and space. Her current research focuses on various areas, including geographical gerontology, human geography, phenomenology, and environmental justice.
After graduating from the DLA at HKU, Wren embarked on a career as a research assistant in the UEHH lab. She has been consistently involved in projects related to environmental psychology and the intersection of environmental and human health, passionately contributing her expertise for over a year.
By combining her academic background in landscape architecture, her research interests, and her practical experience, Wren aims to make significant contributions to the field of understanding the complex interactions between humans and their environments.
Alumni
Alison LI, Carina CHAN, Henry CHAN, Joyce YIU, Kani AU, Kelly LIN, Luye YANG, Owen TANG (in alphabetical order)
Board of Directors
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Prof. Kar Him, MO
Co-Founder and Chairperson
Prof. MO Kar Him, also known as Mo, is Assistant Professor at the School of Architecture. Before joining CUHK, Mo has led several consultancy projects on policy review advocating for sustainable development. His current research focuses on positive ageing in the built environment and intergenerational living, and advocates for community participation in the process of design and planning. He believes empathy is the foundation of moral design. The act of design starts with thorough understandings and good observation, not problem-solving.
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Prof. Izzy Yi JIAN
Vice Chairperson
Assistant Professor Department of Social Science and Policy Studies, EdUHK
Prof. JIAN came from Architecture background and earned her Ph.D. from the Department of Building and Real Estate, and Research Institute of Sustainable Urban Development(RISUD), the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Before joining EdUHK, she worked as PTVL in School of Design, HK PolyU, Postdoctoral Fellow and Project Manager at Happy Ageing Lab, School of Architecture, CUHK, Postdoctoral Fellow at Public Design Lab, School of Design, HKPolyU, and Ernst Mach Global Research Fellow at the Department of Geography and Regional Research, the University of Vienna. Her research and teaching interests include spatial justice, privatisation of public open space, inclusive/ age-friendly design, community engagement and geomedia. -
Mr. William SIN
Co-Founder and Director
Chief of Innovation Strategy, Good Lab
William is the Research Director of the Hong Kong Public Space Initiative and is involved in a number of community innovation projects on different capacity in recent years. He received his undergraduate training in the University of Oregon in History, Geography and Archaeology and later on obtained his Master of Science in Geoinformation Science in The Chinese University of Hong Kong. His interdisciplinary academic training allows him to be able to “read” a place from different perspective and to appreciate the importance of social interaction between people. He believes the relationship between urban space and people. The nurturing of social relations in a community is the key principle to create a good place.
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Dr. FAN Ning
Director
Founder & Chairman, Health in Action & Forget Thee Not
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Ms. Sarah MUI
Director
Co-founder & Design Director, OneBite Design Studio
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Ms. Queenie Man
Director
Founder & CEO, Project Futurus & Elderly Commission member
Queenie Man is the Founder & CEO of The Project Futurus, a social enterprise that is committed to promoting the future of aging. She is also the Managing Director at Forward Living Senior Community and Culture Homes responsible for elderly service development and customer experience design. Queenie had worked as a global brand strategist prior to joining the eldercare industry. Since joining Culture Homes, Queenie has rebranded the Company and transformed how human care is designed with new initiatives such as senior community “Forward Living” and “The Living Gallery”.