AFHK - Home

AFHK Executive Committee

 Louise Garnaut
Chair & Events Committee

Louise has proudly called Hong Kong home 20+ years. She's been a members of AFHK since 2008 and immediately found the parenting support and network offered invaluable guidance for her family's adoption journey. She joined the steering committee in 2010 running events. In 2013 she over the role of Chair. Louise and her husband are the proud parents of 2 children; a daughter by birth and a son adopted as a toddler from Cambodia. Louise is passionate about supporting, connecting, informing and educating those who are touched by adoption. Her favourite AFHK events are the picnic on the Peak and the Holiday Party. In her business life Louise works as a real estate consultant. She is originally from Melbourne, Australia and holds a Bachelor of Science in Urban Planning from RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institue of Technology).

 Maria Wong
Treasurer


Maria was born in Hong Kong.  

She finished her undergraduate studies in Australia before pursuing her MBA degree at University of Wales, UK.  
She is currently the Asia Regional Financial Controller of a leading British law firm and a full member of Institute of Public Accountants and Institute of Financial Accountants in Australia.  She is married with one teenage daughter.  Maria joined AFHK as Treasurer in early 2015.


 Becky Holdaway

Adult Adopted Persons Support

Becky is a Hong Kong adult adoptee who at 18 months was adopted into a British family. Hong Kong  was home until she went to Secondary school and then college in the UK where she qualified and trained as a Nursery Nurse. Since 1997 she has worked in the child care field in HK and the UK. Recently she has branched out into other work interests and she has her own business in trading/shipping. After joining AFHK in 2008 Becky came onto the committee in 2010. She is interested in bringing together and connecting adoptees from all over the world and more importantly adoptees from HK. She can often be found helping at AFHK functions and is a central point for adult adoptees wanting to know more about adoption in Hong Kong. Becky is grateful for the support, friendship and community that AFHK offers to those touched by adoption.


 Dr. Erica Liu Wollin
Professional Adoption Resources Coordinator

Dr. Erica Liu Wollin is our Professional Adoption Resources Coordinator and co-leads our Monthly Discussions, Parent Support Meetings and Professional Events. She is a Registered Psychologist in Hong Kong and a Board-Licensed Psychologist in the US. Erica has a private practice in Sheung Wan, specialising in trauma therapy. She serves as a trainer, consultant and adoption committee member for Mother's Choice, and has consulted for Alliant International University Hong Kong, Dance with Depression, City University of Hong Kong Student Development Services, Lingnan University, Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children and Richmond Fellowship. She is married and has a son by birth and a daughter by adoption from China.

 Deborah Holcombe
Newly Adoptive Families Coordinator

Deborah serves on the steering committee as the AFHK coordinator for Newly Adoptive Families. She is originally from the US, arriving in Hong Kong in 2013 with her husband and four children. Deborah earned a BA in Communications, a BS in Secondary Education, and a Master's of Arts in Teaching. She is trained in the Neurosequential Model in Education (NME) through the Child Trauma Academy and is a certified yoga instructor. Currently, Deborah is a Trauma Educator intern and parent coach, as well as serving in volunteer roles with her church and with Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of America. 


AFHK General Committee



 Alexandra Meyer

Professional Adoption Support Committee

Born in the UK and has been living in HK for the last 7 years, Alex has been a member of the steering committee for the AFHK since 2013. She enjoys helping source relevant speakers for the AFHK community and assisting in the parent support meetings. Alex is a mother of (soon to be) two children and works at the Child Development Team as a child and adolescent counsellor.  Alex has worked in education in Hong Kong at the Canadian International School and in London at Wetherby Pre-Prep School.


 Lucas Renzi
 Webmaster

Lucas was born in Australia, has spent a few years in Singapore and moved to Hong Kong in 2016. He is a stay at home dad to two children, loves the outdoors, and is an advocate for judo, cycling, collective consumption, and reducing his carbon footprint. Prior to parenthood, Lucas was a primary educator in Singapore and Australia, and a manager and support agent for coworking communities and start-ups in the same two countries.


Vasavi Seethepalli

Volunteer

Vasavi is a professional artist and graphic designer.  She has been living in Hong Kong since 2007 with her husband and two children.  Having volunteered at the American Red Cross, Rochester Arts Council, SINDA, and now AFHK she feels honored to be part of such great organizations.


Kaye Dong

Foster Parent Representative

Kaye Dong will be partnering with AFHK to try and raise awareness around fostering. She was born and raised in Australia and moved to Hong Kong with her husband and 2 children. She has been an active member of the Project Bridge family since 2016 and is a current foster parent. Kaye is the founder of K for Kids Foundation  (www.kforkidsfoundation.org), a registered local Hong Kong charity serving children in out of home care . She started this charity because she is passionate about supporting and caring for children in residential and foster care and helping where she can in hopes for a better future for these children. 


Cheryl Shanahan 
Professional Adoption Support Committee
Cheryl is an Early Years Therapist that primarily supports children under the age of 8, including, infants, toddlers, pre-schoolers and school aged children. Support is offered through Baby Bonding, Toddler Bonding, & Play Therapy. In her therapeutic work, Cheryl uses play as a tool to strengthen attachment and family relationships.  Cheryl takes a systemic approach, working closely with not just the child, but with the parents and teachers to ensure a collaborative and consistent approach. She works with Central Health Partners Child Development Team at Southside Family Health Centre. 

Vivian Ip
Roots Tracing Coordinator

Vivian is a registered social worker in Hong Kong. As a teenager, Vivian volunteered for a non-profit organisation serving pregnant girls facing crisis pregnancies and children in need of temporary and/or permanent care. She later joined this organisation, first as an adoption social worker, then supervisor. Vivian is passionate about adoption advocacy and volunteers her time to help adoptees and their families on their roots tracing journey.


Jenny Wiseman
Professional Adoption Support Committee

Jenny is an Australian born adult adoptee of Vietnamese/Chinese heritage, adopted from birth into an Anglo Australian family. She has been living in Sydney most of her life, where she graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Education (Primary). Jenny has been working as an EAL teacher across Sydney schools for 10 years. Jenny and her husband relocated to Hong Kong early 2017 for her husband’s work. She will continue her work in teaching as a Head Teacher of EAL at an international school in Kowloon. Whilst in Sydney, Jenny was involved with the Post Adoption Resource Centre (PARC). She has a passion for sharing her life experiences with others, having overcome many challenges herself. Her particular interests are mental/emotional wellbeing and transracial adoption.


And Also

Waiting Families Committee & Cantonese Outreach Coordinator: Teresa Lai Docherty 

Film night coordinator: Laura Phare

Single parents coordinator: Janice Henderson 

Outreach Coordinator: tbd

Social Media Coordinator: Soo Baek

Administration Coordinator: Farah Joo



Open Positions


Volunteering  

If you have been touched by adoption or are interested in adoption, please partner with us by giving your time to volunteer with our steering committee or any of our other programs and initiatives. Chinese speaking volunteers are also needed to help support bilingual programs.
For more information about volunteering with AFHK please visit our Volunteer page.


GPO Box 8896 Central Hong Kong

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