Chinese Wellbeing is supported by a professional group and experienced team of trustees who meet every 6 weeks and share ultimate responsibility for governing our charity.
OUR TRUSTEES
Andy Green (Chair)
Andy Green trained as an urban planner and became an urban regeneration specialist, for many years focused on the physical and economic regeneration of Liverpool and its city centre. He subsequently became Head of Investor Development for Liverpool’s economic development company, Liverpool Vision, where his specific activities included the development of Liverpool’s international positioning, supporting the delivery of Liverpool’s presence at the Shanghai World Expo and – with Liverpool’s HE institutions- the development of Liverpool’s Knowledge Economy offer. His skills and experience include:
- Research and analysis
- Development and implementation of strategies
- Management of programmes
- Management of change
- Management of people and meetings
Andy has worked in and with the Chinese community both in a professional and a voluntary basis since the mid 1980’s. From 1984 until 2009 he was a member of the management committee of Liverpool City Council’s Chinese community centre, The Pagoda, and, along with the late Lord Dr Michael Chan he was an initial subscriber to the formation of the Merseyside Chinese Community Development Association (subsequently Chinese Wellbeing) as a social business and a charity.
He is married to fellow trustee Polly Green.
Polly Green
Polly Yeeling Green was born in Hong Kong and obtained a degree of Social Sciences in Geography in the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She came to Liverpool University in 1973 and studied a Postgraduate Diploma in Transport Planning. She worked for a number of years with the Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive before taking the job of establishing and managing the then new Pagoda Chinese Community Centre which was set up by Liverpool City Council. Although a City Council Youth and Community Centre, Pagoda developed and provided a wide range of services for all ages, including a bi-lingual nursery and services for the elderly. In particular, it was (and remains) the home of Pagoda Arts and the Pagoda Chinese Youth Orchestra. She retired from the Pagoda in 2011 having developed it into a well known and respected institution with a national and international profile.
Polly is qualified as a Youth and Community worker, and has over 30 years experience of working with the Chinese community and with local and national government, the NHS and other voluntary sector networks.
Polly was a founder member of MCCDA Chinese Wellbeing and brings to the table a continuity of knowledge and experience, and the skills necessary to manage a successful local authority community centre – financial management, people management, networking, political awareness etc.
She is married to fellow trustee Andy Green.
Helen Owen
Helen Yee-Hung Owen. Born in Canton, now Quang Zhou, China and came to the UK at the age of 11.
She has worked with the Chinese community in Liverpool since 1980 in a variety of roles including Chinese Community Worker, and Vietnamese Refugee Resettlement Programme Co-coordinator. For most of that time she was employed by Liverpool City Council and based at the Pagoda Chinese Community Centre. She retired in November 2011.
Helen has a particular interest in Chinese mental health, and organised the important National Chinese Mental Health Conference in Liverpool in 2002. She maintains an interest and role in Chinese mental health affairs, with roles having included Secretary of the UK Association for Chinese Mental Health, reference member on the Delivering Race Equality in Mental Health Care in Liverpool and a member on the Focussed Implementation Buddy Site. (FIS)
She joined MCCDA as a Trustee soon after its incorporation, and was a key player in the Chinese Carers Project which was one of the foundations of the establishment of MCCDA. She has led and completed a CISP Mental Health Research on Delivering Race Equality (DRE) Community Engagement Programme.
Since retirement, Helen volunteers to counsel victims of Domestic Abuse and assist with welfare benefit for disadvantaged people.
She brings to the board 30 years experience in developing and running projects and programmes, and networking skills.
Oscar Ip
Oscar Ip FCA is a fellow member of Institute of Chartered Accountant in England & Wales (ICAEW), and runs his own accountancy practice in Liverpool providing a range of accountancy and business support services. He came to Liverpool as a student more than 20 years ago, and qualified as an accountant in 2005.
He worked at a national top 10 accountancy practice where he specialised in charities and non-profit organisations accounting, auditing and taxation.
With the combination of his strong Chinese background and professional skill, Oscar has been able to help many local community organisations such as the Pagoda Chinese Community Centre, Liverpool Chinatown Business Association, a number of churches, and Merseyside Sports Foundation.
Oscar joined Chinese Wellbeing as trustee in October 2007. He maintains an oversight of the organisation’s financial practices and finances in particular keeping a long, medium and long term perspective of Chinese Wellbeing’s financial position in the light of the challenges faced by the voluntary sector. He is now working closely with Chinese Wellbeing operational staff and external auditors to ensure the implementation of an appropriate strategy and plan of action for the next 3 years. He worked closely with the Chair in developing the recent update of the organisation’s governance.
Stephen Wong
Stephen was born in Liverpool and he qualified as a graphic designer in the 1980s. In the late 1980s he was employed by the predecessor of Chinese Wellbeing (Merseyside Chinese Community Development Association MCCDA) on one of its projects, a bi-lingual community newspaper ‘Silk Road News’. Stephen subsequently joined the Passport Office, but maintained his link with Silk Road News as a volunteer both as a regular contributor and supporting its production with his graphic skills.
In 1996, Stephen became a trustee, and also Company Secretary to MCCDA.
Stephen brings to the table his perspective as a Liverpool born Chinese, and many years of operational experience as an employee and volunteer.
Dr Simon Kan
Dr. Simon Siu Man Kan is a local medical graduate (L’pool), a Liverpool GP and a Fellow of Royal College of General Practitioners. He came to UK in the early 80s from Hong Kong. He is a board member of the Royal College of General Practitioner Mersey Faculty, GP appraiser NHS England and has an interest in holistic care for patients and in the promotion of primary care led health service in the developing world. He has worked with the UK.
Chinese Community nationally and regionally (Northwest) on a voluntary basis for many years, and is a trustee of the Manchester Health Information Centre. He brings to Chinese Wellbeing the skills and connectivity of a medical practitioner with an understanding of the cultural needs of CW clients and the operations of the healthcare system in the UK.
Jim Crook
Jim Crook’s background is in consultancy and management training, having set up 20 years ago his own business. Jim’s expertise is in: bid writing, operational processes and Customer Relationship Management Technologies.
He has an MBA from Manchester Business School and provides services to businesses, local authorities and Government Ministries. Within Chinese Wellbeing he focuses on areas such as: financial performance, governance and policies.
He is a Trustee also on a number of other local Liverpool Charities.
Simon Wong
Simon grew up in Hong Kong and came to Liverpool in 1966 with his parents.
Life was difficult in the beginning and as a 15-year-old he just wanted to study and work hard to improve life for his family.
In 1968, Simon started to run a fish & chip shop for his parents and at the same time, he worked hard to catch up on his education and also trained to work as a bus mechanic.
In 1976, he started his own business in catering supplies called Merseyside Catering Supply.
He operated this business until 1980 when he started a new company called Hondo Retail / Wholesalers. At this point, his whole family came into the business and between them, they operated a very successful business for nearly forty years supplying wholesale and retail Asian products.
During this period, Simon helped to run the Wah Sing Community Centre and also helped to form Liverpool Chinatown Business Association.
As he approached retirement in 2015, he became a Trustee of Chinese Wellbeing as he was able to contribute more of his time to helping the community.
Xiao Xiao Hou PhD
Xiaoxiao Hou is a dedicated trustee at Chinese Wellbeing, bringing a unique blend of musical expertise, cultural understanding, and academic research to support the organisation’s mission of promoting health and wellbeing within the Chinese community in Merseyside. As a classically trained musician in both Chinese and Western music systems and a professional concert performer, Xiaoxiao holds a deep appreciation for the power of music to bridge cultural gaps and enhance wellbeing. Her educational background includes a BA in Music Education and Pedagogy from China, as well as three advanced degrees from UK institutions: a Master of Arts in Musicology from Durham University, a Master of Arts in Applied Psychology of Music from the University of Leeds, and a PhD in Music Psychology from the University of Liverpool, jointly supervised by Dr Michelle Phillips from the Royal Northern College of Music.
With 12 years of living experience in the UK, spanning research and community engagement, Xiaoxiao has developed a profound understanding of the challenges faced by the Chinese community, including the younger generation of international students. Her knowledge of both Chinese and British cultures, combined with her expertise in implementation research and non-pharmacological interventions for wellbeing, aligns perfectly with Chinese Wellbeing’s goals of enhancing the quality of life for community members of all ages.
Xiaoxiao’s passion for using music as a tool for wellbeing, combined with her research- driven approach and cultural insights, supports Chinese Wellbeing’s mission to act as a bridge between the Chinese community and local services.