Our Team
Peggy Chan is a food systems leader whose work over the past two decades has focused on health and regeneration across the hospitality sector. Through her restaurants and advisory initiatives, she has championed whole food plant-based cuisine, responsible sourcing, and practical pathways for businesses to align with both human and planetary wellbeing.
Her experience spans building purpose-driven enterprises, collaborating with global networks, and supporting foodservice professionals in transitioning toward more regenerative and transparent practices. She brings a systems-thinking approach that connects farmers, chefs, institutions, and policy stakeholders — translating vision into implementation.
As Executive Director of ZFPA, Peggy leads with a commitment to infrastructure-building, partnership, and long-term impact — advancing programmes that strengthen food systems, support farmer transition, and embed regenerative principles across the region.
She is a two-time TEDx speaker, recipient of the Hong Kong Environmental Excellence Award in the service sector, and a recipient of Asia’s 50 Best Champions of Change.
Peggy Chan, Executive Director
With over 25 years in hospitality operations across Australia, Joel moved to Hong Kong in the spring of 2017 for a fresh challenge. In early 2018, he joined Grassroots Pantry and one of his first tasks was to undertake a Life Cycles Assessment of the restaurant through Zero Foodprint. This allowed him to realise firsthand the impact restaurant practices can have on the environment and from there on, GP became Asia's first carbon-neutral restaurant. Since then, he's gone down a massive rabbit hole of all things climate, processing dozens of white paper journals and peer-reviewed reports to absorb as much information as he can on food-related climate solutions.
With ZFPA, Joel will be looking after partnerships whether on recruiting and on-boarding restaurants and food businesses or to answer any questions you may have throughout this journey.
Joel Tomas, Director of Partnerships
Nick Leung, Content & Communications Strategist
Nick completed his master's degree in Food Studies at NYU with a focus in environmental and socio-cultural advocacy. He returned to Hong Kong and continued to work on making meaningful imapct with us. It seemed a good fit to combine his nous for marketing, with his love for food - especially when it's to do with promoting food produced locally.
Nick has been working with us since 2022 summer, handling our communication platforms and administrative work. He's looking forward to developing his skills in the food sustainability field while working to support ZFPA farmer grantees to regain food sovereignty.
Eugenia is an environmental advocate with extensive experience at the intersection of food systems, climate communications, and policy advocacy. Her interdisciplinary work spans five continents, combining research, policy, and education to make complex sustainability issues actionable. Having interviewed farmers in Costa Rica, researched alternative economic models in Amsterdam, and contributed to food policy in New York City, she is passionate about bridging grassroots insights with global solutions. Following her role leading Communications and Outreach at Mpala Research Centre in Kenya as a Princeton in Africa Fellow, she is eager to return to Hong Kong to apply her experience in community-led conservation and food systems transformation to Southeast Asia.
Eugenia Chow, Project Assistant
Paulina Yeal Cho, Project Manager (Malaysia)
Paulina Yeal Cho is a climate strategist and operations leader focused on scaling resilient systems for people and the planet. Most recently, she designed financial frameworks for regenerative agriculture and led the implementation of a 45k ha sustainable soy program in Brazil. Previously, she managed a land-use portfolio for Partnerships for Forest and expanded forest-friendly practices in Latin America.
As a multidisciplinary innovator, Paulina co-founded AIGO and Observa China. She holds a Master's in Global Affairs from Tsinghua University as a Schwarzman Scholar, and a Bachelor's Degree in Law from the University of São Paulo.
Advisory Members
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Ms. Josephine Mak Chen Wen-Ning
RENGERATIVE FARMING EDUCATOR & SOIL HEALTH EXPERT
Ms. Josephine is the Founder and Chairlady of HomelandGreen. The organization’s mission is to promote regenerative agriculture practices and spread knowledge of soil health and global environmental issues.
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Nithiya Laila
CULINARY ANTHROPOLOGIST
Nithiya is a pioneer in reshaping the narrative around how we grow and consume food as a region. She has hosted a TV show exploring the Farm to Table and foraging movements in Asia, and runs a pop-up dining club to promote cuisines of the global south.
Board of Directors
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Anthony Myint
CO-FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ZERO FOODPRINT
Anthony is a chef turned climate crusader. He leads public-private collaborations with California state agencies and regional governments to scale climate-smart farming. In 2019, he was awarded the Basque Culinary World Prize for his work with Zero Foodprint and the Humanitarian of the Year in 2020 by the James Beard Foundation.
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Terrence Tsang
FOUNDER & MANAGING PARTNER OF QUALITY QUOTIENT SOLUTIONS LTD
Terrence has been in the hospitality business for over 25 years and provides a holistic perspective, combining strategic, theoretical and practical experience with business acumen.
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Dr. Margaret Burnett
PROGRAMME DIRECTOR AND LECTURER, THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG
Dr. Burnett’s experience crosses the private, public and NGO sectors on sustainability matters. She has developed the Masters of Social Sciences in Sustainability Leadership and Governance programme, and delivers experiential training modules based on systems-thinking to develop the leaders of tomorrow.
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Dr. Ying Li
CONSERVATION & AGRICULTURE DIRECTOR AT THE NATURE CONSERVANCY CHINA
Dr. Ying Li has a PhD in plant biotechnology and plant pathology. Her current work focuses on researching and promoting sustainable agricultural development in response to climate change. She is a committee member of the Soil Science Society of China.
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Oliver Truesdale-Jutras
CHEF & FOUNDER OF RE:GROWTH
Oliver has dedicated his career to promoting good food and food ethics. His mission has taken him around the globe, and he is now a leading authority on the subject in Singapore, where he pioneered the farm-to-table sustainability movement during his time at Open Farm Community. He now heads his own consultancyRe:Growth for regenerative hospitality.
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Janice Leung Hayes
PROMINENT FOOD WRITER & JOURNALIST
Janice is an independent food writer and social entrepreneur with a deep love for all things food. She is the founder of Honestly Green, Capsule 48, and Tong Chong Street Market (TCSM).
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Alvin Li
PUBLIC POLICY AND SOCIAL INNOVATION
Alvin is a sustainability consultant, impact investor and policy researcher. Alvin co-founded The Kommon Goods, a solutions provider offering eco-friendly products. He has spoken at international conferences including UN COP25 and WTO.
