Our Team
In 2012, Peggy Chan opened Grassroots Pantry (GP) in Hong Kong with a mission to raise awareness of the inequities in our food system and to share knowledge on the benefits of whole food plant-based cuisine. In 2019, GP's first sustainability report was recognized by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals ESCAP as a best practice case study on sustainable sourcing and responsible management.
In 2020, Peggy developed Grassroots Initiatives Consultancy to assist foodservice professionals in their transition towards best practices that meet both human and planetary health goals.
Over the years Peggy has emerged as one of the region’s most authoritative voices on organic sourcing and systems thinking design. A thought leader and a natural do-er, Peggy works diligently with multiple global ngo networks and organizations to help shape future food policies designed to address human, social and ecological needs.
Peggy is a two time Tedx speaker, an alumni of Global Shapers Hong Kong, World Economic Forum and a HK Environmental Excellence Awardee in the service sector.
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 just completed a master's degree in Food Studies at NYU and now returned to Hong Kong to work with us in full! 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 Chow, Project Assistant
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.
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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Dr. Shauhrat S. Chopra
LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT SCIENTIST
Dr. Shauhrat is Assistant Professor of Sustainability Engineering at the School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong. His data-driven research focuses on designing life cycle assessments to quantify sustainability and resilience.
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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.
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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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Cherrie de Erit Atilano
FOUNDING FARMER, PRESIDENT & CEO OF AGREA
Through her work with AGREA, Cherrie is striving to eradicate poverty for farming and fishing families and establish food security in the Philippines. She is also a High-Level Ambassador of the United Nations Scaling Up Nutrition and a Board Member of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN).
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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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Adam Li
LEGAL ADVISOR
Mr. Li is a practicing solicitor in Hong Kong. He has extensive experience and focuses on civil litigation, company & commercial law, and corporate financing & restructuring. He is an executive committee member of the Auxiliary Medical Service Volunteer Team, and a Lay Assessor of the Medical Council of Hong Kong. -
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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.
