Ingrid Schoon is Professor of Social Policy at University College London, Social Research Institute. She is a Fellow of the British Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) and the Social Science Centre (WZB) in Berlin. Her research focuses on the study of risk and resilience in the transition to adulthood, social inequalities in skill development, attainment and wellbeing. As an educational researcher she combines perspectives from social, developmental and educational psychology as well as sociology within evidence synthesis and longitudinal quantitative data analysis. She has published widely, including a monograph on 'Risk and Resilience'(2006); co-edited books on “Young People’s Development and the Great Recession: Uncertain Transitions and Precarious Futures” (2017) with John Bynner; and “Gender differences in aspirations and attainment: A longitudinal perspective” (2014) with Jacquelynne Eccles; “Transitions from School to Work: Globalisation, Individualisation, and Patterns of Diversity” (2009) with Rainer Silbereisen; all published by Cambridge University Press. Schoon has served as advisor to government departments and is a member of the OECD 2030 Competencies Framework Working Group and the UNESCO Inclusive Social Policy Lab.

Dr Lam is a specialist in paediatric and community medicine and is currently Chief Executive Officer of Haven of Hope Christian Service. Under his leadership, Haven of Hope Christian Service is one of the pioneers in the provision of holistic care for the elderly in Hong Kong.

With his extensive knowledge of local public health policies and services, Dr Lam has sat on multiple statutory and advisory bodies. He is a non-official member of the Executive Council of the HKSAR Government. Prior to his current position as the Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Mental Health, he served the Elderly Commission for almost 20 years, and he was once the Chairman of the Commission. He now also serves as the Chaiman of the Council for Carbon Neutrality & Sustainable Development, the Healthcare & Wellness Training Board of the Vocational Training Council, the Industry Training Advisory Committee of Elderly Care Service and the Independent Commission Against Corruption Complaints Committee.

He is also a member of the Green Technology & Finance Development Committee, the Primary Healthcare Committee, as well as the HK Housing Society to provide advice to the government on various policies.

Dr Lam was honoured by the HKSAR Government with the Justice of Peace in 2003 and Gold Bauhinia Star in 2025. In 2018, apart from receiving Honorary Fellowship from Lingnan University, he also received the Ageing Asia Global Ageing Influencer Award (Special Recognitions) and Smart Ageing Leader Award 2024 in recognition of his devotion to public services and his influence on policy-making for the global ageing trend.

Professor Catherine So-kum Tang obtained her PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of North Texas, USA. She has been a Professor in Psychology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong until 2007 and at the National University of Singapore. In 2020, Professor Tang relocated back to Hong Kong and is currently a Distinguished Professor at the Hong Kong Shue Yan University. She is an active researcher with over 300 academic publications in prestigious and reputable peer-reviewed journals, books/book chapters and academic conferences proceedings. Professor Tang has been listed in the world’s top 2% most cited scientists by Stanford University from 2021 to 2025 to Her research interests include human resilience and adaptation to life adversities, behavioural addiction, violence against women, and health psychology.

Shane Warren is a registered psychotherapist, certified clinical supervisor, practising hypnotherapist and practising coach, with more than three decades’ experience in counselling and mental fitness work across Australia and the Asia–Pacific region. He is Principal Psychotherapist at Shane Warren Coaching & Counselling Services and a Director of the International Resilience Institute Sydney and Nexus College Australasia, where he specialises in emotional resilience and integrative practice. Shane’s clinical work in Sydney, Singapore and Hong Kong informs his coaching with individuals, leaders and teams, where he focuses on “changing lives through simple solutions” and designing practical pathways from repair to growth.

Pauline Triggiani is an executive and leadership coach with deep experience in strategic development, organisational leadership and team performance. As Managing Director of Priority People Consulting, she works with senior leaders and teams to build coaching capability, improve culture and navigate complex change. Her coaching focuses on highly personalised, research-informed development, helping clients increase self-awareness, leverage strengths and embed new ways of working. Pauline brings extensive experience in leadership and executive coaching, team and group coaching, coaching-skills training and supervision, and has been actively involved in coach leadership communities, supporting the evolution of the “leader as coach” paradigm.

Susan (Sue) Sandy is an experienced clinical counsellor with more than 20 years’ experience working in mental health, specialising in relationship counselling, psychotherapy, family therapy and interpersonal coaching. She is Principal of Life Vision Counselling in Melbourne and Director of Neuro Balance, where she supports individuals, couples and families through evidence-informed therapeutic approaches. Sue’s work spans private practice and welfare/counselling services within the education sector, giving her a strong grounding in real-world complexity, conflict resolution and communication skills. In this workshop, she brings a clinically rich, systemic perspective on how coaching-style conversations can be safely integrated into relationship and family counselling contexts.