Team

Team

COSMO BEATSON

Cosmo Beatson, founder and executive director, is British and lived in Italy before moving to Hong Kong in 1989. He is married and has three daughters. He operated a trading company for two decades and retired in 2008, seeking more congruence between what he does in the world and what he is. He lives by the ideal that with great privilege comes great responsibility to influence the change we want in society. Dissatisfied with NGO objectives, in spring 2009 he launched Vision First. His core values and friendship with refugees ensure our driving spirit is solidarity, rooted in the fundamental dignity of each individual.
The need to be guardians of society: Cosmo Beatson at TEDxHKUST.

FRANCESCO VECCHIO

Francesco Vecchio, Research Manager, is an Italian and researches and teaches about issues pertaining to borders, migration and asylum. He moved to Hong Kong to work with refugees in 2005, after gaining academic and working experience in several countries. Since then, he has maintained constant relationship with a number of refugees based on trust and mutual respect. They were the reason for his earning a PhD in criminology. Francesco serves as correspondent for Fondazione ISMU, Italy, and contributes to the objectives of Vision First by aiding its long-term capacity and research program. He is the author of Asylum Seeking and the Global City (Routledge, 2015).

DR. PAK HO TSANG

Dr. Pak Ho Tsang, non-executive director, was born in Hong Kong and is a University of Hong Kong medical graduate. He received further medical training in HK and UK and is a registered Specialist in General Surgery in HK. As a surgeon he is also keenly interested in psychiatry, “cutting into the mind” as he said, for which he received further training and a post-graduate diploma in psychological medicine. Dr. Tsang is married with two daughters. He is a member of Vision First’s Board of Directors and supports the organisation with consultations, medication and medical supplies.

MARK R.C. SUTHERLAND

Mark R.C. Sutherland, independent non-executive director, is a Barrister-at-Law of the High Court of Hong Kong (2005) and of the Middle Temple in London (2006). In July 2009, Mr. Sutherland was re-appointed as a member of the Board of Review established under the Inland Revenue Ordinance for a third three year term. Mr. Sutherland is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and is an Accredited Mediator. Mr. Sutherland is a member of Joseph W.Y. Tse SC’s Chambers.

DR. PARUL BATRA

Dr. Parul Batra non-executive director, is a Clinical Psychologist (Psy.D) trained in the UK and in Hong Kong. She has provided individual and group therapy to refugees and asylum seekers since 2011. Having had close exposure to this clientele, and the struggles and injustices inflicted upon them in their countries of origin, Dr. Batra has become involved in advocating for their rights. She has since aided their legal cases by means of conducting psychological evaluations, and bearing witness to their complex experiences and symptomatology in a court of law. Dr. Batra’s specialty areas lie in issues of clinical anxiety and depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other adjustment problems, as well as child and developmental issues. She has joined Vision First with the aim of preventing further traumatization in this vulnerable group of individuals.