From accountant to therapist to environmental hawk: New Civic Exchange chief seeks to break mould of public policy-making
Winnie Cheung seeks to add a human touch to the often cold world of public policy as leader of the city’s top green think tank
Hong Kong’s leading environmental think tank has gone through a succession of leaders in the 17 years since it was founded by prominent campaigner Christine Loh, who later went on to join former city leader Leung Chun-ying’s administration.
Now the mantle has been taken up by Winnie Cheung, a former chief executive of Hong Kong’s top regulatory body for accountants who is also a qualified psychotherapist.
Cheung joined the organisation last September and wishes to carry on upholding Civic Exchange’s track record of pioneering environmental policy breakthroughs that have established it as one of the world’s top 50 environmental think tanks, according to the University of Pennsylvania’s 2016 Global Go-To Think Tank Index.
Recent reports have focused on public awareness of biodiversity, how best to use Hong Kong’s natural resources and monitoring citizens’ exposure to PM 2.5 pollution (fine particle pollution in the atmosphere).
Cheung’s previous experience at the top of the accounting profession has given her the leadership skills and familiarity with public policy issues that have served her well in her new role.
She also credits a five-year break from accountancy to pursue psychology with making her into a more well-rounded person. During this time, Cheung studied for a master’s in counselling at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and started her own private practice as a therapist when the offer to join Civic Exchange came “out of the blue”, as she describes it.