SENIA Hong Kong Board
August 2025
The SENIA Hong Kong Board comprises special educators, psychologists, practitioners, and advocates for neurodivergent children and adults. The Board works on a voluntary basis to support the mission and values of SENIA.
Learn more about our team below!
Kimberley Fung
Kimberley is currently the Head of Student Support at Chinese International School, and has worked in inclusive schools in Hong Kong for over a decade. Prior to this, she worked in NGOs in Hong Kong serving adults and children with learning differences. She serves on the Board of the ISLES (International School Leaders of Educational Support) where she advocates for high quality student support at the systems level in international schools. As an autism sibling, her advocacy for the neurodivergent child has been an embedded part of her identity for as long as she can remember! In her spare time, she is an amateur photographer, a keen (vegetarian) foodie, and wannabe surfer.
Melissa Sentman
Melissa is an international educator whose career spans seven countries over three decades. From speech-language support to early years classroom teacher, she has centered her practice on the love of language, literacy, and communication. She currently supports Reception 2 students at the Hong Kong International School. Her latest deep dive is into the power of Story Workshop and its link to mark-making and it is a grand adventure! Hong Kong has opened up the hiking world for Melissa, with its many trails and outdoor spirit. Melissa hikes with her 17-year-old daughter and enjoys exploring new territories.
Dr Kristie Craigen
Dr. Kristie Craigen is a clinical psychologist and psychometric testing specialist who has provided a variety of assessment and evaluation services, for almost 15 years, to individuals based in Hong Kong and the Family Law Court. She ultimately views herself as a protector of the rights of children and therefore, she advocates on behalf of students with learning differences and disabilities to remove barriers to their learning. Kristie has served on both the Hong Kong Psychological Society and Psychotherapy Society Executive Committee Boards. She’s the proud mother of two teenage children and has juggled family life while studying and holding management positions for almost two decades. As such, it’s probably unsurprising that her family and her work are her world and also double as her hobbies and interests 😉
Gretchen Aguilar
Gretchen is currently a secondary visual arts teacher at Christian International School. She has taught in the general education setting as an elementary classroom and as a learning support teacher. Gretchen is also a member of ISLES and SNN (Special Needs Network). She firmly believes in strength based strategies to support the entire student‘s ecosystem so that families may flourish and truly feel belonging. Gretchen is finishing her certification in international inclusive leadership from LEAD INCLUSION as well as is finishing an additional Master’s in inclusive teacher leadership. Gretchen has two children and loves spending time with her family. Gretchen’s hobbies include photography and ceramics.
Kevin Lee
Kevin is a seasoned banker-advocate, now leading HSBC Ability Hong Kong Employee Resource Group. At Ability, he strives to demystify, curate and influence resources for different forms of (dis)abilities and special needs at and beyond HSBC. A prominent focus area amongst the diverse work is to support neurodiversity and one of Kevin’s core beliefs is to do so through understanding the possibilities of all talent through incubation and curation. He is passionate to collaborate with SENIA to learn and co-create a more inclusive and promising future for the transition from education to employment.
Christine Ainsworth
Christine is a dedicated educator with over 23 years of international teaching experience, specialising in inclusion and special educational needs. Currently the Learning Diversity Leader at ESF Glenealy School in Hong Kong, she leads inclusion, DEI, admissions, and transitions across the school as part of the Senior Leadership Team. Christine holds a Master of Education in SEND. Having worked extensively within the ESF network and with previous involvement in SENIA Beijing and as a SENIA Hong Kong Teacher Representative, she brings strong leadership, collaboration, and advocacy skills. Christine is passionate about advancing SENIA’s mission to foster equity, respect, and empowerment for all learners in Hong Kong.
Aaron Van Borek
Over the past two decades, Aaron has cultivated a deep commitment to the transformative power of education through diverse roles—including teacher, instructional coach, Associate Division Head, and Vice Principal—at schools across the globe, spanning Canada, St. Vincent, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, and Hong Kong. Inspired by his family’s experiences navigating inclusion challenges in Hong Kong, Aaron has spent the last three years pursuing doctoral studies focused on fostering belonging for students with additional needs within the city’s international schools. Grounded in DisCrit theory and transformative leadership, he approaches advocacy and equity work through an intersectional lens, driven by the belief that education’s primary purpose is to nurture both private and public good, while recognizing that a student’s holistic development is deeply tied to their sense of belonging. Currently, Aaron serves as Vice Principal at ESF Sha Tin Junior School and he looks forward to collaborating with the SENIA community to improve the experiences of students, families, and educators alike.
Clarise Chen
Clarise is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and holds a Master of Education in Educational Psychology. She currently works as the Supervisor of Transition and Educational Support at the Children’s Institute of Hong Kong and supports high school students at Harbour School. She also teaches accredited QABA board-approved courses to QBA candidates and SEN teachers. As an educator and trainer for over a decade, Clarise has worked in a variety of settings in Hong Kong, Mainland China, and Macau. Her experiences include curriculum design, classroom teaching, parent and teacher training, and behavior intervention. In her free time, Clarise enjoys reading sci-fi and mystery books, as well as exploring recent tech updates.
