Founders:

Raquel Amador

Raquel Amador is a dual Filipino-Dutch national, educated in The Netherlands, Curacao, New York, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. She read law at the University of Sheffield and attended law school at the College of Law in the UK. She qualified as a solicitor in 1996 and worked in a number of firms in the UK, including most recently at Wesley Gryk Solicitors LLP. Her practice covered the full range of immigration and nationality issues with particular emphasis on asylum and human rights applications. After moving to Hong Kong in 2002 she became a board member at Amnesty International, Hong Kong where she was also volunteer refugee coordinator. Following the birth of her son, she founded the Refugee Advice Unit at Christian Action which later developed into the Hong Kong Refugee Advice Centre.

Jennifer Stone

Jennifer Stone is a Canadian-qualified barrister & solicitor. She has a background in international human rights and journalism, working for non-governmental organizations in Namibia, Bosnia, and the U.K., and for the BBC World Service in London. She holds a BA in English Literature from McGill University, a Masters degree in International Development Studies & Communications from the LSE, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Toronto.  Before coming to Hong Kong she practiced immigration and refugee law in Toronto and was a member of the Amnesty International Refugee Network.  After moving to Hong Kong in early 2006, she joined the Refugee Advice Unit at Christian Action as a volunteer. She co-founded the Hong Kong Refugee Advice Centre.

Staff:

Executive Director: Brian Barbour

Brian Barbour is admitted to the New York Bar as an attorney and counselor-at-law.  He received his Juris Doctor degree from Brooklyn Law School where he focused on international human rights and refugee law and policy. Before coming to Hong Kong, Brian worked with UNHCR in New York where he was assigned to working groups focusing on the responsibility to protect, the rule of law, and gender mainstreaming. Over the past 10 years, Brian has worked in Japan, Nepal and Italy on education and development projects with schools, NGOs, and UN organizations.

Legal Director: Christine Lin

Christine Lin received her Juris Doctor from American University’s Washington College of Law and Master of International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. She is a member of the State Bar of California. Through the Attorney General’s Honors Program, Christine was a Judicial Law Clerk/Attorney Advisor with the U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review, at the Los Angeles Immigration Court. She then joined the Law Office of Robert B. Jobe in San Francisco as an immigration associate and represented clients in asylum, Violence Against Women Act, and criminal deportation cases. Christine has also worked at UNHCR’s Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit and Human Rights First.

Staff Attorney: Andrew Lillis

A native of Ireland, Andrew Lillis is a  New York qualified attorney. With a primary degree from University College Dublin and a postgraduate degree in Chinese Law from the University of Hong Kong,  Andrew joins HKRAC from the law firm of Lehman, Lee & Xu in Beijing where he worked in the firm’s corporate law and diplomatic practice groups. Andrew has also worked in the public and private sectors in the United States, Ireland, New Zealand and the Solomon Islands.

Head of Clinical Programmes: Lindsay Ernst

Lindsay Ernst received her Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law.  She is a member of the State Bar of New York.  At Fordham Law, Lindsay specialized in international human rights and children’s rights.  She advocated for women’s property rights in Ghana and studied the effects of the US gag rule on health care provisions in Kenya.  Upon graduating from Fordham, Lindsay received a Skadden Fellowship to design and lead a program that provides direct representation for incarcerated children in Queens, New York.  The goal of the program is to secure special-needs services for clients and shepherd re-entry into their communities.

Development Officer: Laura Lee

Born in Hong Kong, Laura spent most of her life in Malaysia and in the UK. Following her graduation from the University of Edinburgh, Laura began working for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Kuala Lumpur as a Refugee Status Determination Officer and Child Protection Ofiicer. She left UNHCR in 2007 and spent some time as a Research Consultant with the UN FAO in Bangkok before taking the position of Project Coordinator for a European communications agency that specialised in producing branded country reports. After finishing projects in Thailand, Malaysia, Spain, Hong Kong and South Korea, Laura decided to return to Humanitarian field in a role where she could further develop her existing skills. She had volunteered with HKRAC in 2008 and rejoined the organization in March 2010 as Development Officer.

Office Manager: Jocelyn Lala-An

Jocelyn Lala-an was educated in the Philippines. She is a Secretarial II graduate and holds a Degree in Religious Education. A teacher by profession, she co-founded a Christian school where she was the School Supervisor for three years and later became the School Principal before coming to Hong Kong. Prior to joining HKRAC, she taught Theology courses and volunteered for an advocacy organization, Christian Solidarity Worldwide-HK.

Interpreter Coordinator: Asif Iqbal

Asif Iqbal has been trained in community interpreting for refugee legal aid. He is an Urdu and Punjabi interpreter, and interpreter trainer for HKRAC. He is studying for a BSc in Business & Management at Bradford Business School in Hong Kong. He has worked in the UK with NGOs focusing on youth and issues of the Asian community, and currently does some freelance work with businesses in England and China.