John Adams holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of British Columbia and a Master of Museum Studies from the University of Toronto, and has extensive experience working in the museums and cultural sector in BC. From 1974-2004, he worked in museum and historic site curatorship as well as management at the Burnaby Village Museum, Royal British Columbia Museum, and BC Heritage Branch. John also taught Museum Studies at Simon Fraser University and the University of Victoria. Currently he is the owner and operator of Discover the Past in Victoria, providing walking tours, historical research, and writing of Victoria. He is the author of six books, including Chinese Victoria, published in 2009. His other community engagement includes serving as former president of the BC Museums Association (1978-79), serving on the Victoria Historical Society (1988-90), and the Old Cemeteries Society (1990-1997).
A descendant of Cumberland and Vancouver’s Chinatown and anthropologist by trade, Dr. Lim’s expertise on Chinese Canadian communities, especially on Vancouver Island, spans well over two decades and her work has included numerous collaborations with local museums. She is a founding member of the Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC, and worked with the BC Legacy Initiatives Advisory Council on the Historic Sites and Celebration book projects. She co-developed the exhibit, 150 Years and Counting: Fighting for Justice on the Coast (2017), and served as a member of the exhibition advisory committee for the Museum of Vancouver’s (MOV) A Seat at the Table (2020), including the writing of panel texts. In 2016, she contributed selections from her Chinese restaurant menu collection to MOV’s All Together Now exhibit, as well as participated in its outreach programming. In 2021, she was awarded the Province of BC Medal for Good Citizenship. In her free time, she takes pleasure in reading, photography, gardening, and baking.
Ted began his career with Tourism Vancouver in 1992 and is currently the Chief Financial Officer and Director of Destination Development. As CFO, Ted provides financial leadership to the organization and works closely with the CEO and the Board of Directors. Ted also oversees tourism development initiatives which include visitor experience management, infrastructure and services, tourism product and industry development, community engagement, and environmental stewardship.
Ted is a past chair of the Board of Directors of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden Society, and has participated in various initiatives related to the revitalization of the Chinatown community including UNESCO designation and the Chinese Canadian Museum. He has also served on various civic committees, such as the Northeast False Creek Park Advisory Committee. Ted obtained his Bachelor of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University and his MBA from Royal Roads University.
Fred Mah has a long history of engagement and volunteering in the Chinatown community. He is currently the president of the Chinatown Society Heritage Buildings Association, and Vancouver City Council appointed member of the Legacy Stewardship Group, co-chairing the Heritage Culture Committee. He is also on the Chinatown Working Group for the planning of Northeast False Creek. Fred has also previously served in numerous government agencies and community organizations as chair, vice chair and other board positions. These include Premier John Horgan’s Chinese Canadian Community Advisory Council, Fraser River Port Authority, Vancouver Centennial Commission, BC Social Planning and Research Council, Vancouver International Dragon Boat Festival Society, BC-Guangdong Business Council, Vancouver-Guangzhou Friendship Society, Vancouver Chinatown Revitalization Committee, Vancouver Chinatown National Historic Site Committee, Chinatown Heritage Alley Planning Committee, Chinatown Commemorative Square Committee, Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver, Chinese Benevolent Association of Vancouver, Chinese Canadian Historical Society, etc. In recognition of his long-time volunteer efforts, Fred was awarded the Vancouver Civic Merit Award in 2013.
Prior to retirement, Fred was a civil servant that has worked in several federal departments including Energy, Mines and Resources, Fisheries and Forestry, and Environment Canada. He also ran his own environmental consulting company. In his spare time, he likes to travel, and read up on history and geography.
Brian McBay is the Executive Director of 221A, a Vancouver-based non-profit organization that works with artists and designers to research and develop social, cultural and ecological infrastructure. As a student co-founder of 221A during the height of the 2007-08 global economic crisis, he is part of a new generation of leaders in the cultural sector aiming to reverse deepening inequality, xenophobia, and colonialism in Canada. He is known for applying his skillset and training as an industrial designer to non-profit property design, construction, and regulation. He was named a 2018 Fellow at the Salzburg Global Forum and has been invited to speak on art, policy and urban development at the Western Front, Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver Art Gallery, SFU Centre for Dialogue, UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Emily Carr University, the Creative City Network of Canada, the City of Kelowna, BC Alliance for Arts and Culture and the Vienna Design Fair. He has contributed to C Magazine and Canadian Art magazine and is currently the president of the Pacific Association of Artist Run Centres and a member of the City of Vancouver Arts and Culture Advisory Committee. He was appointed in 2019 as a member of the National Gallery of Canada’s Board of Trustees.
Prior to working for the City of Vancouver, Sandra Singh served in numerous senior positions in library institutions across Metro Vancouver, including her most recent seven-year tenure as Chief Librarian of the Vancouver Public Library (VPL). During her term, the VPL launched innovative new services such as the Inspiration Lab, the Sun Life Financial Musical Instrument Lending Library, the Inspiration Pass and extensive digital collections, as well as opened the City’s first Indigenous named facility, the nə́c̓aʔmatct Strathcona Branch Library. Sandra joined the VPL after serving as Director of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at the University of British Columbia where she led the Centre’s work on both rural and remote community engagement, and as an interdisciplinary centre for learning on campus.
Sandra is currently appointed to the CBC/Radio-Canada Board of Directors. Most recently, she served as a commissioner on Canada Council for the Arts’ Public Lending Right Commission, the chair of Library and Archives Canada’s National Heritage Digitization Strategy Steering Committee, and the president of the Canadian Library Association. She also led the establishment of and was a founding board member of the Centre for Equitable Library Access which seeks to ensure people with print disabilities have access to published content.
A pioneer in Canadian Law, the Honourable Justice Randall Wong is a third generation Chinese Canadian born and raised in Vancouver. His family connection to the city and province can be traced back to the late 1800’s, with his grandfather employed as a Canadian Pacific Railway construction builder, and his maternal grandparents settling in Vancouver in 1880.
Randall received his business degree (1965) and law degree (1966) from the University of British Columbia. He served as the first Chinese Canadian provincial and federal Crown Counsel (1967) and became a BC Provincial Court judge in 1974. In 1981, he became the first Chinese Canadian federally appointed judge for the BC County Court. In 1990, he was promoted to the Canada’s Supreme Court, serving the Supreme Courts of British Columbia, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut’s Court of Justice until retirement in 2016. With 42 years of service, he holds the title of being the longest-serving judge in BC history. His notable contributions include serving on the Board of the Canadian Association of Provincial Court Judges (1976-1981), serving as the National Continuing Judicial Education Chair responsible for professional training and curricula for all Provincial Court Judges, and as a member of the Federal Canadian Sentencing Commission on sentencing reform (1981-1984), with many of its recommendations later incorporated in the Criminal Code of Canada. Throughout his career, he also mentored many lawyers in their continuing legal education.
Outside the field of law, Randall is also involved in the Chinese Canadian veteran community. He is the honourary president and associate member of the Chinatown Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans Unit 280, and the current president of the Chinese Canadian Military Museum. He was also appointed as founding honourary patron of the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver in 1973.
Randall’s family consists of his wife, two daughters, and four grandsons. He spends his free time participating in senior centre activities with his wife, travelling, and taking university courses on Chinese Canadian history and World War II.
Sonny is the president and creative director of Hamazaki Wong Marketing Group, an award-winning all-cultural marketing communications agency. Sonny is also the co-founder and producer of the Leo Awards, a provincial awards program for the film and television industry. As a marketing entrepreneur, he has led projects in media, live events and exhibitions, sustainability, arts and culture, and social justice.
He is a committed community steward with a record of engagement and leadership. He serves as a governor of Capilano University, Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Foundation of BC, Daryl Duke Foundation, and BC Entertainment Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the Pacific Council of OMNI Television and the Chinatown Legacy Stewardship Group. Previously, he was the chair of the community advisory board of the Seattle-based KCTS 9, and a founding member of the Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival, serving as its General Manager for a decade.
As a history professor, Dr. Yu’s research and teaching have been built around collaborations with local community organizations and civic institutions such as museums and multiple levels of government. He is passionate about helping British Columbians unlearn the cultural and historical legacies of colonialism and be inspired by the often hidden and untold stories of those who struggled against racism and made Canadian society more inclusive and just. Between 2009-2012, he was the co-chair of the City of Vancouver’s project Dialogues between First Nations, Urban Aboriginal, and Immigrant Communities. In 2015, Dr. Yu was appointed as the co-chair for the Province of British Columbia’s Legacy Initiatives Advisory Council implementing legacy projects following the province’s apology in 2014 for BC’s historic anti-Chinese legislation. He also served on the Advisory Group for the City of Vancouver’s apology consultation process for Historical Discrimination Against People of Chinese Descent (HDC) from 2016-2017 that resulted in the City of Vancouver’s formal apology in 2018 for its historical discrimination against its Chinese Canadian residents. Dr. Yu received his BA in History Honours from UBC and his MA and PhD in History from Princeton University. He was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 and the Province of BC’s Multicultural Award in 2015 in recognition of his research and community leadership.