Board

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).

As the provincial director, Claire Avison serves as the provincial government representative on the board. Since joining the BC public service in 2001, she worked in several different ministries including the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Advanced Education and is currently working in the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport. In each of these roles, Claire has held policy, regulatory, and program responsibilities. She was first appointed to the position of Assistant Deputy Minister in 2011, when she was with the Ministry of Education.

Christina Chang immigrated to Canada in 1996, establishing an education consulting company Hanyin Education Consulting Inc. to service the growing population of international students in search of higher education in Canada. Since 2009, Christina has been heavily involved in the Taiwan Chamber of Commerce, which promotes healthy business exchange between Taiwan and Canada. In addition to her hefty contributions as the president of both Hanyin Education Group and Taiwan Chambers of Commerce, she also works as the president of the Chinese Canadian Association for Future Leaders (CCAFL) to provide a platform for teenagers to communicate and connect with leaders from the East and West. She graduated in 2020 with an MBA from Leige University and was the recipient of the Outstanding Chinese Canadian Woman Award in 2012 and 2013. In her spare time, she loves to read, travel and help those who are in need.

Tung Chan is a retired bank executive with the TD Bank Financial Group and a former councillor of City of Vancouver. He holds a BA from the University of British Columbia. Tung Chan has a long history of community involvement. Currently, he is a member of the Canadian Red Cross B.C. and Yukon Provincial Advisory Committee, BC Community Care and Community Living Appeal Board, Fairchild TV Program Advisory Committee, and a board member of the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education. He also served as the Chief Executive Officer of S.U.C.C.E.S.S. from 2006-2010, and a retired Honorary Captain of the Royal Canadian Navy, and the former chair of the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 1. Tung also served on the boards as chair, vice-chair, and member for numerous organizations including E-Comm Emergency Communications, Richmond Public Library, International Financial Centre Society of BC (now known as Advantage BC), BC Premier’s Chinese Community Advisory Committee, Province of BC Equal Opportunity Community Advisory Board, the Vancouver Foundation, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Asia Pacific Foundation, The Laurier Institution, the Immigrant Employment Council of British Columbia, Metropolis BC, Rick Hansen Institute, and the United Way of the Lower Mainland. In recognition of his community contributions and leadership, Tung was awarded the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2002 and 2012, an honorary Doctorate in Law from University Canada West in 2013, and inducted into the Order of British Columbia by the Honourable Judith Guichon, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia in 2014. In his leisure time, Tung enjoys reading and travelling.

Guo Ding holds a BA from Shanghai Normal University and MA from Rikkyo University, and is currently a producer and host for Omni BC. Previously, he worked for several news media outlets, including Channel M, Talentvision TV (Vancouver), and Mingpao Daily. Guo is also an author, writing books about Chinese immigration history in Canada. He is the founding president of the Canada Committee 100 Society, and previously served as a board director for S.U.C.C.E.S.S. He has received multiple awards both for his work in journalism and in the community, including the Jack Webster Award for journalism, and Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

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.

Burton Lee is a senior consultant for Aon, a global human resource company where he provides actuarial and consulting services for a variety of clients. Previously, Burton was a consulting actuary for Leong and Associates. Active in his community, he is a director for the Chinese Canadian Military Museum Society and treasurer for Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans in Canada, Pacific Unit No. 280. He is also on the Games Committee for the Down Syndrome Resource Foundation. He is a fellow with the Society of Actuaries, Canadian Institute of Actuaries and Conference of Consulting Actuaries. Burton holds a BSc in Mathematics from the University of British Columbia.

Alan Lowe was born and raised in Victoria, BC, having lived in Canada’s oldest Chinatown until the age of three. He traces his ancestry back to Zhongshan, Guangdong Province, China where his parents immigrated from in 1957, and both sets of his grandparents immigrated from in the early 1900’s having paid the head tax. He has sat as the president of the Hook Sin Tong Society, former director of the Victoria Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, former member of the Victoria Chinatown Lion’s club, founding member of the Victoria Chinese Commerce Association, and serves as life member of the Victoria Chinatown Care Centre.

Ted began his career with Tourism Vancouver in 1992 and was the Chief Financial Officer and Director of Destination Development before retirement. 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.

Wendy Lee is a partner of Koffman Kalef LLP, Business Lawyers and has practised corporate and securities law since 1985. She acts primarily as company counsel in matters relating to securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations, corporate governance, and ongoing securities and corporate regulatory compliance. Wendy was born and raised in Vancouver and received her B.A. (Honours) in Psychology from the University of British Columbia and her law degree from the University of Toronto. As an avid supporter of the performing arts, Wendy also serves on the Board of Directors of Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre. She has been a director, officer, committee member or volunteer of various other community and professional organizations, including serving for six years on the Executive of the Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch Women Lawyers Forum and being an ongoing mentor to young lawyers. 

Raymond Louie was born and raised in Vancouver and served five terms on the Vancouver City Council from 2002-2018. During this time, he held several positions, including acting mayor, vice chairman of Metro Vancouver (2011-2018) and president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (2015-2016). He also helped advance many award-winning policies and planning programs related to housing, inclusiveness, and the environment. Beyond office, he has also served the community as a national representative for his union as well as a trustee and board director on numerous regional, provincial, and national boards including the BC Municipal Finance Authority, TransLink, Metro Vancouver, Federation of Canadian Municipalities, and Chair of the Green Municipal Fund Council. Raymond is an avid cyclist, and enjoys board games with his family and walks with his two dogs in his spare time.

William Ma immigrated to Vancouver in 1993 with a long career in the import and export business. In the early 1970’s, William founded a factory specializing in the export of outerwear garments to North America. In 1981, he became one of the first groups of Hong Kong investors to establish factories in Guangzhou while establishing close relationships with the Guangdong Board of Trade. After immigrating to Vancouver, he founded two trading companies investing in garment imports from China and commercial properties. William is an active member in the community, serving on the boards of numerous community organizations. He was involved in the successful effort to designate Vancouver Chinatown as a National Heritage Site, as part of the bid for Chinatown to receive its World Heritage Site designation.

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.

With twenty years experience in higher education and arts leadership, Dr. Ting has dedicated her career to fostering life-long learning in and through the arts. As Executive Director of Continuing Studies at Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Dr. Ting oversees innovative and accessible programs in art, design, and media. Prior to joining ECU, Dr. Ting was a member of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University where she served as Dean of Cabot House, one of 12 living-learning communities at the College, and Lecturer on Sociology, teaching courses on culture, education, and inequality.

Dr. Ting’s interests in culture and education grew from her experience working in art museums, having served as Education Fellow at the deCordova Museum (Lincoln, Mass.), Museum Educator at the Institute of Contemporary Art (Boston, Mass.), and Director of Public Programs and Education at the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery (Ontario).

Born and raised in Vancouver, B.C., Dr. Ting received her B.A. with Honours in art history and psychology (University of Toronto), Master of Education in art and museum education (Harvard) and Doctor of Education in culture, communities and education (Harvard). Dr. Ting has received numerous research and teaching awards and is an artist with recent exhibitions of her work in Hong Kong.

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.

Grace Wong’s professional experience spans over three decades at the University of British Columbia (UBC), serving in roles such as Senior Advisor International in the Office of Provost and Vice President Academic, and Assistant Dean in the Sauder School of Business. A particular area of focus was the development of international partnerships and initiating new programs. In 2018, she received the UBC President’s Staff Award for Creativity and Innovation. Grace retired from UBC in 2020. Grace Wong has been active in the community serving as the public representative of the Chartered Professional Accountants of BC, chair of S.U.C.C.E.S.S, and a member of the Working Group of the Chinese Canadian Museum, board of 58 West Hastings (a project of Chinatown Foundation), Mobility Pricing Independent Commission, BC Expert Panel on Business Taxation, BC Immigration Task Force, BC Premier’s Asia Pacific Trade Council, and others. Grace has been recognized with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and the BC Community Achievement Award. Grace has an MBA & BEd (Secondary) from UBC. She was born in Vancouver and grew up in the Chinatown area. She is married with three grown daughters.

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.