About

Meet our Board of Directors

Thank you for your patience and support! Chinese translations updates and improvements of our content will be added to the website as we continue to grow. Our team is small, but we’re working as fast as we can to provide accurate translations for you all!

劉欣瑜 Sarah Liu (she/her), Secretary

Sarah Liu (she/her) is a first-generation Chinese settler living in Chinatown on the unceded xwməθkwəyəm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ territories. Born and raised in China, she has spent most of her life away from her birthplace, but Chinatown remains a bridge to her cultural roots and a source of comfort.
With a background in political science and philosophy, she is passionate about community-building and cultural preservation. Whether playing mahjong with seniors, sourcing fresh ingredients at the wet market, capturing Chinatown’s architecture on film, or volunteering at local events, she is dedicated to preserving and participating in Chinatown’s living history.
Sarah currently works at UBC’s Faculty of Medicine, where she connects future physicians with clinical educators, bridging healthcare and education to help shape the next generation of medical professionals.

Pearl Wong (they/them), Vice President

Pearl Wong (they/them) is a social justice advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and visibility. They are a migrant living in “Vancouver”, on the unceded territories of the xwməθkwəyəm, Skxwú7mesh, and səlilwətaʔɬ peoples. Pearl currently serves on the Board of Chinatown Today, co-chairs Lunar New Year For All (NYC), and co-founded the Vancouver Queer Lunar New Year group in 2024. Their organizing approach is shaped by their work in SF Dyke March (2012-2014), NYC Dyke March (2016-2019), and Q-Wave NYC (2017-2021).

陳安琪 Amanda Chiong (she/her), Treasurer

Amanda Chiong (she/her) is a Cantonese diasporic settler raised in so-called “Vancouver” on the unceded territories of the xwməθkwəyəm, Skxwú7mesh, and səlilwətaʔɬ peoples. Amanda studied finance before pursuing a career in law, and is excited to combine her educational background and passion for community towards strengthening Chinatown Today’s financial sustainability.

Vicky Jiang (she/her), Social Media Lead

Vicky Jiang (she/her) is a first generation Chinese settler on S’ólh Téméxw (Stó:lō), sq̓əc̓iy̓aɁɬ təməxʷ (Katzie), Kwantlen, and Semiahmoo territories. Chinatown has played a large role in her upbringing and being a part of Chinatown Today helps keep those memories alive. She is currently a second year high school teacher in Surrey and teaches Socials, Math, and Foods Studies. This is her first year at Chinatown Today and she hopes to learn more about Chinatown through the stories that have yet to be shared.

Rémi Landry Yuan (he/him), Creative Lead

Rémi Landry Yuan (he/him) is a designer, photographer, artist and community organizer living on the traditional and stolen Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh territories. With a background in architecture, his work and interests center around culture and community building in Chinatown and surrounding areas, as well as stewardship and growth of natural spaces. He spends much of his days in Chinatown, practicing Kungfu, supporting community events, and eating veg buns at Sun Fresh.

Jessica Hanzelkova (she/they), Editorial Lead

Willie Ng (he/him), Volunteer Coordinator

Willie Ng (he/him) is a second-generation Cantonese settler residing on the unceded traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. He has a professional background in finance and accounting, with a career rooted in the public sector. Willie has previously been involved with other local non-profit organizations, including Gordon Neighbourhood House and WildResearch.

Now in his first year on the board, Willie is taking on a volunteer coordination role. He is excited to support the work of Chinatown Today and contribute to advancing its mission and goals through meaningful community engagement. In his spare time, he can be found walking his dog, tinkering on his 3D printer, or taking dance classes.

許雅慧 Dax Heaven (they/them), Project Lead

Dax Heaven 許雅慧 (they/them/theirs) is a first-generation Chinese settler and multidisciplinary artist, writer and photographer raised on Snuneymuxw territories. Their practice is informed by their continuous curiosity on the phenomenon of boundaries. Through the joining of a variety of mediums, their multi-media work highlights the interconnectedness amongst all things in the universe. They currently live and work on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh nations and can be found frequenting Chinatown bakeries for steamed pork bao.

Cathy Xu (they/she), Project Lead

Cathy Xu (they/she) is a second-generation Chinese settler, living on traditional and stolen Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh territories. They are an emerging multidisciplinary artist and writer with focuses on plant traditions and culinary storytelling, and a background in literature and Asian migration studies. They enjoy spending their time learning new skills at community workshops, exploring local public parks, and finding more food spots for their Google Maps collection.

陳永強 Russell Chiong (he/him), President

Russell Chiong (he/him) is a Cantonese diasporic settler residing on unceded xwməθkwəyəm, Skxwú7mesh, and səlilwətaʔɬ territories. Chinatown has shaped not only his family history, but his cultural identity as well. He currently practices law in North Vancouver, assisting Indigenous governments in securing economic self-determination and redress for historic wrongs. Russell studied environmental law at the University of Victoria, and environmental science and Asian-Canadian and Asian migration studies at UBC. Russell joined the Chinatown Today board of directors in 2020 as Treasurer, and is excited to continue building up Chinatown Today as its President.

Previous Board Members

Immense thanks to our previous board members for their hard work and dedication in leading Chinatown Today since its inception!

Louis Lapprend, Founder
Dominique Bautista
Kimberley Wong
Katrina Nguyen
Emily Tso
Amanda Wong
Kaitlyn Fung
Angela Ho
Kelsey Lee
Serene Mitchell
Brooke Xiang
Phebe Ferrer
Lindsay Mercado
Jenn Xu
Alger Liang
Tim Lam

Accredits

We love Chinatown and we hope you do, too.
Many thanks to our translators, both locally and in different time zones, who have so generously shared their time and linguistic talents with us to provide translations of all our website content!

Yule Ken Lum
Joe Chou
Mark Lee
Wayne Hsu

Did we accidentally forget your name? Let us know!

If you would like to share a personal story, image, community event, or if you would like to join the team, please email us at info [at] chinatown.today