Community Engagement Webinar Series
Bending Not Broken: Stories of Resilience

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WEBINAR SERIES:
BENDING NOT BROKEN: STORIES OF RESILIENCE
ASIAN GOLD RIBBON – Asian Youth Mental Health Summit
Wednesday, May 18, 2022, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. EDT
Join this 2- hour community conversation with honoured guests and panel of Asian youth sharing their stories, experiences, and concerns; as well as ideas for needed change at individual, community, educational, and systemic levels.
This year, Asian Gold Ribbon is focusing on Asian Youth mental health. Children and adolescents (up to 18 years) reported 29% of racist incidents in 2021 according to the CCNCTO and Project 1907 (2022) report. Reports by Youth, 18 years of age or younger, rose astronomically by 286% from the previous year.
Honoured guests and a panel of Asian Canadian Youth will share their stories. Together with our community of allies, we will develop Calls to Action to support Asian Youth mental health in Canada, where individual, community, and systemic level changes are needed.

Katherine Ho
Katherine Ho is best known for her Mandarin cover of Coldplay’s “Yellow” in the film Crazy Rich Asians, which topped Spotify’s Global Viral 50 chart and has garnered over 20 million streams across all platforms.
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Since Crazy Rich Asians, Katherine has lent her voice to several prestigious commercial, TV, and film projects that celebrate API (Asian/Pacific Islander) identity, including the opening song for the hit Netflix animation, Wish Dragon; a guest appearance on the Netflix chart-topping original show, Bling Empire; the theme song for award-winning short film Let’s Eat; and a jingle for a national Panda Express ad. In her original music, Katherine similarly hopes to encourage self-love, vulnerability, and cultural pride. She is incredibly passionate about advocating for mental health de-stigmatization and awareness in the Asian community.

Carol Huynh (she/her)
M. Counselling, MPC Intern
Carol Huynh is the third child of Vietnamese refugees, the first of her siblings born in Canada. She grew up in the small northern BC community of Hazelton. This is where she found the sport of wrestling, which would take her on a journey to the Olympic Games. Carol became the first female Gold medalist for Canada in the sport of wrestling at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. She went on to achieve a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympic Games to finish her athletic career with 4 World Championship medals, 2 gold medals from Pan American Games and 1 from a Commonwealth Games.
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After retiring from competition, Carol stepped right into coaching. She currently is the Next Gen coach with Wrestling Canada and is also working towards becoming a certified Mental Performance Consultant.

Julie Kim
Julie Kim is stand-up comedian and writer who headlines comedy clubs across Canada and the United States. She has been featured on national television and radio multiple times (the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, Just for Laughs Northwest, the Halifax Comedy Festival, and much more). Julie’s been a writer and on-camera talent for CBC’s The Debaters, Laugh out Loud, CBC’s Kim’s Convenience (a tiny bit as an occasional guest in the writer’s room), and more. Her comedy credits are among the best in the country. She is a writer and creative consulting for the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, and will be returning for her third TV gala in May 2022.
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Julie has just finished touring across North America with Ronny Chieng (The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Crazy Rich Asians). In 2018 she released her debut comedy album with 800 Pound Gorilla Records, and was discovered by fans worldwide as her comedy videos amassed over 20 million views online.
Julie is a writer for Simu Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Kim’s Convenience) as he hosts The Juno Awards in 2022. Julie’s mission is to spread happiness, lighten hearts, and unite through laughter.

Eva Chin
Chef Eva Chin was born and raised on a farm in Hawaii, and grew up immersed in the breathtaking bounty that Mother Nature has to offer, inspired by the mountains, the ocean, and earth. She learned at an early age that food is the connection between people and the land. This connection is translated into her cuisine. Born and raised on her grandmother’s farm in Kahuku, Hawaii; equipped with Samoan and Singaporean heritage, food knowledge, and the nature surrounding her, Eva’s career as a chef was no surprise. Eva has staged and cooked at renowned restaurants around the world, including Maaemo in Norway, Jason Atherton Pollen Street Social, and Brae in Australia.
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She credits much of her cooking style and success to her time spent working under Shane Osborn. Her favourite professional accomplishment was a lauded eight-month New American pop-up in Hong Kong called The Lazy Hog, adjacent to Yardbird. Prior to joining Royal Dinette, Eva cooked Pidgin and Hawksworth in Vancouver, before taking a brief opportunity to work with Dominique Crenn at Atelier Crenn in San Francisco.
Following her stint as Chef de Cuisine at Boulevard Kitchen and Oyster Bar in Vancouver, Eva, made the move to Toronto to helm the kitchen as renowned Kōjin (by Momofuku) where she brought diners the Hawaiin concept of Aloha ʻĀina—love of the land.
Most recently, Chef Eva is focused on launching her passion brand, The Soy Luck Club telling life stories through her food. She is also a sought after chef consultant to the industry, strategizing for retail and restaurant operations alike. Chef Eva is an avid voice for the community and can be found doing great work with leading brands and commodities.
“I fell in love with food as a child. The food in Hawaii is a great reflection of what progressive and seasonally inspired American food is: a mix of all the cultures, all the flavours. My cooking is about all the dishes we grew up eating, dishes that bring back childhood memories. It is about interpreting those dishes and translating those memories, but with the use of more seasonal and local ingredients. I love the Pacific Northwest and all that it encompasses — the beautiful ingredients, the seasonal change – and I want my food to showcase that too.”

Justin Wu
Justin Wu is a Toronto-based director and photographer who gained international recognition as a commercial and portrait photographer working in Europe with Vogue, Elle, and GQ. With his keen eye for visuals and storytelling, Justin transitioned into directing, discovering his passion for filmmaking.
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Justin has worked with established brands and talent including L’Oreal Paris, Dior, Victoria Beckham, and Simu Liu. His television directorial debut was an episode of award- winning sitcom Kim’s Convenience, for which he was nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement on a Comedy Show by the Director’s Guild of Canada in 2021.
Justin’s media and television appearances include Entertainment Tonight, CBS News, MTV, Le Grand Journal (Canal+), and Etalk. He has just wrapped directing a block of episodes for a new broadcast sitcom and he’s in development of his own series.
Justin’s philanthropic work won him the 2020 U.S. Power of Purpose award for an awareness campaign he co-founded for the United Nations, and a nomination for the 2021 Canadian Arts & Fashion Awards Image-maker of the Year Award. A member of the LGBTI community, he stands for inclusion, representation, and equity. Justin has delivered keynotes in association with Greenpeace, the Canon Creator Lab, and guest lectured at New York’s School of Visual Arts. Justin volunteers his time educating the underprivileged across the nation and mentors young BIPOC creators in and around Toronto.

Alyx Bui (they/them)
Alyx Bui (they/them) is an Edmonton based director, writer and activist whose stories expand narratives divergent from the mainstream, centering the representation of QTBIPOC folx- their stories, their faces, their struggles and joys- and explores the intersections of systems, identity and culture.
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Sane-ish Middle Class Asians (2019) is their debut short film as a director, actor, writer, artist and editor. Sane-ish Middle Class Asians is a queer love story that examines tarot, mysticism, choices and the feelings of longing through Asian folklore. In 2021, they directed and produced “Coffee to the People”, a documentary which was selected and awarded funding by TELUS Storyhive’s 2020 Local Heroes Documentary edition, and will explore the decolonization of the coffee industry through a QPOC owned coffee shop, Intent Coffee. They are also currently writing “Myth of the Rabbit God,” a script exploring Asian queerness, sensuality, and mythology.
Registration & Additional Information
PROMO CODE FOR FREE TICKETS TO SUMMIT: 1COMP
Register
References:
Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto Chapter & Project 1907. (2022). 2021 Another Year: Anti-Asian racism across Canada two years into the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.covidracism.ca/

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WEBINAR SERIES:
BENDING NOT BROKEN: STORIES OF RESILIENCE
ASIAN GOLD RIBBON – Asian Women Mental Health Summit
Friday, May 20, 2022, 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. EDT
Join this 2-hour community conversation with honoured guests; and engage with us in a community dialogue.
The CCNCTO and Project 1907 (2022) study indicates a 47% increase in anti-Asian racism reports in 2021 overall. Sixty-four percent were made by women, which is an increase of 8% from 2020. Women continue to be the most targeted in anti-Asian racist attacks in Canada.
Together with community allies, we will remember Michelle Go and Christina Yuna Lee and hear about the impact of gender-based and race-based racism on Asian women. We will unite and develop Calls to Action for Asian Women’s mental health support in Canada, where bold changes are needed to end race-based traumatic stress.

Lola Small
Lola Small is a Taiwanese-Canadian women’s empowerment coach, two-time bestselling author, and racial equity advocate. With over 25 years of combined experience in children’s education, mind-body fitness education, nonprofit fundraising, athletic event planning, and empowerment coaching, Lola is passionate about supporting girls and women to share their power and impact with the world.
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She currently supports mental health initiatives as a community support coach with CAMH (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health) Foundation. Lola is also the co-founder of Black Lives Rising Media, a social enterprise with education + empowerment programs to raise powerful Black leaders.
Her books For My Girls, Fitness to Freedom, and Women Let’s Rise are available, and her next book project “We Rise in Power: Amplifying Women of Color and Her Voices for Change” releases March 2023.

Dr. Eileen de Villa
Dr. Eileen de Villa is the Medical Officer of Health for the City of Toronto. In this role, she leads Toronto Public Health, Canada’s largest local public health agency that provides public health programs and services to 2.9 million residents.
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Dr. de Villa received her degrees as Doctor of Medicine and Master of Health Science (MHSc) from the University of Toronto and holds a Master of Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business. She is also an Adjunct Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.

Sylvia Yu Friedman
Sylvia Yu Friedman is a Canadian award-winning filmmaker & author, international speaker, and serial entrepreneur. She is the author of three books, A Long Road to Justice: Stories from the Frontlines in Asia (Penguin Random House, September 2021); Silenced No More: Voices of Comfort Women, the only journalistic account of historical Japanese military sex slavery during WWII, and Heart and Soul: The Life Story of Pastor Augustus Chao.
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A former TV anchor, and advisor to philanthropists. Since 2005, Sylvia has managed and directed millions of dollars to major humanitarian portfolios impacting at least more than one million people. She is producing a movie based on her latest book, A Long Road to Justice. Sylvia and her husband Matthew are based in Hong Kong.

Linda Hoang
Linda Hoang is one of Alberta’s leading social media strategists and a well known blogger and content creator who uses her platform to highlight local businesses, travel, food and lifestyle topics, along with speaking out against racism and raising awareness for social issues. Linda is the co-founder of Stop Race Based Hate, a new anti-racism education tool that helps give people the words and confidence to call out racism.

Teresa Woo-Paw
Chair of ACCT Foundation, Former Cabinet Minister in the Alberta legislature
Teresa is a tireless advocate for diversity, social inclusion and active civic participation for over 40 years. She is known for her ability in bringing diverse people together to joint efforts, break new grounds and create bigger impacts in society.
She is the first Canadian woman of Asian descent elected to the Calgary Board of Education (1995-2000), the Alberta Legislature and Cabinet Minister in Alberta (2008-2015).
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Teresa holds a bachelor of arts degree in social work from the University of Calgary. She founded and built eight non-profit entities over a span of 40 plus years including DiverseCities [Calgary Chinese Community Service Association]. She has worked with almost 100 organizations in Canada.
Teresa received Governor in Council appointment and is the Chair of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation since 2018. She is the Founder and Chair of ACCT Foundation and created the Inspire to Lead Chinese Canadian Leaders’ Summit and the Aspire to Act Leadership Training Program. In response to Anti-Asian racism Teresa created the Asia Canadians Together -ACT2EndRacism Network. Teresa is founder and current Co-Chair of Asian Heritage Foundation; Board member of Calgary Arts Foundation; City of Calgary-Tomorrow’s Chinatown and Lougheed House Advisory Committees.
Teresa loves the arts, gardening, travelling and spending time with her grandchildren.
Awards:
- Women Making History in Alberta Award 2022
- Chinese Canadian Legend 2016
- YWCA Women of Distinction Award, 1998
- Immigrants of Distinction Award, 1998
- Queen Elizabeth’s 60th Jubilee Award, 2012
- Queen’s Jubilee Award – Multiculturalism & Community Services 2002
- Alberta Centennial Medal & Medallion, 2005
- Canada 125th Commemorative Award for Community Services
Registration & Additional Information
PROMO CODE FOR FREE TICKETS TO SUMMIT: 1COMP
Register
References:
Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto Chapter & Project 1907. (2022). 2021 Another Year: Anti-Asian racism across Canada two years into the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.covidracism.ca/
The 2022 AGR Bending Not Broken: Stories of Resilience series is partially funded through the Athabasca University APDF/SSHRC Knowledge Mobilization.