To date, I have the honour of talking with psychologists, social workers, former MLA, lawyers, youth, Minister of cabinet, Vice Provost at a University, documentary film maker, former media broadcaster, and policy makers. Each episode ends with some calls to action so the listener can walk away with ideas they can think about, do, and do more of on their anti-racism journey.
Ben talks about how he came to Canada from Taiwan as an international student at 15 years old. He shares that he speaks Mandarin, Taiwanese, Cantonese, and English. He notes that after completing his Bachelor of Psychology degree, he worked for a non-profit organization that supported newcomers; he was able to use his language skills to bridge understanding. He voices the importance of being introspective as a cultural being, so learning is a lifelong journey.
Ricardo shared how he was born in El Salvador and came to Canada at six years old, speaking only Spanish and no English. He said he did well in school and encountered racist moments by being called an immigrant and “you people.” He voices how he became a teacher and psychologist partly due to resonating with being relational. He indicates the importance of studying, learning about people’s stories, and using care to continue to grow, unlearn, and cultivate empathy.
Winnie shares that she came to Canada from Hong Kong as a child and moved to Scarborough, Ontario. She states how there were many Asians in her community. She said that she chose to be an entrepreneur and is a Board Chair of the Hong Fook Mental Health Association partly due to her research on caregiver resiliency and learning about positive psychology. She voices the importance of leaning into social awkwardness to cultivate connection and be proactive about your good intentions.
Winnie is a mission-focused entrepreneur, business strategist, and social advocate. Her entrepreneurial venture and consultancy Good Work Collective Inc. is focused on building scalable tools to advance an age-inclusive digital future. Winnie also serves as the Board Chair of Hong Fook Mental Health Association, where she steers an agency with over four decades of serving diverse Asian communities of the GTA. Winnie is also a life-long learner, and proud to be an alum of the Richard Ivey School of Business, and Rotman School of Management where she recently completed an EMBA specializing in health system transformation. She is a certified Positive Psychology Practitioner and Resiliency Coach, and integrates these practices in guiding herself, individuals and teams.
Lin shares she left Taiwan in her early 20s to pursue a Master of Social Work degree in New York City and later moved to Canada. She discloses the many overt racist experiences she has had, such as being shouted at, invisibilized, and sworn at. She states the importance of coming together as a community to create awareness, make some noise, and take action to combat anti-Asian racism.
Carley is a mixed-race Japanese Canadian (JC) who experienced racism in her twenties when she felt like a tourist. She formed Rabbits Three Cultural Connections (https://rabbitsthree.ca/), inviting performance artists to collaborate to resist model minority stereotypes. She shares the importance of treating everyone as individuals and being curious about their stories.
