The Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop Society (ACWW) is a not for profit organization and is governed by a board of directors and executive team. The Purpose of the Society is:
- to organize, sponsor, stage and otherwise promote cultural arts activities and events including festivals, presentations, demonstrations, exhibits, workshops and seminars involving Pacific Rim Asian Canadian literary arts, themes and interests conducted in the English language;
- to encourage public appreciation of the above through educational activities including cultural exchange and scholarship
- to foster public appreciation, awareness and community development through cultural events.
Board of Directors
Ada Con - Having worked for the Fraser Valley Regional Library from 1975 to 2013, Ada was the manager of the Terry Fox Library for 20 years before coming the Coordinator of Diversity Services and Programming. As coordinator she created a number of award-winning library programs such as the Reading Link Challenge and the Festival of Aboriginal Artists.
Sean Gunn - A former member of the board of directors of the Chinese Benevolent Association, Sean is also a founding member of the Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop. His musical career includes playing in the house bands of Vancouver Chinatown's infamous strip joint, the Kublai Khan, and famous night club, the Marco Polo. Sean has composed music for the feature-length films Moving the Mountain, and Fishbones. He has performed with the Asian Canadian alternative folk-rock bands, "Number One son," and "Raw Silk". His poetry has been published in the anthologies, Inalienable Rice and Many Mouthed Birds.
Eric Li - Eric Li began volunteering with Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop in 2014, with encouragement from Todd Wong. He is currently serving his second term as Vice President. Employed by Vancouver Community College (VCC) Eric had served two years on the college's Employee Engagement Strategic Committee. Although a private writer, Eric’s work has been quoted at the Storytellers of Canada 2016 annual conference. Eric became an outspoken advocate for barrier-free Adult Basic Education (ABE) after his own positive life changing experience as a GED student at VCC where he received the Balinder Johal Scholarship for outstanding achievement. He then went on to pursue higher education at UBC, Vancouver Island University (VIU), and Laurentian University.
Alyssa Sy de Jesus - Alyssa has a growing background in community-building through cultural programming and museum curation. She is currently completing a master's thesis at UBC's English Language and Literatures Department located on Unceded Musqueam territory. Her research is on how Jane Austen unpacks orientalism in the novel Mansfield Park. She also works for the university's Public Humanities Hub. She is delighted to be joining ACWW as a board member this year. She looks forward to learning from and contributing to its legacy.
Todd Wong - Currently the longest serving ACWW Board member, Todd helped create ACWW's inaugural Community Builders Dinner in 2002. A 5th Generation Canadian in inter-cultural Vancouver, Todd can be seen in the CBC TV documentary Generations: The Chan Legacy, which he consulted on about the life and descendants of his pioneer great-great-grandfather Rev. Chan Yu Tan, who came to Canada in 1896. He has documented lots of Asian-Canadian history as one of the first Asian-Canadian bloggers. Todd is an avid blogger at Toddish McWong’s Gung Haggis Fat Choy, "Toddish McWong's Robbie Burns Chinese Ne Year Dinner has become (in which he is also founder and organizer of) one of Vancouver’s most celebrated annual intercultural gatherings, and has inspired a CBC TV performance special, a similar version at Simon Fraser University, and ACWW's Hapa-Palooza Festival . Todd is also Chair of the Historical Joy Kogawa House Society, where he helped to save author Joy Kogawa's childhood home into a Canadian landmark with a writer-in-residence program. Todd is also a co-author in Eating stories: A Chinese Canadian & Aboriginal Potluck.
Executive Director
Allan Cho - Allan is an academic librarian and researcher who specializes in publishing, culture, and diversity. He volunteers actively in the community and has served on the boards of a number of non-profit organizations.
Mailing address:
Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop Society
P.O. Box 74174
Centre Point Mall PO
Vancouver, BC
V5T 4E7