Background

Summary

I love to cook and eat as much as I love to learn and grow.

My interest in the intersection of food and personal growth began in my work on shark fin. I studied business and sustainability in university and grew up eating shark fin at dinner banquets. After learning about its ecological impacts, I led a number of initiatives that changed this tradition for many communities. While I realized I had some experiential knowledge in change, I wanted to take a deeper dive into its theory:

What drives personal and social change? What gets in the way of it? What keeps us going?

This is what led me to my training and work as a coach.

kitchenxlife combines my commitment as a coach and love for all things food. I hope this analogy to personal learning and growth will inspire you as well!

Cooking around the world: ’07 Hong Kong, ’09 Vancouver, ’19 NYC

More On My Background

  1. I’m an entrepreneur: I co-founded and led multiple organizations, including a nonprofit that has been featured in global media and won numerous awards. 
  2. I focus on systems change: I’m interested in understanding and transforming the mindsets and behaviours that drive our relationships: from societies to teams to couples, to the relationship we have with ourselves. 
  3. I am a narrator: I write and narrate stories that drive change. As part of my work at my organization Shark Truth, I designed and led campaigns that forever transformed Chinese culture.
  4. I am impact-driven: My work has also contributed to the implementation of conservation policies in the US, Hong Kong, and Canada.
  5. I’m a people leader: I grew up in a big family and developed a love for people: their stories, their backgrounds. I care about cultivating our learning, growth, and leadership.
  6. I’ve cooked 12,000 meals: I’ve been cooking since I was 10 years old (≈12,000 meals cooked so far!). I love to cook, dine, and host, and I rejoice in the scientific, social, and artistic endeavour of all things delicious.
  7. I care about best practice: I’ve apprenticed under top leadership faculty from McKinsey Co. I use global best practices that are based on evidence and real-world results. I uphold high ethical and professional standards.
Photo by Sarah Murray

Awards

  • Ashoka – Global Ashoka Fellow
  • Huffington Post Canada – Influential Millennials
  • Chatelaine Magazine – Ms Chatelaine
  • Rotary – Paul Harris Fellow
  • Explore Magazine – Top 30 Under 30
  • BC Business Magazine – Top 30 Under 30

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