Janey Lew

Senior Strategiest 
She/They/ 她 

I’m a second-generation Chinese-Canadian, born and raised on the unceded, ancestral lands of Musqueam, Squamish, and Tseil-watuth peoples. My family is from the Sze Yup (四邑)/Four Counties region of Guangdong Province in Southern China. We are descendants of sojourner grandfathers and uncles who paid the Chinese Head Tax and laboured on the Canadian Pacific Railroad. I grew up at the intersections of three culturally and historically significant East Vancouver neighbourhoods: Chinatown, Strathcona, and the Downtown Eastside. Legacies of community cultural activism that surrounded me and lifted me up continue to light my fire today. 

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I joined the CTLT Indigenous Initiatives team in 2015 after a decade of teaching post-secondary courses in literary and cultural studies, academic writing, First Nations studies, and Asian Canadian/Asian American studies. I’m a UBC alumna; my siblings and I are first-generation university graduates. While pursing my studies at UBC, I became interested in how my own family’s history intersects with broader histories of gendered and racialized capitalism in Canada’s settler-colonial nation-building project. This led me to my doctoral research on reading solidarity and cultural activism through reciprocal representations in writing by Indigenous and Asian Canadian women. I completed my PhD in Comparative Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Berkeley in 2018. 

My path to a career in educational and leadership development has not necessarily been straightforward, and that circuitous journey contributes to how I approach working with diverse audiences through their own learning/un-learning journeys and values-aligned goals. My work experiences before becoming a post-secondary educator and strategist were in community-based settings, government, and non-profit organizations supporting child development and youth capacity-building, employment, and leadership. I have also been involved in community-based literary and arts organizations such as the Asian Canadian Writers Workshop, RicePaper magazine, and the Thursdays Writing Collective. 

During my time with CTLT Indigenous Initiatives, I have worked with my colleagues to design and facilitate workshops and programs like the Indigenous Initiatives Design Series and Classroom Climate and Equity and Inclusion TA Training program. In my current role as Senior Strategist, I support and liaise with academic and other partner units on Indigenous and anti-racist strategic educational priorities and initiatives, serve on advisory and curricular committees, consult with faculty on courses and curriculum, and collaborate to manage II team projects, processes, strategy and capacity. 

I’m also an ICF-trained coach, and I am currently curious about liberatory coaching models that center and support IBPOC leadership, anti-oppressive education, and systemic transformation. 

I Love

  • Family adventures and lazy afternoons with my partner, kid, two cats, and French bulldog 
  • Moving my body – I’ve practiced yoga for over 20 years, and I love walking outdoors in the trees or by the ocean 
  • Singing in groups and in harmony – karaoke and choir nerds are my people 

Indigenous Initiatives Team