Raghwa Gopal discusses his humble beginnings and inspiring climb to the tech world’s top, a genuine rag to riches story. He is President & CEO of Innovate BC—a crown corporation of the Province of BC.
We had a glimpse into the life of The Birdman. He gave us a tour of “The Barn,” where he stores his vehicle acquisitions for restoration. He shows us a rare 1931 Ford Model A, which he is working on.
Simon Fraser University professor Majid Bahrami sees excellent promise in clean technologies that will help reduce the stress on the planet’s natural resources as our population grows.
Family is everything to Rupa Marcus. Deeply proud of her Punjabi roots, her favorite childhood memories are of being surrounded by family—her parents, brother, sister, cousins, aunties, and uncles all hanging out with the irresistible smell of homemade samosas wafting through the air.
We all know a lot of things in life are common sense. But many are emotionally and physically struggling to cope with daily living. V Krishna Lakkineni (VK), a technology entrepreneur, Amazon best-selling author, and one of the executive producers of a recent documentary “Dreamer” that won 3 Emmy Awards—believes that his path to self-discovery helped him to discover the abundance in the Universe.
Hema Bhatt, Vice President of Natu’Oil Services Inc., has been appointed to the Board of Directors by the Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation for 2021-2022.
Kathy Kinloch has spent over 30 years as a respected health care provider, educator, and leader. She is currently the President of the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), which serves approximately 50,000 students annually. Holding this position since 2014, she was previously President of Vancouver Community College for three years, and the Dean of BCIT’s School of Health Sciences before that.
Jessie Shokar is a woman who has adapted and persevered. She has overcome adversity and taken challenges head-on. She is tenacious in her career as a Branch Manager with RBC Royal Bank. She achieved The Global Citizen Award in 2018, Leadership Award 2020, Award for Care, Empathy & Resilience during COVID for Clients and her team, and recognition for three consecutive years of High Employee Engagement.
Rita Chohan is best known for her successful home staging business, An Elegant Touch Home Staging and Design. She is a socialite, respected in her community. She has a sense of fashion and entrepreneurship even from her adolescence. Our readers are familiar with her business acumen, but there is more to this successful woman who is not afraid to forge her distinctive path.
Armed with an education and a firm conviction of who she is, Rena Dhir is the perfect example of a woman who can have it all. Her strength comes from the guidance and support she received from her parents, and now from her husband and children. She is tenacious and attributes her joy in life to maintaining a work-life balance. She sets goals and achieves them, always striving for better.
Joslyn Young, Manager, External Relations – Gateway Strategy at Vancouver Fraser Port Authority sat down with Drishti to share her own background and discuss her position with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority. Joslyn is the eldest of five children who had “wonderful parents who raised my siblings and I to believe in ourselves and always strive to excel.”
Orene Askew grew up on the Squamish Nation Reserve. An Afro-Indigenous, she has faced adversity and confusion growing up because she is not your typical-looking indigenous woman, for she looks black. A politician and serving as a Squamish Nation elected Councillor, a motivational speaker, inspiring youths across the country with her story about being resilient, sharing a life-changing event, and her challenges of being mixed race. She is the youngest of 4 from a large family that includes 10 grandchildren.
An Indigenous, Musqueam young woman, Zoë Craig-Sparrow, the daughter of Laura Sparrow and James Craig and the granddaughter of Edward and Susan Sparrow, is a feminist activist born and raised on Musqueam’s unceded territory in Vancouver, Canada.
As the CEO of Options Community Services, and Habitat Housing Society, Christine Mohr sees the impact that the inability to access affordable housing has on people’s sense of security and well-being. Christine is one of the leading forces behind the Women of Options Campaign, a life-changing initiative raising money for affordable housing units in Surrey, BC.
As a lawyer by profession, Puneet Sandhar has always prioritized being actively involved in community programs and initiatives. Immigrating to Surrey in 2002, Puneet is a managing partner at Sanghera Sandhar Law Group, specializing in land development and Real Estate law.