The Power of Community: Meet the leaders making waves, Powered by Pecha Kucha

Steven Ngo (JD ’14)

Lawyer, Entrepreneur and Advocate

Steven Ngo is a corporate/technology lawyer and currently works as counsel at Rivian. He is the President of the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers (BC) and was recently named one of the Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada by Canadian Lawyer Magazine. Steven is a recipient of the Medal of Good Citizenship, one of the highest honours given to British Columbians in recognition of his advocacy work against anti-Asian hate crimes. Because of Steven’s efforts, the Vancouver Police Department has now expanded its online hate crimes reporting forms to be available in 14 different languages and has translated its website into over 100 languages. He is working to help make the reporting of hate crimes more accessible in cities across all of B.C. and Canada. Steven is also the co-founder of Beyond the A, an organization that seeks to destigmatize anxiety in the legal profession, and is an associate producer of “But I Look Like a Lawyer”, an award-winning documentary that will be screened at the Vancouver Asian Film Festival on November 5. In his personal life, Steven is an avid musician, an aspiring BBQ chef and a father to a one-year-old daughter. He hosts a top 50 parenting podcast on fatherhood called 2 Dads 1 Car (Spotify and Apple Podcasts)

Soundous Ettayebi (MM'17)

Manager, Development Diversity Strategy 

Soundous is a first-generation immigrant and settler currently residing on the unceded territory of the Musqueam peoples. She is a Diversity and Inclusion specialist working with companies to create equitable practices and foster a sense of belonging within teams. She received her B.Sc in Molecular Biology and Genetics from the University of Guelph followed by a Master of Management from UBC Sauder School of Business. Throughout her career journey, she has worked with various non-profit organizations and charities to promote access to healthcare services and educational opportunities for underserved populations. Her lived experiences and love of travel have ignited her passion for creating inclusive communities. When she isn’t working, she enjoys being outdoors, trying new recipes and exploring cafes.

Katrina Harry (BA'01, LLB'04)

Manager at Legal Aid BC

Katrina Harry works in the areas of child protection and family law. She is the Manager of Indigenous Services at Legal Aid BC and oversees ten Parents Legal Centres across British Columbia. She created the first Parents Legal Centre in 2014 as a way for parents to resolve their child protection matters early and collaboratively. First elected a Bencher for 2022, Katrina is co-chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Advisory Committee and a member of the Discipline Committee and Lawyer Development Task Force. Katrina has presented and chaired various programs, including guest lecturing at Allard Law and PLTC, and co-chairing both a working group for the BC Law Institute and for the Continuing Legal Education child protection conferences. She has sat on the Leadership Group for Access to Justice BC and served as board member for both Battered Women’s Support Services and Community Legal Assistance Society. Katrina is a proud member of the Shuswap nation, and enjoys cooking and hosting, and time at the soccer pitch with her three children. 

Yvan Guy Larocque (JD'16)

Indigenous Lawyer and Founder of Larocque Business Law

Yvan Guy Larocque, CD, LLM, is an Indigenous lawyer from Sainte Anne, Manitoba. He is called to the Bar in British Columbia and Manitoba, and worked as a lawyer in one of Canada’s top boutique business law firms for almost 10 years before founding Larocque Business Law. His practice focuses on Indigenous Economic Development and Entrepreneurship.  Yvan has a B.A in Economics from the University of Manitoba, a J.D. with a Business Law Concentration and Specialization in Aboriginal Law from UBC, and an LL.M with a specialization in Business Law from Osgoode Hall Law School.  He is a Practising Professional Instructor at the University of Manitoba Faculty of Law, and a frequent guest lecturer at the Peter A. Allard School of Law and the University of Victoria Faculty of Law. Yvan has also served for over 20 years in Canadian Armed Forces, and holds the rank of Petty Officer 1st Class. 

Sang Lê (BCom'22)

Co-founder of Peko Produce

Sang is the co-founder of Peko Produce, Western Canada’s first online grocery for “peculiar” & surplus products at up to 40% off retail prices. Sang grew up in Vietnam with an early passion to make an impact on her local community, especially after witnessing universal problems with food insecurity and sustainability. Learn about Sang's journey of becoming a social entrepreneur while studying at UBC, diverting 200,000+ lbs of food from going to waste, and saving $500,000+ in grocery bills for Vancouverites in this talk!  

Grace Nosek (LLM'17)

Scholar. Storyteller. Climate Justice Advocate.

Grace Nosek is Founder of the University of British Columbia Climate Hub and of the Rootbound project. She is a PhD Candidate in Law at the Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia studying how to use law to protect climate change science from manufactured doubt. She is a Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation scholar and a Killam doctoral scholar, and a past Canada-U.S. Fulbright recipient. She holds a B.A. from Rice University, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and an LL.M from UBC. Drawing from her research, Grace creates hopeful climate narratives, including the Ava of the Gaia trilogy, Climate Comeback, and Planet Potluck. Recently her research on climate litigation and storytelling was cited in the United Nations IPCC report and she contributed to the Good Energy Playbook on climate storytelling for Hollywood screenwriters. 

James Struthers (JD'17)

Founder & Lawyer at Macushla Law Corporation

James is a passionate, optimistic, giving and driven member of the BC bar. After a few years of experience in corporate, commercial and real estate law for Indigenous groups and small businesses, James decided to found a modern, tech forward legal ‘practice platform’ intended to provide lawyers firm-like supports while providing the freedom and flexibility of solo practice: macushlaw. In addition to managing macushlaw and running a full time corporate, commercial and real-estate practice serving primarily non-profits, charities, Indigenous groups and impact entrepreneurs, James runs a small legal co-working space (253 Columbia), helps steward a community of solo practitioners and small firms (BCSOS), co-founded and co-organizes an annual legal comedy debate (BGuiled Debate), is a supervising lawyer for a public interest law incubator and articling alternative (Access ProBono’s Everyone Legal Clinic), plays a bit of guitar and spends time off-roading, camping, kayaking and hanging out around Kootenay Lake with his partner Raquel and their three dog-babies. 

Celia Yang (BSc’15 MBA’20)

Founder & CEO, By The Sun

Celia Yang is the founder of By The Sun, a fine jewelry company focused on bringing a second life to antique jewelry from around the world. With a background in biology, she was set to pursue a path in medicine. Her journey took a turn when she began her jewelry business in 2014 as a passion project. After graduating from her MBA in 2020, Celia took By The Sun full time and now serves jewelry collectors on 6 out of the 7 continents (Antarctica, she’s looking at you)! Celia is currently studying to become a GIA Graduate Gemologist. 

Her vision for By The Sun is to create a foundation that provides youth with scholarships and opportunities in the field of jewelry and gemology.

When Celia is not hunting for antique jewels, you can find her going back to her roots as a concert pianist - her favorites being Chopin, Debussy and improvising on the piano. To get her eyes to light up, chat with Celia about scuba diving adventures, running a business and statement jewelry.