About Ryan

People leader and strategist with over 5 years of experience in the non-profit sector, and over 4 years of experience in… wait - this isn’t LinkedIn!

My name is Ryan, and I wear many hats. From leading financial and marketing teams, to being a Human Resources and Program Director, to developing an online community (it comes with building a non-profit from scratch I suppose - limited resources and all), I’ve had the pleasure of dabbling a bit in each field, with so many learning and networking opportunities.

As I look back at my journey so far, I’ve come to realize that a lot of the work that I do can be summarized by helping others unlock and maximize their potential (underrepresented and marginalized communities + newcomers and immigrants in particular).

Learn more about my journey below (grab a warm drink and some snacks - it’s a moderately long story!)

The past

Arc 1: Discovering what I like (and more importantly - what I don’t)

University + Accounting Services / Bookkeeping

Growing up with family that mostly provided financial services, it seemed as though I was destined to go into business - and so I did.

After graduating from high school, I started my post-secondary journey at Simon Fraser University, studying business at the Beedie School of Business. My plan was simple - take 5 courses each semester, finish the courses required in the Accounting specialization, work towards becoming a CPA, graduate in 4 years, find a high-paying job, retire by 55 (I was hopeful then!)

Having done an accounting internship in Hong Kong prior to starting my degree, and working as VP of Finance for a charitable club at SFU - I soon landed my first part-time job as a Junior Bookkeeper at NexGen Accounting, where I met Winnie Hsu (more later). It was the perfect gig - largely remote work, a 10-minute drive from campus (where I resided for the first two years of my degree) for meetings, and a friendly and supportive team. What could go wrong?

If you’re looking for the other shoe to drop - this isn’t that kind of story. NexGen was truly an amazing place to work for, but after a short 9-months, I moved on (it was mostly due to a car crash - no one was hurt!)

This however came right before COVID-19 shut everything down. My classes went online, and I found myself with an abundance of time and energy. After chatting with Winnie, I continued to provide contractual services to NexGen, ranging from marketing, translation, and more. I also took on another part-time bookkeeping job, now with a bit more responsibility as I actually had files to do full-cycle bookkeeping for. This went on for a year and a bit more, and while the work stayed consistent, as someone that yearned for excitement, I quickly learned that - maybe accounting wasn’t for me after all.

A few sessions with my university advisors later, I was now on track to complete my degree specializing in Operations Management and Strategic Analysis.

The present

Arc 2: Whiplash

Emergency Management + Non-Profit Work

Going from one extreme to the other - my calendar has never been more packed, yet I’m enjoying every minute of it.

At my 123rd credit (you needed 120 to graduate) - I decided to try for a co-op. It was a bit scary truth be told - with my experiences primarily in Accounting and Finance, switching over to Operations and Strategy so late in my degree felt like starting from scratch. With a couple of applications and a lot of luck, I landed a role doing Emergency Planning with the Vancouver Airport Authority - and that was the start of a new journey.

For the first couple of months when people asked me what I did at YVR, my answer was always along the lines of “it’s quite interesting really - things like assets and exercises and drills and planning… I realize it doesn’t make much sense with context - just know that every week is different, and that’s what makes the job exciting!” To me, I had gone from one end of the spectrum to the other in terms of job excitement. Where accounting and bookkeeping would have me sitting an in office all day staring at numbers, emergency management got me up and running (often literally), from organizing live drills, to driving on the airfield, to inspecting emergency assets around Sea Island, and much more. I was living the dream, however as most sweet dreams do, my co-op term quickly came to an end, and I was to go back to university to complete a business analysis certificate before graduating, and try to find another job that was as exciting as what YVR had to offer - or so I thought.

I was offered a one-year extension, and I signed on without a second thought. That year, I worked on multiple projects, the most exciting being Exercise Coastal Response 2023, a 3-day, whole-of-government earthquake exercise, involving over 200 agencies across Canada.

As that year came to an end, I was offered a permanent contract. I signed, and decided it was time to wrap up my degree. Since then, I’ve worked on >$15 million in projects and programs at YVR to enhance organizational resilience.

At the end of 2024, I decided to embark on a new journey, joining the Provincial Health Services Authority to do emergency management work for the upcoming FIFA World Cup in 2026. More to come!

Photo of firetrucks spraying water on a training plane.
A photo of the Vancouver International Airport's U.S. gates, with a snowy mountain as a backdrop.
Ryan standing with his back to the camera in graduation robes, facing Simon Fraser University.

At the same time, I kept up with doing consulting work for Winnie. Mid-2021, Winnie introduced me to a new idea: she came to Canada 30 years ago and started her own business, and understood the difficulties newcomers and immigrants faced when it came to accessing resources and connecting to the right people to start their own businesses. Her vision was to build an online community, accessible to all, with vetted resources, professionals and experienced business owners, networking opportunities, and more. We worked together on the business case, and eventually along with two other passionate professionals, founded Vision2Reality Foundation in August of 2021.

1,600+ Members

50+ Volunteers

23 Partnerships

75+ Interns from 21 Institutions across Canada

7 Key Programs and Services

120+ Lifetime Events

3,500+ Total Attendees

94% Satisfaction Rate

Throughout the last few years, I’ve been learning more and more about the importance of surrounding yourself with good people, and finding a good mentor. I’m grateful that my connection with Winnie in 2019 has blossomed into much more - she has been a boss, a mentor, an advisor, a friend, and more, and she has always encouraged me to try new things and take on opportunities to grow.

After lots of deliberation, I decided to start pro-bono coaching services for post-secondary students to give back, with the goal of unlocking and maximizing their potential during and after their post-secondary journey.

The future

Arc 3: To be continued!

Awards

BCBusiness 30 Under 30 2024

Magazine page showcasing 30 portraits of BCBusiness 30 Under 30 winners.

In 2024, I was named one of BCBusiness’ 30 Under 30 for my work with Vision2Reality Foundation. It is truly an honour to have been recognized alongside other business trailblazers, and for being one of the four non-profit organizations represented in 2024’s 30 Under 30 list.

It was also a great reality check - the work that we were doing was helping people, but there is also so much more that can be done in support of our community. Between this and meeting with the other winners in my cohort and some of the 30 Under 30 alumni, I was inspired to continue in my mission to supporting the community, which has led me to the work I am doing now in the coaching and community support space.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award of Distinction Finalist for Vision2Reality Foundation

Presented by the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce at the 2025 Business Excellence Awards, the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award of Distinction recognizes organizations/individuals that champion inclusive practices, foster equitable opportunities, and celebrate diversity, creating meaningful change within the broader community. Vision2Reality Foundation placed top three across 70 chamber organizations that were nominated in 2025.

Certifications

Project Management Institute (PMI)

  • Project Management Professional (PMP)

  • Professional in Business Analytics (PBA)

Other Institutes

  • Certified Six Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB) - CSSC

  • Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) - ISC2

  • Incident Command System Level 100, 200 & 300

Community Involvement

  • Douglas College New Venture Marketing Pitch Competition - Judge - Apr 2025

  • Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce 2025 Business Excellence Awards Gala - Finalist - Apr 2025

  • Group photo of around 40 attendees on stage at a pitch competition.

    SFU Enactus 2025 Forward Vision Pitch Competiton - Judge - Feb 2025

  • quare marketing post featuring four delegates, with Ryan in the bottom right corner

    UBC eProjects Executive Dinner Night - Delegate - Dec 2024

  • Panel discussion with five speakers seated under a screen, facing an audience in a lecture hall.

    Gamar Foundation Rise and Inspire Summit 2024 - Panelist - Oct 2024

  • Ryan standing next to a 'Networking' screen, with five panelists seated in the background and an audience in the foreground.

    Vancouver Startup Week 2024 - Event Speaker and Host - May 2024 - June 2024

  • "Banquet hall filled with tables of professionals after the Western Canadian Business Competition.

    Western Canadian Business Competition - Senior Division Judge - Mar 2024