The Department of Asian Studies is delighted to invite you to our biennia
l Careers Night! Navigating life after graduation can be hard\, so we ask r
eputable guests and alumni with diverse experiences – at home and in Asia –
to inform and inspire current students.
This event will feature keyn ote speeches from an ex-Consul General Asian Studies alum and a UBC career strategist\, as well as round-robin networking sessions where you can conne ct face-to-face with fellow Asian Studies graduates from a wide array of ba ckgrounds.
You will also have a chance to win various raffle prizes\, including a Kindle\, a subscription to Duolingo\, and an Asian Studies-the med coffee chat starter pack!
Careers Night is the perfect opportunit y to gain career insights\, make connections\, meet fellow students\, and f eel more confident in taking the next steps on your career path.
Da
te & Time:
Thursday\, March 19\, 2026 | 5:30pm - 7:30pm PT
Location:
Ponderosa Ballroom\, Ponderosa Commons
- Oak House\, 6445 University Blvd\, Vancouver\, BC V6T 1Z2
This even t is open to all UBC students - undergraduate and graduate. Dress code is b usiness casual.
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5:30 pm – Check -in and reception starts
6:00 pm – Welcome remarks
6:05 pm – Ke ynote Speech by Jennie Chen (BA ’99)\, Director of Operations (China)\, For eign and Defense Policy at Privy Council Office\, Government of Canada
< p>6:20 pm – Keynote Speech by Robyn Stalkie\, Career Strategist\, UBC Caree r Centre and Faculty of Arts6:35 pm – Networking Round Tables: Ask M e Anything with the Alumni
7:30 pm – Event concludes
Jennie Chen\, BA ’99 – Director of Operations (China)\, Priv y Council Office\, Foreign and Defense Policy\, Government of Canada
Jennie is currently the Director o f Operations (China) at the Privy Council Office (PCO)\, Foreign and Defens e Policy Secretariat\, at the Government of Canada. She started at Global Affairs Canada (GAC) in 2003\, with foreign assignments in Beijing on two o ccasions\, Kandahar\, and Washington. From 2017 to 2020\, she worked at En vironment and Climate Change Canada before returning to GAC as the Director of the Northeast Asia and Oceania Division and then Executive Director for the Greater China Political Division. Before joining PCO\, she served as the Consul General of Canada in Shanghai\, China. She has a B.A. from the University of British Columbia and an M.A. from McGill University. She was born and raised in Vancouver.
Robyn Stalkie – Career Strateg
ist\, UBC Career Centre and Faculty of Arts
Robyn Stalkie (
she/her) is the Career Strategist for the Faculty of Arts. As an Arts gradu
ate herself\, she is committed to supporting students within the Faculty to
feel confident as they seek out meaningful work during their degrees and b
eyond. In her role as Career Strategist\, Robyn spends time delivering work
shops (resume/cover letter\, interview tips\, job search strategy\, etc.)\,
facilitating career development events like the Arts Career Design Studio\
, and having 1-1 advising conversations. Outside of work Robyn loves to pla
y word-/video-/board-games of all sorts and dive into on her coursework for
the Certificate of Organizational Coaching program through UBC!
Logan Anschell\, BA ’25 – Clerk\, Business and Government Relations
Logan is a University of British Columbia (UBC) political scienc
e graduate preparing to start a Juris Doctor (JD) in Fall 2027\, with a pro
fessional interest in global order\, international security\, and Canada–U.
S. relations.
He currently serves as Clerk within the City of Surrey’s
Business and Government Relations division\, helping to shape intergovernm
ental strategy and external stakeholder engagement. His work supports senio
r leadership in advancing the City’s priorities across multiple levels of g
overnment\, grounding his global policy interests in hands-on public sector
experience and practical governance.
In parallel\, he is actively pu rsuing service in the Canadian Armed Forces Reserves\, reflecting a practic al commitment to defense\, security\, and public service that complements h is professional and academic trajectory.
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Gabriela Chen\, BA ’15 – System and Process Specialist/ Me
rchandise Planning
Shaped by Vancouver\, Gabriela has built her career in the outdoor and technical apparel industry and currently lead s product demand forecasting processes and tools at Arc'teryx Equipment. Be fore transitioning into the retail industry\, she developed a strong founda tion in sales\, retail management\, and warehouse operations at a publicly traded Japanese trading company. Gabriela attributes much of her success to the broadened global perspective she gained through UBC’s language program s and her participation in Go Global.
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Tinnie Chow\, BA ’99 – Digital Content Strategist/Founder
Tinnie Chow is a TV executive and digital strategist with 20+ years of experience building global audiences across broadcast\, streaming\, and social platforms. She has led programming\, digital channel\, social media strategy and partnerships at MTV\, Facebook/Meta in London. She is a pionee r of K-pop launching Asian American MTV channels in New York bringing artis ts like Rain\, Big Bang\, 2NE1 Se7en to perform for MTV TRL studios. She is the founder of The Collectiv Digital Entertainment\, focused on scaling di scoverability for Canada’s BIPOC storytellers.
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Casey Collins\, BA ’09 – Director of Inter-Religious S
tudies and Professor of Asian Religions
Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area\, Casey moved to Vancouver in 2005 for university\, completing a BA in Asian Area Studies in 2009. He lived in Tokyo from 2009 through 2012 while working for a Buddhist lay organization that later becam e the subject of his graduate research on Japanese new religions. He earned his PhD in 2023\, defending a dissertation on the Japanese religion Shinny o-en. For nearly a decade\, Casey has been an instructor and lecturer at UB C\, Columbia College\, and now at the Vancouver School of Theology where he is Director of Inter-Religious Studies and Professor of Asian Religions.
Bryan Dunn\, BA ’81 – Senior F
oreign Counsel\, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune Law Offices
Bryan
is a 1981 graduate of UBC\, Asian Studies (Japanese language major). Follo
wing his BA\, he spent a few years in Japan\, two of which in the resource
trading division of a major Japanese trading company. On his return to Vanc
ouver\, he entered UBC Law School and qualified as lawyer in 1991\, followi
ng which he went back to Japan where he continues to practice as Canadian l
awyer in Tokyo.
Other than his career as a lawyer\, he published his w
riting in Japanese as a foreign author last year.
Lisa gr
aduated from UBC in 2022 with a BA in English Literature and Languages\, al
ongside an Asian Area Studies minor. She began her career through WorkLearn
as a Communications Assistant for the Department of Asian Studies\, suppor
ting initiatives like this very Careers Night! Lisa also spent a semester a
broad as an exchange student at National Taiwan University\, where she deep
ened her connection to her cultural background by experiencing everyday lif
e\, and got to work on her language skills firsthand.
After returning
from Taiwan\, Lisa transitioned into tech as a Communications Specialist at
SAP\, while freelance UX writing on the side. This led to her first in-hou
se UX Writer role at Later\, a Vancouver-based tech company building social
media marketing software. Fast forward 5 years\, and she is now working as
a UX Writer at Samsung. Lisa hopes sharing her story can help show current
students how curiosity\, arts\, and non-linear paths can lead you to meani
ngful careers in tech and/or design.
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Oliver Mann\, BA ’13 – Senior Manager\, Marketing & E
vents at the University of British Columbia
If you'd asked O liver in fourth year what he'd do after graduation\, he probably would have told you something in Canada-Asia relations. He was on exchange in Seoul a nd interning at BC's Trade Office.
Instead\, he graduated and became a professional musician. He signed with a record label\, toured internation ally\, and had a day job doing communications for UBC's Department of Asian Studies. When he stopped playing music\, he started doing photography—shoo ting models\, musicians\, actors—and he taught rock climbing in the morning .
Then the pandemic hit. He earned an MA in Communications and now he 's regularly invited to speak on his research (communications and Indigenou s engagement) across Canada. In 2026\, he started a new role at Innovation UBC where he helps researchers launch companies and bring their ideas to ma rket.
His career path wasn't what he expected (and nowhere near finis hed). He hopes he can inspire students to follow their curiosity wherever i t leads.
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Mason Margott
a\, BA ’17 – Manager\, FTMBA Student Experience
Mason is cur rently the Manager\, Student Experience for the Full-Time MBA program at th e Robert H. Lee Graduate School at UBC Sauder. In his role\, he coordinates all of the logistics and administration of the MBA program\, provide acade mic advising\, and help organize community building initiatives for student s. He previously worked in the Faculty of Arts and Residence Life at UBC\, and has worked at the University of Victoria in curriculum development and housing. In his free time\, he enjoys eating at new restaurants around Vanc ouver\, and owns almost 200 board games!
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Melody Pan\, BA ’14 – IT Systems Manager / Freelanc
e Translator
Melody has made a career out of her passion for Japanese pop culture\, video games and technology. After six years of unde rgrad at UBC (including one year abroad in Japan)\, Melody landed her first job as a J-E Translator/Interpreter at Bandai Namco Studios\, where she pa rticipated in game development and localization. Her Japanese skills (and w ord of mouth) led to her next opportunity at Waterproof Studios\, where she was introduced to the world of CG Animation. What started out as a six-mon th contract for translation/interpreting would turn into a one-year stint i n production\, and finally into a career in IT. She continues to brush up o n her Japanese skills as the translator of Yen Press's Final Fantasy Lost S tranger.
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