Steve Chan, Executive Director

As the Executive Director of VSMS since 2000, Steve Chan oversees VSMS’ organizational operations, identifies opportunities, and manages change.

He is a SFU graduate with a BBA degree, double majoring in Business Administration and Economics. He holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Public Administration from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and a Management Certificate in Facilities Management from BCIT.

Prior to working in VSMS, Steve had over 10 years of experience in hospital planning and administration. He was the administrative head of a 1,400-bed regional hospital extension project in Hong Kong. When he moved to Vancouver in the mid 1990’s, he helped built the first Chinese Museum in North America when he worked for the Chinese Cultural Centre as the Administrative Manager.

Steve is passionate about supporting isolated seniors in Vancouver’s Downtown core, which includes Canada’s poorest neighbourhoods. He sees that many seniors are forgotten in today’s fast-paced society and has observed that many live and die alone. Through his work, he hopes to help seniors achieve a higher quality of life through social connections.

When he’s not providing leadership to VSMS, you can find Steve singing, gardening, or even traveling with his family.

Oyindamola Fagbenro

Program Coordinator, DTES Neighborhood Helpers Project

With over a year of experience in working with the vulnerable community in the DTES, Oyindamola grew her passion for serving others through volunteering at the community kitchen and thrift store. She also worked as a development assistant to provide administrative support to the needs of the community. These different roles developed her awareness of the complexity of issues seniors face and have increased her commitment to ensuring that their quality of life is improved. Before working at VSMS, her passion for community building was reinforced during her time in university where she studied Criminology and pursued a Legal Studies Certificate. She volunteered at a few student-led clubs focused on community engagement and served as the President of one of the clubs for 3 years.

As the Program Coordinator of the DTES Helper’s Project at VSMS, she looks forward to engaging the community better with her organizational and interpersonal skills by planning interactive programs and events to build connections and improve the quality of life for the seniors.

Serena Sham

Program Coordinator, Neighborhood Helpers Chinese Outreach Project

Hello! My name is Serena. I grew up in Vancouver and graduated at SFU with a major in Psychology. Before joining VSMS, I was a Community Outreach Worker, an English teacher and a Behavior Interventionist. With my diverse background, I would like to utilize my knowledge to work with the seniors in Downtown Eastside. As part of our ongoing effort of supporting seniors in this area, many seniors do not speak English who face significant language barriers, I work to increase access to services for these seniors, and support networking and create programs to help seniors across all cultures to integrate into the community.