She holds a Business Diploma in Business Administration after qualifying in 1987 from The Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology in Toronto.

When she is not crunching figures or reconciling budgets in the office Susan has an equally demanding task as a volunteer worker managing and co-ordinating community projects where her financial management savvy has been extensively employed in fundraising activities.

An organizer and business administrator of note, she has helped get a number of adult and children’s projects off the ground - from conceptualization to completion.

She joined Leda Serene Films and Caribbeantales in 2003 as a General Manager responsible for the day-to-day operation of the two media divisions, which entailed establishing conducive working relationship with stakeholders.

Susan is in the process of stepping up several rungs on the management ladder as she is currently working towards a Bachelor Of Administrative Studies through York University.

We managed to distract her attention from her financial reports for a brief postprandial interview.

Could you share with us, in brief, your childhood background?

I was born and raised in Toronto as an only child. Both parents were immigrants from West Germany, they came to Canada in 1951 (after the war).

What does your work as general manager at Caribbeantales entail?

The work is as interesting as it is varied. Human Resource management, financial management, project co-ordination, line producing and other collateral duties.

What, in the main, do you like about the job?

I love the fact that Caribbean Tales is doing a job that in my opinion is vital to the community. Informing, educating and entertaining about the wealth of talent and history that the Caribbean offers to the world. I am also honored to work with such fine women as Frances-Anne Solomon, Anne Marie Stewart and the rest of the members of the Board of Directors. Every month we meet I am inspired by their contributions to the team.

At the end of the day I am proud that I am part of this organization.

You have done the same work for many other companies and organizations before, how has your experience been like working with non-profit entities like Caribbeantales whose mission is to showcase cultural values?

I particularly enjoy working with Caribbean Tales because I strongly believe in what they are trying to do. I have children of Caribbean descent and I find it extremely important that they be exposed to literature and culture that is rich and positive. There is more to being Caribbean than hip-hop and the beach. Through the website, the newsletters and the documentary series, they are opening their eyes to new role models, strong, smart, educated leaders in the Caribbean community.

Caribbeantales’ main mission is preservation and celebration of literary heritage and oral culture. What do these themes mean to you in your own background?

As I mentioned my family is from Germany and I have very fond memories of my grandmother telling me stories about raising a family during the war, stories of my grandfather (who died before I was born) which brought him to life for me and stories my late mother shared with me about her experiences growing up during bomb raids and famine. I have a very strong sense of what it means to be German even though I was born here and I try to pass this on to my own children who I hope will continue the tradition.

Can you tell us about the Literacy Outreach program you sponsored?

I was involved in a Reading Circle for children of all ages. I sponsored the event because I strongly believe that reading, story telling and literature in general is of vital importance to children in this generation. They are growing up with video games, DVD's and computers and are losing the benefits that books can bring. I volunteered my time as a one-on-one reader with the children as well as donated prizes as incentives for the children to attend and to continue attending.

What other community project are you currently working on?

Currently I am involved with fundraising for youth sports organizations. I am also a firm believer that children today need to exercise their bodies as well as their minds. My own children participate in a variety of competitive sports; basketball, soccer and diving and I try to support them by being actively involved.

Denise arrived in Canada in 1980 from Trinidad and, like many black immigrants, faced an uphill struggle re-constructing her life, battling twice as hard for basic necessities. With the useful grounding from her paternal grandmother, she overcame many obstacles to realize her dreams and, at the same time, be a towering, shining inspiration to her black communities in Canada - after all, who better to follow than a “Who Is Who Of Canada?”

She did Journalism at the University of Western Ontario (B.A),
Resource Management at York University (Masters in Environment Studies) and is “in the progress” of completing Information Technology Management at Ryerson University.

This genial, unassuming social figure would much rather let her work speak louder than she can.

Although her long-term involvement has been in Information Technology, working since 1992 for IBM, HP Canada and telecommunications giants like Bell Canada (amongst many others), Denise has had the same uncompromised passion for the arts.

Currently a member of the programming committee at Toronto’s Harbourfront Center after starting as a member of the Board in 1995, she still promises to work even harder to ensure her community attains the recognition it deserves, not just in the arts but many other areas of their involvement as well.

caribbeantales.ca had a chat with this dedicated community builder about her work and everything else…..

Could you briefly share with us your childhood background and your experiences as a member of the Caribbean community living in Canada?

I grew up in a family of nine – six kids, two parents and a paternal grandmother who, I think, was way before her time as an independent woman. She got along very well with my mother – her only daughter-in-law (my father was an only child) and loved my mother’s siblings. The values that she and my parents imparted to me through words and actions continue to help me survive as a member of the Caribbean community living in Canada. I feel proud of my Trinidadian heritage although I am equally proud of being a Cari-Can.

From your own perspective as Member of the Board of this project, has the website and newsletter, in your assessment, met or achieved the objectives for which it was created?

The website and newsletter continue to showcase the organization to an audience that is far-reaching. In terms of a return on investment, both products are capable of raising the profile of caribbeantales.ca in a cost-effective way and helping the organization achieve one of its objectives of reaching a diverse and global audience.

Storytelling, heritage, oral culture and oral history are the core elements that caribbeantales.ca nurtures, what do all these issues mean to you personally as a member of the Caribbean community?

A good story becomes a great story when a gifted orator imparts it. The oral tradition is and continues to be the way that children are introduced to ideas, themes, people, and culture. Visit a day care at reading time and you will see the oral culture at work. Read to any child and you will see the wonderful response to the spoken word. And I have some fantastic memories of this oral culture through the stories that I heard as a child – because the memories of those stories evoke a range of emotions, sounds, sights that I will always carry within me.

Everyone at caribbeantales.ca has done a spectacular job pulling this together: has this venture and your interaction with your colleagues brought about any significant change to you as a person? If yes, what is it?

I am so proud of the staff at caribbeantales.ca and their commitment to the organization. I always enjoy working with people who respect what they do and are prepared to work hard. I have found that everyone who is involved is enthusiastic – and that enthusiasm keeps me very excited and dedicated to the organization.

Looking at your professional history, it mostly reveals an expansive involvement within the science and technology field – how do you reconcile this with your involvement in the cultural programs and the creative arts?

My involvement in the Information Technology field is just part of my life. I have always been interested in cultural programs and the creative arts. I used to co-produce commercial theatrical productions several years ago in Toronto. When I was growing up, I started playing the piano at age 7, sang and competed in several music festivals, and was also a member of a dance company. My aunt, who was also my godmother, used to teach ballet and up to now, I still see the results of that background in ballet because she walks so upright and beautifully. Dance is my most favorite cultural product.

What does your participation as member of the Board of the Harbourfront Center entail? Were you able to influence or establish discourse into matters of Carribean cultural interest?

Currently I am a member of the programming committee and the mandate of that committee is to ensure that the programs offered at Harbourfront Center reflect the diverse background of the Toronto community. So that includes programs of cultural interest to our community. There are also initiatives to ensure that the staff at the center also reflects the community.

Can you tell us about your involvement in the Harriet Tubman Games and what the games are about?

The annual Harriet Tubman Games was another initiative that members of the Caribbean community used to engage young talented people. The games gave competitors from different sporting and training clubs the opportunity to showcase their young and upcoming athletes. Donovan Bailey was one of the athletes who competed and won in track and field and he went on to win gold for Canada. I got involved because I was asked to come up with marketing and promotional plans that would get the mainstream media onside with the Games. And yes, I was successful (smile).

You were involved in the very first event honouring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s memory here in Toronto? Would you like to share with us your experience in the event?

My knowledge of the equal rights struggle and Dr. Martin Luther King was based on what I saw on television. The images that I saw were most horrifying and dehumanizing. But when I remember Dr King’s reactions to all the injustices and his ability to look beyond the inane stupidities of government politics and policies, I knew that I had to become involved in the first event honouring him in Toronto. It was also fantastic to work with people like the Hon. Jean Augustine, Dr. Rita Cox, and Charles Roach and contribute to that unique event which came off in a way that made us all proud and lifted us up another notch.

Finally, is there any new project that Denise is currently working on or just begun?

Funny you should ask that, I’m just starting as a mentor at "The Mentoring Place", an organization that deals with professional immigrants trying to break into the job market. Knowing from personal experience how difficult it is to transfer skills into the Canadian job market, I decided to offer my time to a new immigrant. I was fortunate to have a number of mentors so I know their value.

It is a story shared by many migrants to Canada – those from the Caribbean, and those who are not.

Born of Chinese-Vietnamese parents in Thailand, Johnny arrived here in Canada as a small child with his parents who were fleeing political turmoil and the prospect of a bleak life in Communist Vietnam. Now, glad to be where he is, Johnny can’t thank his parents enough for their hard-fought battle to secure him a life he may never have had.

He achieved all of his academic credentials in Toronto – from elementary education through to high school at Emery Collegiate.

Feeling stifled by too much theoretical studies while at high school, in 1998 Johnny started freelancing as a Graphic Designer Assistant at Truespectra, a server imaging company where part of his responsibilities was to assist in the development of sophisticated software for delivering multimedia over the world wide web.

Straight out of the Ontario College of Art and Design where he studied for four years, he joined LEDA SERENE FILMS in Toronto, Ontario, in 2003 where he started working as a website assistant and is currently the Technical Coordinator for the company.

After some considerable amount of persuasion, Johnny allowed me a moment to disturb the flow of his hectic schedule to find out some facts about him and his work.

His studio inspires the spirit to work the minute you walk in – state of the art editing and designing equipment, stacks of computer software - legal and certified copies, by the way - amongst them there are volumes of computer program manuals – all arranged methodically on his shelf.

Can you briefly introduce yourself to our Caribbeantales readers and tell us what you do?

Johnny Vong, here. I’m just your typical techie, a web developer, graphic designer…been doing this stuff since 1995 as an obsessive hobby. I’m as exciting as rice cake.

So, this is more of a hobby than just a way to earn a living?

Well, it’s to make a living as much as it is something I love to do.

And how did this relationship with machines start?

My dad is a mechanic. He is a bit of a tinker, always fixing stuff – like, cars, appliances and a whole lot of gadgets. So, we can say it’s genetic. I got my first computer at age 14, started to do as many things with it as possible, and, the rest is history…

Johnny was the only one who owned a computer amongst his friends at the time that PC’s and the Internet were just becoming popular.

And due to that fact, every time I broke my computer I had to learn how to fix it myself. Man, I must have crashed that machine a thousand times.

What influence have your parents had on your work or life in general?

Not much work-wise because my dad actually wanted me to be an Engineer … he still does. He used to bring home these Engineering magazines everyday and tried to sway me into it that way, but I had different interests.

You were very young when you were brought to Canada, do your parents tell you about your place of birth and about their life when they were growing up?

Like most immigrants, they do dream of going back one day. The place where I was born was actually just a stop-over place for my parents who were on their way to the "Land of Opportunities". We ended up in Canada instead... for the better, really. One interesting story, though, my parents told me as a child was when the boat they were on was jacked by pirates. And my mother was pregnant with me, and they robbed her of everything she had at gunpoint. As lurid as it sounds to people like you and me who watch pirates, ol' Captain Hook on TV, this situation with my mom is no different than a violent carjacking.

Do you have a history of oral storytelling in your family or culture?

I rarely have conversations with my parents. It's unfortunate, but it's the kind of culture and language conflict that you read about, you know. I am very much Western, whereas they are very much Eastern. But I can't help but empathize with my parents who struggle not only with me, but with Canada too. As far as oral storytelling goes in my culture... I'm not sure... didn't the Chinese invent paper?

Does storytelling or oral culture figure in your line of work, if so, how? How has that impacted you personally?

Not really in my professional work, but in my personal work, storytelling especially "good" storytelling is an art form and lifelong practice. I'm of the belief that it's not so much what you tell - if you think you've got a unique idea that's never been done before, you're probably wrong - rather it's how you tell it with your style and sensibilities, that's exciting. Finding interesting and idiosyncratic methods of storytelling is what drives me to do what I do.

What do you think are the comprehensive benefits of a project like caribbeantales.ca beyond serving people of Caribbean origin?

I think the true value of caribbeantales.ca is its dedication to these books and its writers. I mean the Web is a vast place, and it would be idiotic of me to suggest that we are doing the world a favour. We are just putting it out there for people, people have choice, and they can read whatever they want. We are just putting arrows out to guide folks towards this extraordinary literature, and hopefully draw some new readers.