Speakers

HOST/PRODUCER

Tassan Sung

Founder, SPOKEN Leadership & Education

Tassan Sung is a founder, facilitator, and community leader with over three decades of experience at the intersection of leadership, finance, education, and philanthropy.

With over 20 years experience in the financial industry, Tassan brings deep expertise in strategy, planning, and stewardship. She holds an undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of British Columbia and a Master’s in Higher Education Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

In 2024 and 2026, she was named one of Vancouver Magazine’s “Power 50” for her community impact, and in 2025 received the King Charles III Coronation Medal for her work supporting vulnerable communities. Through SPOKEN, Tassan creates spaces where complex conversations are approached with humanity, clarity, and purpose—inviting leaders to reflect not just on what they build, but on what they leave behind.

EMCEE

Robin Gill

Robin Gill Communications

Robin Gill is a media and communications expert who has worked in various sectors. She has helped major companies and non-profits with communications plans, media relations and media training. Before switching to communications advising, Robin worked as a journalist across Canada for 30 years, most notably as anchor and BC correspondent for Global National. She has covered countless elections, the pandemic, the BC floods and fires, the visits of the Dalai Lama and the Pope in Toronto, the tsunami in Japan, and the list goes on. She has interviewed politicians, business leaders and everyday Canadians with important stories to share. With news still in her DNA, she guest hosts on talk radio every once in a while.

PANELISTS

Dr. Stephanie Simmons

Founder and Chief Quantum Officer, Photonic Inc.

As the founder of Photonic, Stephanie, an Oxford-trained PhD physicist, is one of the few women in “Deep Tech.” Already, she has secured a partnership with Microsoft and investments from RBC, TELUS and BC Investment Management.

Dr. Stephanie Simmons is the Founder and Chief Quantum Officer at Photonic, driving the technical vision for next-generation quantum technologies based on optically-linked silicon spin qubits. She is a world-leading expert in quantum technologies, silicon spin-photon interfaces, condensed matter spin dynamics and control, silicon-integrated photonics, and quantum optics.

Stephanie is co-chair of the advisory board to Canada’s National Quantum Strategy, a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Silicon Quantum Technologies, and a Canadian Institute for Advanced Research Fellow in Quantum Information Science. She is also an Associate Professor at the Department of Physics at Simon Fraser University (SFU).

Stephanie is an international speaker, Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship winner, and Top 40 Under 40 in Canada honoree, with over 30 publications and numerous patents. Her work on developing CMOS-compatible, scalable quantum technologies won the Physics World Top Ten Breakthrough of the Year in 2013 and 2015.

→ Click here to read SPOKEN's feature article on Dr. Simmons

Dawn Jia

CEO/CIO, UBC Investment Management

Manages $7 billion in assets for UBC, having previously held some of Canada’s most prestigious investment roles. Dawn began in Engineering in China, worked in Toronto and New York (State Street and Barclays) before moving to Vancouver 7 years ago.

As the President and CEO of UBC Investment Management Inc. (UBCIM), Dawn Jia is responsible for the overall investment activities and monitoring of the portfolios under UBCIM’s oversight. She also oversees the operations of UBCIM and provides strategic and operating objectives to the organization. Prior to joining UBCIM, Dawn was a Managing Director at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). At CPPIB, Dawn and her team were responsible for ensuring that the total portfolio delivered on its overall mandate, by rebalancing it to the desired systematic exposures.

Before Dawn joined CPPIB in 2013, she was Vice President and Head of Active Equity for North America at State Street Global Advisors. Previously, she was an equity portfolio manager at Barclays Global Investors and a quantitative strategist at CIBC World Markets.
Dawn serves on the Board of Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC). She is also the Vice Chair of the Board of Canadian Coalition for Good Governance (CCGG). Previously, she served on the Vancouver Foundation Board and the Investment Committee of Ontario Hospital Association (OHA). Dawn is a founding member of the Advisory Board of Western University’s Master of Financial Economics Program.

Dawn received her MBA from the Ivey Business School and an MS in Engineering from Tianjin University in China. She is also a CFA charterholder.

→ Click here to read SPOKEN's feature article on Dawn

Sasha Plavsic

Founder, ILIA Beauty

Featured on The Failure Factor podcast

Founded clean beauty company, ILIA Beauty, from the ground up in Vancouver. ILIA was acquired by Famille C, the French parent company of Clarins.

Sasha Plavsic explored the idea of ILIA after struggling with acne and other skin issues back in 2009. She sought to fill the gap between natural and prestige brands with something new and different. This new category did not have a name yet, but the goal was clear: to create makeup that makes your skin better.

In 2011, Sasha launched ILIA Beauty with six lip tints in a small shop in Vancouver, Canada. She continued to expand her range with a product-first approach and a mission to protect and revive the skin. ILIA is recognized as a leader in the clean makeup space with products that make your skin look and feel alive. The brand views skincare and makeup as one, with impressive clinicals that improve skin both immediately and over time. Daily essentials are
designed to instantly refresh the skin, and add vibrancy with vivid washes of colour. It’s makeup that looks like the real you and celebrates raw, unfiltered beauty.

Abi Coman-Walker

COO, Nicola Wealth Management

Abi Coman-Walker is a seasoned executive with over 20 years of global leadership experience across financial services and biotechnology, specializing in operations, transformation, and risk management. As Chief Operating Officer at Nicola Wealth, she oversees operations, facilities technology and asset‑management support, enabling scalable growth and high‑quality client service.

Previously, Abi served as COO at Acuitas Therapeutics, where she led business operations and transformation initiatives during a period of rapid growth in Canada’s biotechnology sector. Her career also includes nearly two decades with HSBC in senior international leadership roles, including COO, Wealth and Personal Banking, Canada, and Global Head of Business Financial Crime and Regulatory Risk, with experience across the UK, Middle East, South America, and Asia.

Beyond her executive roles, Abi is deeply committed to community and mentorship. She currently serves as Board Chair of JA British Columbia, and previously is a Director at the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine and Boys and Girls Clubs, BC, and mentors emerging women leaders as a leader of Mentor Walks Vancouver.

→ Click here to read SPOKEN's feature article on Abi