Our Board of Directors
Meet our team at Richmond Arts Council!
Susan Stolberg
CACR President
Susan Stolberg has enjoyed being involved in music from an early age. Susan is a pianist, plays classical guitar and is a choir member of the Richmond Chorus. She is an enthusiastic advocate of the Arts who values her role in promoting the Arts to continuously enhance and have a positive impact on our community.
Susan has been actively involved with volunteering for over three decades, serving on an array of types of committees. Her interests have led her to those including work related Occupational Health and Safety, and Social Committees.
Susan was also an active member of her children’s’ school communities and activities. She volunteered in administrative roles, involving keeping detailed school library excel spreadsheet documentation, and served as a leader both with the Sparks and Brownies of the Girl Guide organization.
Susan continues to be an active Richmond Chorus member. She was a ROCA Board Director and their Marketing Lead for years.
Her strong communication and organizational skills enhance what she brings to each of the volunteer positions she has had and continues to be involved with presently.
Linda Shirley
CACR Vice-President
Linda’s passion for children and teaching sparked her vision 35 years ago to create a hub of educational and arts-related services for families. As the President and Founder of The Arts Connection, which manages “The Arts Conservatory” and “Renaissance Academy of Learning” and oversees a staff of over 140 teachers as they work with over 800 students weekly in a 26,000 sq ft facility. She is the also the owner and publisher of the “Kelly Kirby Introductory Piano Program” and continues to teach piano from her very popular studio.
For 14 years, Linda served on the City of Richmond’s Childcare Development Advisory Committee, serving as Chair for 12 of those years. She has been the recipient of numerous awards over the years including being the only 3-time recipient of the Ethel Tibbits Women in Business Awards, The Richmond Chamber of Commerce “Award of Excellence” and in 2014 she was presented with the City of Richmond’s Arts Education Award. In 2019 she was also awarded the Richmond Chamber of Commerce “Business Leadership Award”. In May 2025, Linda was presented with the City of Richmond’s “Arts Award for Volunteerism” and with the National Coalition of Childcare Operators’ “Community Impact Award”.
In 2011 Linda kicked off the Vancouver Sun’s “Adopt a School” program by developing “Reach to Teach…Immersed in the Arts”. This program brings underserved youth from the downtown eastside and other lower mainland school to her facility, where coupled with local Richmond youth, students are able to see how, despite socio-economic differences, they can find a commonality in the arts. Through a special and unique partnership of private business with a non-profit (CACR), this ongoing, highly successful program shows how private business and non-profits can work together to make a better community.
Linda has been served on the Board of the CACR in a variety of roles for over 30 years She currently serves as Vice-President and enjoys working along with our small group of dedicated board members to make an impact on the Richmond community.
Ali Burns
CACR Treasurer
Alexandra (Ali) Burns has been a member of the CACR since she was sixteen years old, and joined the Board in 2018. Ali is primarily a visual artist who works in a range of mediums, from ink to textiles to digital media, though she also enjoys the musical arts as an amateur accordionist. She believes that art is for everyone.
Angela Cavadas
CACR Secretary
Angela Cavadas was the recipient of numerous awards early in her musical life, most notably winning First Prize in the CBC Young Artists Competition at the age of nineteen.
Renowned violinists Steven Staryk and Ruggiero Ricci were major mentors in her training and over the course of her distinguished and varied career, she has collaborated with many outstanding instrumentalists and conductors and has participated in hundreds of concerts, of which a number were broadcast nationally.
She has enjoyed the diversity of performing as a soloist and in chamber music concerts, as well as playing for opera, ballet, musical theatre, film recording, and folk dance troupes.
Angela is Associate Concertmaster of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra [VOO] and was Acting Concertmaster for their 2017-18 music season.
She has also played for West Coast Chamber Music since its inception and has worked with the Vancouver Symphony, Vancouver Chamber Choir, Vancouver Island Symphony, Lions Gate Sinfonia, Chilliwack Symphony, and the now-defunct CBC Radio Orchestra. Angela was the violin instructor for the University Transfer Program at Douglas College for forty years and currently teaches violin and piano privately and for the Arts Conservatory in Richmond, BC.
Michael Shirley
CACR Board Director
Since the age of seventeen, Michael has been actively involved in the arts in a variety of ways. For 32 years he specialized in visual merchandising, display and administration with a national retail chain and received numerous awards from national corporations for his work. For the past 31 years, he has been co-owner, with his wife Linda, of The Arts Connection’s “Arts Conservatory” and “Renaissance Academy of Learning”. Michael has studied painting with Joyce Kamikura, Brent Heighton and Toni Onley and over the years he has taught drawing and painting to children and adults. Now retired, he continues to paint, with many of his pieces on display at The Arts Connection. He has been the recipient of numerous awards from The Community Arts Council’s Midsummer Arts Dream Show and he has been selected several times to participate in ArtRich at the Richmond Art Gallery. Until its closure in 2011, Michael was the Manager of “Artisans’ Galleria’, the Community Arts Council’s retail outlet representing BC artists which operated at various locations in Richmond. Although Michael’s health and mobility issues pose certain restraints, he is able to provide valuable feedback on various CACR projects, he continues to paint for various fundraising projects and enjoys ‘sitting the shows’ at the annual Midsummer Arts Dream event.
Alexandra Fok
CACR Board Director
Alexandra’s background is in medical genetics and holds a Master’s degree in Genetics Counseling. She is a certified clinical research professional currently serving cancer patients in BC and the Yukon. Through her work and diverse life experiences, Alexandra has developed a passion for introducing art to the community, recognizing the profound impact of music and arts on individuals as they journey through life. She believes that art and music are also an opportunity to connect people and celebrate diversity in our multicultural community.
Alexandra has previously held different volunteer roles in both national and international charitable, non-profit organizations including the Rare Disease Foundation in Vancouver and the Nyumbani Children’s Home in Kenya. Alexandra is also an active member of the music ministry in her church. She is inspired by the initiatives that were launched by the CACR and is looking forward to being part of it as a board member.
Kit Tang
CACR Board Director
With a Master’s in Arts Management (Music Pathway) from the University of Manchester and a Bachelor’s in Arts Management from Nanjing Arts University, Kit’s journey has been a vibrant exploration of creativity. Formerly a performing arts agent, Kit connected venues and artists to craft unforgettable events. A detour led her to the Shanghai fashion scene, where she seamlessly embraced brand management and offered her fine arts skills as well. For over a decade, Kit shared the joy of music through a piano tutor role. Today, as a public servant at the Provincial Government of Canada, Kit’s heart remains devoted to the arts. She is thrilled to re-immerse herself in the enriching world of arts with CACR.
Sabrina Ting
CACR Board Director
Sabrina Ting grew up with a love of the performing arts. She enjoys singing, dancing and playing the piano. However, at the time of writing this bio, she has been especially passionate about writing poetry and exploring the impact of words on our shared humanity.
Sabrina volunteers as a Sparks leader with Girl Guides. Her favourite part of volunteering with kids is talking to them about their interests and being inspired by their playful curiosity. She also volunteers at a community kitchen, helping to prepare food. She has been learning to stand in awe of the beauty of being able to put in the work, when the product is clearly temporary. She is looking forward to participating in the operations of the art community in her home city.
Niki Katouzian
CACR Board Director
Niki Katouzian’s artistic journey began in childhood, inspired by her father who was a great artist, and encouraged by her mother who has a passion for art and design. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Visual Arts (Graphic Design) from Tehran University, Iran, and a Fashion Design diploma from VCAD College in Vancouver, Canada.
Since 2010, Niki has worked as a graphic designer and illustrator for “Compagnie Cultures et Performances” in Paris, creating posters and visual designs for theatre productions, music festivals, and cultural events. In 2010, she received first place for her poster and advertising designs for a theatre show in Paris, which led to ongoing collaborations with the company. She has also designed for the short documentary movie “Memories of the ‘33 Pol’ Land”.
Niki held a solo painting exhibition in Paris in 2018 and participated in group exhibitions in West Vancouver and North Vancouver between 2018 and 2020. In 2025, she illustrated two books—one poetry book for adults and one children’s book—both currently awaiting for publication. Alongside her artistic career, Niki works full-time as an early childhood educator and part-time as a children’s art instructor, nurturing creativity, curiosity, and emotional growth. Her daily work with young minds continues to inspire her own artistic practice and reinforces her belief in the transformative power of imagination. Joining the Community Arts Council of Richmond is a proud moment for Niki, and she is excited to collaborate, share her artistic vision, and support the vibrant local arts community.
Elsie Christopher
CACR Board Director
Elsie has enjoyed a long and successful career in higher education in both Canada and Hong Kong. In Canada, she has been the Academic Director of 3 MBA programs at Simon Fraser University, taught Business Communication and developed large scale Innovative projects such as an online PT MBA Program and an International Applied Project for the Beedie School of Business.
During her time in Hong Kong, she was actively engaged in teaching, advanced level instruction, curriculum development, research, administration and management. Elsie has led large and small teams while working with faculty, staff and students at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Curriculum and Program Management in Business Communication and Creator of Writing and Speaking through the Curriculum across the School of Business), The University of Hong Kong (Director of Business Communication in the Faculty of Business and Economics).
Her last position in Hong Kong was at The Chinese University of Hong Kong where she served as the Director of the Independent Learning Centre. Here, she was involved in all aspects of program development, teaching, management/administration and faculty collaboration across the university. Her creative talents have been utilized in Program/Course, Website Concept and Instructional Design.
She has also written and published numerous academic course books, applied research articles and conference papers. She has graduate degrees in both English Language & Literature as well as Art and Art History. She founded a student lead “Arts Society” and a “Community Welfare Society” at the beginning of her career in Hong Kong which promoted the Arts as well as Community Involvement among students, staff and teachers alike.
Elsie’s career in Higher Education combined with her vast international experiences have made her a “lifelong learner”. Even today, she continues to pursue opportunities to contribute and give back through her professional and philanthropic pursuits.