BCBusiness
Carol Lee, Chair of the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, is a winner in the Community Builders category of the 2025 Women of the Year Awards
When Carol Lee says she has a “people-centric approach to revitalization,” she makes the work sound awfully simple. But the fact is, this community builder, entrepreneur and champion of philanthropy has a multifaceted, creative and complex labyrinth of ongoing strategies for uplifting Vancouver’s Chinatown. At the forefront in 2024 was the completion of Bob and Michael’s Place (named for two legendary philanthropists: her father Robert Lee and Michael Audain), an affordable community housing project that provides the neighbourhood with 231 units and a 50,000-square-foot integrated health centre. Within Bob and Michael’s Place, Lee’s ability to rally and connect diverse community members is evident: landscaping was done by Vancouver Gardening Club volunteers, resident welcome baskets were donated by TNT and the playground was designed by esteemed B.C. artist Douglas Coupland.
The collaborative core of Bob and Michael’s Place doesn’t just unite the neighbourhood; Lee stresses the impact that it has on residents. “It sends a signal to the people living there—that there’s lots of people that care about them,” she says. This intentional commitment to community care shines through in every one of the Chinatown Foundation’s initiatives. There’s the Chinatown Cocktail Showdown, a tasting event that brought together eight local restaurants and bars for a high-spirited competition. There’s Light Up Chinatown, a free summer festival that brings over 10,000 attendees to the neighbourhood. There’s the Chinatown Storytelling Centre, a cultural hub for sharing Chinese Canadian history and hosting events like movie nights and art tutorials. There’s the Chinatown Impact Fund, which aided over 100 small businesses last year through support ranging from upgrading storefront awnings to boosting online marketing. The impact of the work that Lee has done is impossible to quantify, but essential to inspire: when the challenges the neighbourhood faces feel overwhelming, Lee says, it is those past achievements, no matter how small, that keep her going. “I think progress in itself is what motivates me… there’s lots of setbacks, all the time, but I feel very lucky,” she says.
Lee notes how grateful she is for her team, too—the hardworking, instrumental staff at the foundation, of course, but also all of the business owners, industry leaders and activists she has worked with over the years. It’s a team of ambitious, dedicated individuals who care about their neighbours: the kind of team that welcomes new recruits. “What we do at the Chinatown Foundation is rooted in community,” says Lee, “and we’re driven by a deep sense of hope for the future.”
Discover our full list of 21 BCBusiness 2025 Women of the Year award winners here.