Councillor Kerry Jang

Dr. Kerry Jang was elected to Vancouver City Council in 2008 having previously served in a number of volunteer capacities.

His volunteer work has focused on meeting the needs of individual neighbourhoods on issues such as homelessness, mental illness, the drug trade and their prevention. Kerry was involved in ThinkCity, a citizens group devoted to promoting citizen engagement in civic affairs; served as past President and Director of Collingwood Neighbourhood House; and was  former Co-Chair of the "Yes for Wards" campaign.

Currently, Kerry works with the recently established Mental Health Commission of Canada, where he was appointed to the Mental Health and the Law Advisory Committee whose national policy work will directly impact policing, corrections, housing standards and management for areas like the Downtown Eastside and across the city.

Kerry is a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia where he teaches and conducts research on the causes of mental illness. He attended Simon Fraser University and the University of Western Ontario from which he earned a PhD in psychology. In addition, he sits on the editorial boards of a number of international scientific journals and provides peer reviews on public health and scientific research proposals. To date, he has authored or co-authored over 100 scientific publications.

In recognition of his work, he was named the 2006 Academic of the Year by the Confederation of Faculty Associations of British Columbia; honoured with a Community Achievement Award from the Province of British Columbia in 2007; and received the 2008 Distinguished Service Award from the Faculty of Medicine at UBC for community service.

Kerry is a proud third-generation Canadian. His grandparents emigrated from China to Canada and settled in Vancouver in the early 1900s. Kerry and his wife Vicki have two young children. They live in the Renfrew-Collingwood neighbourhood, six blocks from his childhood home. Family time includes piano practice, martial arts, and sailing radio-controlled model boats on the choppy waters of Trout Lake.

His current local and regional appointments:

• Director, Greater Vancouver Regional District Board (Metro Vancouver)
• Union of British Columbia Municipalities Executive
• Hastings Institute Inc. Board
• Parking Corporation of Vancouver
• City of Vancouver Public Housing Corporation