Tides and Voices is run by a team of researchers and students at the University of British Columbia. Meet our team members!
Shannon Ward
Dr. Shannon Ward is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Community, Culture, and Global Studies at UBC-O, where she teaches about language structures, language and culture, and language acquisition and socialization. She is an active member of several research groups that unite scholars across UBC’s campuses (and beyond), including UBC’s Language Sciences Initiative, UBC’s Centre for Migration Studies, and UBC’s Himalaya Program.
Dr. Ward is a Linguistic Anthropologist by training (Ph.D. NYU 2019) with a special interest in children and multilingualism in the highlands of Asia. Since 2010, she has conducted ethnographic research with transnational Tibetan communities. Before joining UBC in 2019, Dr. Ward worked with Tibetan children and families in New York City and Qinghai, China. At UBC, she has founded ‘Tides and Voices’ to bring together findings from these previous studies with new projects in Canada. Click here to view information about ongoing research projects.
Dr. Ward is available for media commentary and individual or non-profit consulting on a range of topics including language in child development, heritage language learning, Tibetan language development and preservation, and immigration from greater China.
Current undergraduate and graduate students at UBC, as well as prospective graduate students to UBC-O’s MA and PhD programs, can apply to work with Dr. Ward on Tides and Voices by phone or email.
Ann Ni
Ann Ni is a full-time, undergraduate student at the University of British Columbia Okanagan campus, school of Management. In her fourth year of study, Ann is specializing in Accounting, with a minor in Computer Science, and has a passion for data analysis. Ann works as a research assistant for ‘Chinese Voices of BC,’ helping to document the different dialects of China. Ann is a native speaker of Shanghai dialect, which she uses to communicate with her family and friends, including her collie pet dog.
Fong Pui Alison Chow
Fong Pui Alison Chow is a second year student in the Master of Social Work program at UBC Okanagan. She is a graduate academic assistant working on research for linguistic diversity with Dr. Shannon Ward and her team. Alison is captivated by linguistic diversity, especially with topics such as language shift and socialization. Her lived experience as a Hong Kong Chinese person living in Canada has shaped her interest. She believes that every culture and language are unique and bring collective memories and heritage to all generations, which makes it worth preserving and passing on to our community and the next generations.
Jenny (Sam Un) Lao
Jenny Sam Un Lao is a fourth-year student in the Bachelor of Arts at UBC Okanagan specializing in International relations. She is dedicated to bringing awareness to social issues, including the importance of linguistic diversity in the region. Jenny is currently a research assistant for Dr. Shannon, working on Tides and Voices. As a multi-lingual speaker, living in such a multicultural country, Jenny is passionate about language preservation and language revitalization – one’s heritage language is closely tied to their cultural identity and it’s worth maintaining.
Shanneen Chiu
Shanneen Chiu is a fifth-year Anthropology major at UBC-O. She is an undergraduate research assistant for Tides and Voices. She is particularly interested in Linguistic Anthropology, language documentation and language revitalization. Shanneen is from Hong Kong, with Cantonese as her mother tongue. In her spare time, she enjoys learning new languages.