Hi, I’m Sarah Chan! I have the pleasure of teaching Merge on Sunday mornings and, am so grateful to have Inner Five as a part of my community. I’m also a musician, teacher, writer, publisher, small business owner, and social advocate. 

On weekdays, I lead Community Engagement and Relationships at Alberta Mentoring Partnership (a provincial mentoring resource organization), and I’m also the Founder and Project Lead of Make Your Mark, United Way’s student leadership program. After school is out for students, I transition to running my boutique piano studio. This is all to say, I’ve been working with youth and, in the community supporting youth, for over 20 years. The thing I love most about working with youth is how honest they are—They’re bold and at their most authentic which, I find inspiring and energizing.

In other iterations of my past lives, I have worked with Edmonton’s most vulnerable citizens (with a particular focus on women & girls in leadership and education). For me, being an Ally is showing up to walk with others on their journey. It’s amplifying the voices of others through supportive action. I value doing my best, leading by example, to create fair experiences for all members of our community. That means continually learning, listening, and growing from others, with an open heart.

Something that is also relationship and community-focused is the anthology, Midlife, which I co-published with Jhenifer Pabillano. This COVID project went from a phone call to finished product in 4 months, featuring 27 contributors (old Gateway newspaper friends) reflecting on midlife. Midlife has sold over 1400 copies to date which, has led to the highly anticipated release of Midlife No.2 this November! 

Cultivating these authentic relationships and getting to share in community, is really what I love and crave. Thank you, Inner Five community, for being a part of that!