Meet more 49 Langarans.
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Linda Hudson
Linda Hudson
Langara Alum | Business Owner
Linda is the President and Owner of Kerrisdale Cameras, a family-owned chain of camera stores, and a long-time supporter of Langara College. Originally opened in 1961 by her father Bob Hudson and grandmother, Mary Hudson, Kerrisdale Cameras is a photographic retailer of new, used, digital, and film photo equipment. The company has seven stores in Metro Vancouver and Victoria. Linda works hard to maintain and grow the family legacy. She has been with Kerrisdale Cameras for over 35 years and learned the secret to running a successful business from her father: treat your employees, customers and suppliers honestly and with respect. Today, over 40% of Kerrisdale employees have been with the company for ten or more years and over 15% are Langara alumni or current students. The company is now the Canada’s second largest independent photo retailer.
Linda has a diploma from Langara College (1981) and a BBA from SFU (1989) and held the Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation (1999-2013). She was the first retailer in BC to sign the BC Safety Charter. Linda also volunteered for nine years as Treasurer at the BC Retail Safety Society, has been a Strata Council Member in Whistler for 17 years, and is on the Board of Directors of the Kerrisdale Business Association. She also volunteers with the new Kerrisdale Earthquake & Emergency Preparedness (KEEP) working group to help local businesses work together to become disaster resilient.
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Christa Belle Walley
Christa Belle Walley
Langara Alum | Music Specialist
Christa Belle is a DJ, producer, and Artist Relations specialist with the music software company Ableton. In her current role at Ableton, she creates initiatives to grow and engage with electronic music economies throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa while offering one-on-one support to some of the most influential artists in the world. In a previous role, Christa Belle was the resident DJ and Program Director at Vancouver’s Fox Cabaret, where she was a champion of the growth of the local music scene through her support of emerging artists. Throughout her career, she has supported artists in Canada and around the world by providing access to opportunities, equipment, and learning resources. In 2017, she was chosen to be one of the jurists for the prestigious Polaris Music Prize, which honours, celebrates, and rewards creativity and diversity in Canadian recorded music. Christa graduated from Langara Continuing Studies Digital Music Production Program.
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Haisla Collins
Haisla Collins
Langara Alum | Indigenous Arts Advocate
Haisla is an artist, musician, teacher, and community leader. She is an Indigenous expressionist artist working out of Raven’s Eye Studio. She also serves as the Community Leader for Indigenous Women Artists, a collective that brings together female Indigenous artists for collaborative works, art shows, workshops, and community projects. This year, the collective won the Creative City Strategy Grant from the City of Vancouver to do a residency at the Roundhouse Community Centre and had shows at Gallery Gachet and Britannia Library Art Gallery. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Emily Carr University of Art and Design, spent six years training with performance coach and renowned jazz singer Ron Small, and for the last 13 years has been the lead singer and harmonica player for the blues and roots band “Haisla with Nasty, Brutish and Short”. A champion of the community and the arts, Haisla has been a Project Manager at The Downtown Eastside Centre for the Arts, Coordinator of the Aboriginal Artisan Program at Carnegie Community Centre, and Director of Raven’s Eye Mentorship Program. She is best known for her work on mural Spirits of the Realms and Through the Eye of the Raven and this year she won the City of Vancouver Indigenous mural contest to produce Sisters, Daughters, Clan Mothers - Honouring Indigenous Women which will be displayed at the central Vancouver Public Library in fall 2019.
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