CPAC Announces This Year’s Recipients of PAA and YAA Awards
Toronto, January 30 – CPAC is proud to announce the winners of its prestigious Professional Achievement Award and Young Achiever Award, celebrating outstanding individuals in the Chinese community across Canada. After months of nominations and careful deliberation, we are honored to recognize this year’s recipients for their remarkable contributions and achievements.
The CPAC Professional Achievement Award (PAA) was established in 2009 to recognize and celebrate the achievements and contributions of immigrant professionals who have attained outstanding success and prominent status in recognized professions. The award also aims to provide role models for other immigrants to emulate.
The recipients of this year’s PAA award were conductor Judith Yan and scholar Rosalie Tung.
Judith Yan
Judith Yan is a highly accomplished conductor recognized for her exceptional contributions to the world of ballet and opera. She is currently the Music Director and Principal Conductor of Opera on the Avalon. She has been a staff conductor for the San Francisco Opera, the Canadian Opera Company, and the National Ballet of Canada. Equally adept at conducting opera, ballet, and symphony, she has conducted for companies in Germany, Italy, the United States and Canada, earning widespread respect and admiration from her peers and audiences worldwide.
As a conductor of symphony, she served as the Artistic Director of Guelph Symphony Orchestra for 8 seasons, where she expanded the orchestra’s symphonic and operatic repertoire with works by composers Richard Strauss, Igor Stravinsky, Philip Glass, Francis Poulenc, Leonard Bernstein. Along with new works and premieres, she added operatic repertoire by Puccini, Verdi, Strauss, Humperdinck, and created the unique Triple-Feature “Symphony, Opera, and Ballet” Gala. As a guest conductor, she has collaborated with orchestras such as Auckland Philharmonia in New Zealand, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Manitoba Chamber Orchestra and Saskatoon Symphony.
As a conductor of ballet, she has conducted over 90 performances at the Four Season’s Centre for the National Ballet of Canada, working with the world’s foremost choreographers including John Neumeier, Ronald Hynd, and James Kuldelka. With National Ballet of Canada and as a guest internationally, she has conducted the ballets of Balanchine, Cranko, Aldous, Bart, Harvey, Kiliàn, Lander, Stowell, Wright, and Grigorovich. Since 2010, she has had a close association with several ballet companies, including Hong Kong Ballet, conducting the company’s production of Swan Lake as well as premiering all four of the company’s most recent productions of Cynthia Harvey’s Sleeping Beauty, Terence Kohler’s The Nutcracker, Nina Ananiashvili’s Don Quixote and the Asian world-premiere of Anna-Marie Holme’s Le Corsaire.
Her recent performances include 3 critically acclaimed world-premieres: Jack Perla’s An American Dream for Seattle Opera and John Estacio’s Ours for Opera on the Avalon, Krzysztof Pastor’s Dracula for West Australian Ballet, company debuts with National Arts Centre Orchestra for Cynthia Harvey’s Sleeping Beauty, Teatr Wielki in Warsaw for Cranko’s The Taming of the Shrew, West Australian Ballet and West Australian Symphony for Lucette Aldous’s Don Quixote, and Yury Grigorovich’s La Bayadère for Korean National Ballet and Korean Symphony.
Rosalie L. Tung
Professor Rosalie L. Tung is a preeminent scholar in international business, whose remarkable career exemplifies excellence, influence, and global impact. Holding the Ming and Stella Wong Chaired Professorship at Simon Fraser University, she has achieved unparalleled recognition from her peers, including election as President of the Academy of Management, a distinction granted by over 13,000 professors of management and practitioners worldwide. Her accolades include being named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, of the Academy of Management, and of the Academy of International Business, reflecting her exceptional standing among scholars globally.
Prof. Tung has been inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and has been elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Management, a Fellow of the Academy of International Business, a Fellow of the British Academy of Management, and a Fellow of the International Academy for Intercultural Research. In 2021, she was awarded the John H. Dunning Academy of International Business President’s Award in recognition of “outstanding service to AIB and the field of international business”. In the same year, Rosalie was selected as the recipient of the 2021 Academy of Management, International Management Division Eminent Scholar Award. She is also one of sixteen International Business scholars to be awarded a Gold Medal for “most substantive contributions” in the Journal of International Business Studies, the premier journal in International Business, in that journal’s first 50 years (1970-2019) of publication. Rosalie was also selected as the recipient of the 2019 Academy of Management’s Distinguished Service award, “in recognition of a lifetime of outstanding service, commitment, and dedication to the Academy of Management”. In addition, in 2020 she was awarded the Academy of Management, International Management Division Outstanding Service to the Global Community Award She is the winner of the 1998 Vancouver YWCA Woman of the Year Award in Management, the Professions and the Trades, and is the recipient of the 1997 American Society for Advanced Global Competitiveness Research Award.
Professor Tung is the author or editor of eleven books and has also published widely on the subjects of international management and organizational theory in journals such as the Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of World Business, Organizational Dynamics, California Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Annuals, Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Perspectives, International Journal of Human Resource Management, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Journal of Applied Psychology, Long Range Planning, Human Resource Management, and Euro-Asia Business Review (INSEAD, France). Her research has been cited in leading national and international newspapers and news magazines, including the International Herald Tribune, Business Week, Wall Street Journal, the Christian Science Monitor, and East Asian Executive Reports.
The CPAC Young Achiever Award (YAA) honours an outstanding young individual, aged 29 or younger, to celebrate their community contributions or professional or business achievements, locally or abroad. The award recognizes the individual’s accomplishments based on their distinction and/or positive social impact.
The recipients of 2025 YAA are Alex Cui and Phoenix Wong.
Alex Cui
Alex Cui, co-founder and CTO of GPTZero, has played a vital role in developing the world’s leading AI-authorship detection platform. Launched in early 2023, GPTZero addresses concerns about AI misuse in education and media by analyzing text for authenticity. Alex, as CTO, led the platform’s technical development and innovation, including features like “Origin,” which tracks writing processes for verification. His efforts secured $10 million in Series A funding, enabling global expansion and impactful technological advances. Its annual growth income reached 8M, with over 7M subscribers. The current valuation for GPTZero is over 100M USD.
GPTZero has been featured at tech events, collaborated with organizations like the Vector Institute’s FastLane program, and supported industries such as publishing and education. The company also continues to innovate with cutting-edge AI detection tools.
Beyond development, Alex has championed AI transparency and ethical use, presenting solutions to combat misinformation at Capitol Hill and major tech conferences. His work has made a significant global impact, fostering trust in digital content and addressing critical challenges in the AI era.
Phoenix Wong
Dr. Phoenix Wong is an exceptional chiropractor registered in three jurisdictions, with extensive credentials and a remarkable journey from former National Athlete to healthcare professional. As the founder of TRIMOTION Sports Medicine & Training, Dr. Wong integrates health, performance, and wellness, creating a hub where sports medicine meets holistic care. TRIMOTION utilizes cutting-edge technology like 3D assessments to redefine recovery and performance. Dr. Wong’s innovative approach empowers individuals to achieve their best, promoting injury prevention, physical well-being, and mental resilience. Her contributions to healthcare, visionary leadership, and passion for empowering others make her a deserving candidate for the Award.
Dr. Wong’s commitment extends beyond her clinic. She is a volunteer chiropractor for the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup 2024, where she provided essential care to support the China National Team’s gold medal win. Through partnerships with associations like the Taiwanese and Hong Kong student groups at the University of Toronto and York University, Dr. Wong offers affordable, insurance-covered care tailored to their needs. As a guest speaker at CAPCO and Toronto Hong Kong Lions Club, she raises awareness about workplace ergonomics, mental wellness, and holistic health.
CPAC extends its gratitude to all nominators, community members, and the selection committee for their support in recognizing and uplifting excellence within our community.
The achievement awards will be presented at the 2025 CPAC Annual Gala, on Saturday, March 8, 2025, at Hilton Toronto/Markham Suites Conference Centre & Spa. An introductory video of the recipient will be presented at the event, followed by the award presentation and an acceptance speech by the awardee. We invite people from all industries and age groups to join this celebration, feel the inspiration and encouragement of success, connect with like-minded friends, and enjoy captivating entertainment activities.
For online ticket purchase, please visit https://cpac-canada.ca/gala/.