RASS’ Board of Directors is recruiting! We are seeking committed individuals to join our volunteer Board of Directors, who are responsible for the governance of the organization. See our recruitment page for information on how to apply.

Debbie Samsom – Board President

Debbie completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at UBC, and was a Registered Psychologist for 32 years, until her retirement in December 2022. In 1993, she co-founded Back in Motion Rehab Inc., a company specializing in healthcare and employment services. Debbie held the position of CEO of Back in Motion for 20 years, and under her leadership, the business grew from five people working in one small office in Richmond to over 300 people across 16 locations in Metro Vancouver.

Throughout her career, Debbie has focused on supporting people to achieve their full potential. Her greatest sense of accomplishment comes from helping others overcome personal challenges so that they can lead happy, healthy lives. Her passion since stepping down from Back in Motion is to assist organizations to build psychologically healthy workplaces, and more broadly, to spread the word on how we can all create lives of fulfilment and wellbeing.

An avid contributor to the community, Debbie has been an active member of the Rotary Club of Richmond Sunrise since 2011. She is also a successful and disciplined multi-race marathoner, and has participated in races globally including Boston, New York, Chicago, Amsterdam and Berlin. 

Yasmin Rahman – Director

Richmond has been Yasmin’s home for the past 30 years where she has been actively involved in the community professionally and as a volunteer.  She is the co-founder of businesses within the Canadian pharmaceutical industry.   Through her work with physicians has created specialized programs that assist patients with their medication management preventing hospital admissions and readmissions. Yasmin has developed and implemented pilot projects for mental health and addictions focusing on early intervention and prevention. Yasmin’s approach to healthcare programs encourage community, family and professionals to work collaboratively to achieve best outcomes.

Yasmin has consulted for the Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs and currently serves on an Advisory Board for the City of Richmond. Yasmin was recognized by the Richmond Chamber of Commerce as a finalist for Innovation of the Year, Business Excellence Awards and was also an award nominee in the category of Business, Ethel Tibbits Women of Distinction. She has completed her MBA at Simon Fraser University and continues to expand her business presence globally. Yasmin has volunteered with RASS since 2017 and looks forward to serving on the Board and aligning the strategic goals of RASS. 

Sadaf Sediqi – Co-secretary

Sadaf is a recent graduate of the University of British Columbia and continuing is her studies. She has called Richmond her home ever since she can remember. She currently works and volunteers her time with various local organizations such as BC Children’s Hospital, Vancouver Coastal Health and Aspire BC totalling over thousands of hours of service. One of which brought her to RASS, through Richmond Cares Richmond Gives Youth Now program. This allowed her to jump into non-profit community work and facilitate building an advisory council for the organization.

In her free time, she enjoys walking, biking and reading.

Ken Anderson – Treasurer

Ken lived in Richmond for many years prior to moving to other provinces to pursue his career.  He is a Chartered Professional Accountant and has held the role of Chief Financial Officer in both municipal government and regional health authorities.  Ken recently returned to Richmond and is involved with varied volunteer activities.  In addition, he travels, hikes and bikes.  Ken is married with two adult children.

Ray Wang – Director

Raised in Richmond, BC, Ray is a community-minded entrepreneur. He graduated from SFU Business School and has worked in the digital marketing industry for over ten years. He holds a in degree in marketing and finance.

Dedicated to his community, Ray is keen on taking part in volunteering, fundraising, mentorship and other community initiatives in Richmond. He serves on the boards of local non-profit organizations, including Richmond Cares, Richmond Gives and Gateway Theatre, where he provides his expertise in support of their missions. Ray also delivers seminars and mentors students to provide career and personal guidance.

When he’s not volunteering, Ray works to grow RW Digital, a digital marketing agency he founded to help businesses use web technologies, digital advertising, and data analytics to expand their reach in the ever-growing digital space.

Rishika Selvakumar – Director

Rishika Selvakumar is a current graduate student at UBC, pursuing a Master of Public Health. She grew up in Richmond and considers it home, and is excited to support wellbeing initiatives in Richmond. She volunteers in a variety of areas including in mental health, sustainability initiatives, and other community outreach. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and baking. 

Chris Yan – Director

Born in Hong Kong, Chris grew up in Richmond and considers it his hometown. He graduated from Kwantlen Polytechnic University, majoring in Psychology and minoring in Criminology. His high school leadership teacher sparked a curiosity for growth, encouraging Chris to reach beyond what he knows and discover his passions and life goals through service work. Inspired by seeing positive change in himself, Chris carries on this commitment for growth with the youth groups he is involved in. Chris brings his understanding of youth and youth issues to RASS and is an advocate for all things youth. Currently, Chris works as a Recreational Leader and hopes to become a Youth Coordinator. You can catch him playing video games on his off-days, or at a local coffee shop pretending to get work done.