Shane Simpson

Shane Simpson joined the Arts Club board in 2021. Shane retired from elected political life in 2020 after four terms, commencing in 2005, as the MLA for Vancouver Hastings and serving as Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction in the BC government, from 2017 through 2020. Shane has spent more than 45 years engaged in community service in Vancouver with a wide range of organizations, including Director of Policy & Communications for Smart Growth BC, Chair of the Vancouver City Planning Commission, Legislative Coordinator for CUPE BC, and director of both the Worker Ownership Resource Centre and the Ray-Cam Cooperative Association. He also served as Executive Assistant to Margaret Mitchell MP for Vancouver East. In recognition of his efforts, in 1992 he was awarded the Governor General’s 125th Anniversary Commemorative Medal for Community Service and in 2002 the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal for community service. Born and raised in the Downtown Eastside, Shane continues to live in East Vancouver with his wife, Cate, and four cats.