Macayla Yan is a Cantonese settler residing on Lək̓ ʷəŋən (“le-kwung-en”) and W̱SÁNEĆ (“wh-say-nech”) Homelands, aka Victoria, BC. Their family comes from the tropical 中山 (Lau/劉/maternal family), 台山 (Yan/甄/paternal family), 澳門 (Lee/李/paternal family), and 香港 (Pang/彭/maternal family). Macayla is currently working on their Master’s of Counselling Psychology at the University of Victoria with the goal of serving marginalized and equity deserving communities. Macayla believes in the necessity of individual, collective, and ancestral healing. The primary author of the Cultivating Growth and Solidarity zine, Macayla is the Graduate Research Assistant for both (Re)Cultivating our Family Stories and Stories that Shape us as well. All of Macayla’s work is justice-oriented and interwoven with intersectional advocacy. As such, they also engage in community organizing and offer workshops, presentations, and other forms of knowledge mobilization. In addition, Macayla is an emerging textile artist practicing embroidery, weaving, and more.

Connect with them directly at macaylay@uvic.ca  and check out their other work at macayla.info.