Board Member
KHRISTINE G. CARIÑO, DMD, PhD
Dr. Khristine G. Cariño is a community connector and change catalyst. Social justice, anti-racism and inclusion are the cornerstones of her leadership. She draws on lessons learned overcoming the challenges put in front of her as a leader and an immigrant. In everything she does, in every organization she works with, Dr. Cariño strives to increase the visibility of immigrants and amplify the voice of racialized women.
As a consultant for non-profits, she provides strategic advice on board development and governance, community engagement and membership growth, communications and events management, and fundraising.
As a social entrepreneur, she championed mothers relaunching careers at Empower.Mom; increases access to enriched learning experiences in science and tech for local school aged children at East Van Kids Learning; and coaches PhD’s and postdoctoral fellows exiting academia for careers in industry.
As a leader, Dr. Cariño always commits to serving with integrity, accountability, transparency and excellence. She is currently the Ambassador for Women in STEM at Immigrant Networks, Director for Community Outreach on the Advisory Board of Scientudio Inc., and Community Board Member of the Cedar Cottage Neighbourhood House. She also served as immediate past president of the Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology (SCWIST) and for several years as a board member.
For several years, Dr. Cariño worked as a dentist and managed her own dental clinic while simultaneously teaching at the University of Baguio Faculty of Dentistry in the Philippines. She then moved to Japan after competitively obtaining the prestigious Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Monbukagakusho) scholarship and completed a PhD in Dental Sciences at Tokyo Medical and Dental University. Her research in dental epidemiology and behavioural sciences were recognized with awards from the International Association for Dental Research (IADR). She first came to Canada for a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of British Columbia. Khristine has now called Vancouver (unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm Musqueam Indian Band, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Squamish Nation, and səlilwətaɬ Tsleil-Waututh Nation) home for over 15 years with her husband, raising three children who are being primed to be inclusive global leaders.