[Photograph of Lilian To at a VLMFSS event]

Photograph of Lilian To, addressing the audience, at an event organized by the Vancouver & Lower Mainland Multicultural Family Support Services Society (VLMFSS).

Lilian To was born in Guangdong, China and raised in Hong Kong. In 1974, she immigrated to Vancouver, Canada and worked at S.U.C.C.E.S.S for two years. S.U.C.C.E.S.S. is a non-partisan, non-profit multicultural Canadian organization that offers programs and services in the areas of newcomer settlement, English-language training, employment and entrepreneurship, family, youth and seniors programming, health education, community development, affordable housing, and seniors care. In 1979, To obtained a master's degree in Social Work from the University of British Columbia. In 1987, To rejoined S.U.C.C.E.S.S. as Executive Director and worked tirelessly to promote multicultural harmony in the community and bridge the cultural gap between newcomers and Canadians. Under her leadership, To expanded the services of S.U.C.C.E.S.S. from a basic immigrant agency that served the Chinese community to a multi-service and multilingual organization serving Metro Vancouver. Her commitment to giving those in need the best quality services led to building S.U.C.C.E.S.S.'s Social Services Centre – Dr. Dorothy Lam Building, Simon K.Y. Lee Seniors Care Home and Chieng's Adult Day Centre, and operation of the Harmony House Assisted Living Residence along Shanghai Alley, the birthplace of Vancouver's birthplace. Over her lifetime, To received numerous recognitions and awards for her contributions to Canada, including, the Courvoisier Leadership Award for Public Service, the Citation for Citizenship by the federal department of Citizenship and Immigration — a national honour is handed to individuals or organizations that help newcomers integrate — along with the 1991 Vancouver Multicultural Society's Distinguished Service Award in the area of public service and the 1999 YWCA Women of Distinction award in the category of management, professions and trade. The City of Vancouver has recognized her legacy with a street and park named in her honour.

The Vancouver & Lower Mainland Multicultural Family Support Services Society (VLMFSS) is a non-profit organization pioneered to provide culturally responsive, trauma-informed, confidential and free services with immigrant/refugee women and children facing the challenges of family violence in more than 20 languages. VLMFSS was established in September 1991 by Shashi Assanand who became the first Executive Director. The Ministry for Children and Families Development (formerly known as the Ministry of Social Services) approved a proposal from the Vancouver Society of Immigrant and Visible Minority Women to create a culturally sensitive and multilingual agency dedicated to assisting immigrant, visible minority, refugee, and women without immigration status and their families who face family violence / gender-based violence (GBV) / intimate partner violence (IPV). VLMFSS was conceived within the kitchens of a group of immigrant women who held a strong passion for advocating on behalf of racialized immigrant women and children affected by family violence/GBV/IPV. VLMFSS is based in Burnaby, British Columbia.