About the President

Born in a small village in China, Mary's dream was to be a medical doctor after she recovered from a serious illness.

In 1975, she began her medical career as a barefoot doctor serving her villagers until 1977 she was accepted by Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. 5 years later, she was offered the positions as a physician and faculty at the same university and its teaching hospital as she received the medical degree with top honor.

In 1986, she came to Canada. Through her own efforts soon after, she completed her Master’s degree in reproductive biology at the University of Waterloo and was awarded the Ontario Graduate Scholarship and the National Science and Engineer Research Council Scholarship. Later, she had been working as a scientific researcher at the University of Toronto, Mount Sinai Hospital and Hospital for Sick Children in the fields of reproductive biology, endocrinology, and gene therapy for over ten years. Besides, she also did acupuncture research in collaboration with Wilson Centre, and Centre for Addiction and Mental Health at University Health Network.

In 1995, Mary established the Toronto School of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TSTCM) in pursuit of her lifelong vision, promoting TCM as a formal health care profession and medical science, as well as integrating TCM into the main stream health care system in Canada. The school is a reflection of her dedication to the development of TCM through excellent education and professional services. Mary’s background in formal TCM training, clinical and teaching, as well as the rich experiences in preparing and writing certifying examinations in acupuncture and herbology have helped many people who attended her personal courses and examination preparation workshops provided at TSTCM:

• 2001 in the United States, Mary and her first class of Doctor of TCM diploma program graduates passed both acupuncture and Chinese herbology examinations, and became certified by NCCAOM  
• 2005 in Vancouver, Mary and her students passed the acupuncture exam and became registered acupuncturist with the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture in British Columbia (CTCMA_BC)
• 2013 in Ontario Pan-Canadian Examination became available, by then, many TSTCM graduates have already taken the NCCAOM and CTCMA_BC examinations with outstanding pass rate     

Under her leadership, TSTCM has been offering high standard, systematic and comprehensive professional programs, training over a thousand individuals. Among them many have become qualified and successful acupuncturists, TCM practitioners, and TCM doctors, hundreds have been selected as the best ones in their professional field. A great number of graduates have also become outstanding educators and leaders of the profession.

Since 1997, Mary has been appointed to the Expert Advisory Committees for Health Canada who is responsible for presenting to the House of Common’s Health Committee regarding the regulation of natural health products to ensure these products sold to Canadians are safe, effective and in good quality. In 2002, Mary appeared before the Romanow Commission on Future of Health Care in Canada to proclaim in her presentation that the integration of TCM and acupuncture into the mainstream health care system would benefit all Canadians and reduce the cost of health care.

Mary believes the importance of legal status for the promotion and future development of TCM. She worked very hard in educating and lobbying the government and politicians to facilitate the recognition and regulation of TCM in Ontario. She made the essential submissions to the Health Professions Regulation Advisory Council (HPRAC), to the MPP Group of TCM and Acupuncture Regulation, and the Health Minister, provided essential information and recommendations regarding the regulation of TCM to ensure the quality of practitioners and safe, quality and ethical TCM and acupuncture services. With over twenty years of hardworking and consistent effort, TCM Act was finally passed in 2006 in Ontario. The regulatory body, College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of Ontario (CTCMPAO) was then established. In the TCM Act, the scope of practice was defined; the professions who are signified the protected titles of “Acupuncturist”, “TCM Practitioners” and “Doctor of TCM” began to be authorized with the controlled acts of performing a procedure on tissue below the dermas and communicating a TCM diagnosis. Mary was appointed to the Transitional Council of CTCMPAO by the Lieutenant Governor in 2008, continued to serve the public and the profession, actively involved in the establishment of professional regulation and registration, entry level occupational competencies, education and practice standards, and examinations for registration. Under her guidance, TSTCM has trained thousands of people to acquire their competencies and to become qualified professionals since the proclamation of the TCM Act in 2013. The quality of education offered at TSTCM is evidenced by the outstanding pass rate for the Pan-Canadian Examinations of TCM Practitioners and Acupuncturists in Canada, the National Examination Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) in United States, and the success of the graduates in their practices.

TSTCM has been a leading TCM educational institution since 1995 offering unparallel professional education and mentorship under her leadership. Many of them have become educators and leaders of the profession. Mary believes that the success of her students are the success and proud of TSTCM! She has been doing her best to teach and help all her students for their success. 

Serving the public and giving back to the community are Mary’s commitment. She has been invited to give lectures, presentations, demonstrations and services to students and faculties at many universities, professional and public organizations, events and media. Her presentations are not only informative, but also enjoyable and inspiring.

Mary has achieved much more than what she has ever dreamed for. She is a doctor to help patients, a teacher to educate and mentor students, and president to manage and direct the school. She is also a visionary in stirring the movements and integration of TCM to the main stream health care system in Canada. Her lifelong plan now is to help more people to bring their dreams into reality! That is: to promote and develop TCM for people's health, happiness and wealth!