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The Board of Directors is thrilled to announce that Jacqueline Ko and Stephanie Ko of Opera Mariposa have accepted Lifetime Honorary memberships in the ME|FM Society of BC! We are so very grateful for their ongoing contributions to our work.
Jacqueline Ko (she/her) is a multi-award-winning performer, producer, model and disability advocate who has lived with ME since age six and has been raising her voice for the chronic illness community since age seventeen. Bedbound for much of her childhood, she found ways to pursue her love of music with the aid of supportive teachers and family members, and in 2009 merged her arts career with advocacy by presenting her first Benefit + Awareness concert for ME. Over the last dozen years these Benefit + Awareness events have become a cherished annual tradition, and Jacqueline's advocacy has raised over $125,000 to date for ME, fibromyalgia, Long Covid and other complex chronic diseases. Known as the founding artistic director of Opera Mariposa as well as the first Canadian Ambassador for Open Medicine Foundation, she has collaborated with the ME|FM Society of BC since 2017, and is excited to continue her partnership with them as a Lifetime Honorary Member. Read her full bio here and connect with her at JacquelineKo.com.
Image description: A photo collage features Jacqueline Ko wearing a red dress and Stephanie Ko wearing a green top, each holding the carved silver spoon from their Honorary Membership gift, in front of a purple-blue background. At the bottom of the graphic, text reads, thank you so much!
Stephanie Ko (she/her/hers) is a disabled arts administrator, designer, consultant and national award-winning writer, as well as the general manager of Opera Mariposa, Canada's first fully disability-run opera company. Having lived with post-viral ME since age eight, she is a passionate disability and chronic illness advocate who has partnered with charities, healthcare programs, funding bodies and arts service organizations worldwide. Stephanie regularly collaborates with the ME|FM Society of BC as well as their strategic partners Open Medicine Foundation and OMF Canada, and she has also worked on initiatives with organizations such as the National ME/FM Action Network, the Nightingale Research Foundation and BC Women's Health Foundation. To learn more about Stephanie, check out her full bio here and connect with her at StephanieKo.ca.