Trustee

Trustee from Canada

Ziya Tong served on the Board of WWF-Canada for 8 years, holding the position of Vice-Chair for 2 years.
 
Career Snapshot

Award-winning broadcaster Ziya Tong anchored Daily Planet, Discovery Channel’s flagship science program, until its final season in 2018. Tong also hosted the CBC’s Emmy-nominated series ZeD, PBS’s national prime-time series, Wired Science, and worked as a correspondent for NOVA scienceNOW alongside Neil deGrasse Tyson on PBS. In the spring of 2019, she participated in CBC’s annual “battle of the books”. After a national four-day debate, she won Canada Reads.

Ziya’s first book, The Reality Bubble, was published in spring 2019. It has earned praise from luminaries including Naomi Klein, who notes that “in a time of mounting global crisis, the kind of radical curiosity that fills this book—a commitment to probing the unseen, unknowable and unthinkable—has become essential to our survival.” David Suzuki calls Tong’s book “required reading for all who care about what we are doing to the planet.”
In New York, Ziya served as a senior producer for Orientation.com, a global internet news portal for developing countries partnered with the BBC and UNDP. In 2003, Ziya launched the Ethical Media Division for Cowie and Fox Creative, one of Vancouver's leading interactive agencies, to promote green branding for non-profit and environmental groups. A strong supporter of public broadcasting, Ziya also participates in Media that Matters, a conference that promotes social change and media activism.

Formal Education

Ziya received her BA degree from the University of British Columbia in psychology and sociology and her Masters degree in communications from McGill University, where she graduated on the Dean’s Honour List.  She previously served as the Vice Chair of the World Wildlife Fund Canada.

Ms. Tong’s second term of office expires in December 2027.