Sam Sullivan served as a City Councillor for 12 years and was elected as the 38th Mayor of Vancouver in 2005. After accepting the Olympic Flag at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, he became one of the world's most recognized Mayors.
Sam attended Langara College as both an able-bodied and a disabled student. That experience provided Sam with the driving force to establish six non-profit organizations that have improved the lives of thousands of North Americans living with disabilities.
Sam is a recipient of Canada's highest honour, the Order of Canada. In addition he received the Terry Fox Award for national excellence and the Christopher Reeve Award for outstanding contributions to the community of people with spinal cord injury and other physical disabilities.
After leaving politics, Sam founded the non-profit Global Civic Policy Society to provide non-political research and reflection on civil society, local government and citizenship.