EXPLORER, ACTIVIST & WRITER YOSEF WOSK
Yosef Wosk is an Adjunct Professor in Humanities, a Simons Fellow and former Director of Interdisciplinary Programs in Continuing Studies at Simon Fraser University where he developed seminal programs such as The Philosophers’ Café and The Canadian Academy of Independent Scholars. In addition to being an ordained rabbi and receiving two honorary doctorates, he holds Ph.D.s in Religion & Literature as well as in Psychology, and Master’s degrees in Education and Theology.
As a businessman, he is president of Kolbo Holdings. Widely travelled—including expeditions to both the North and South Poles—Yosef is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. He founded hundreds of libraries and supported museums on all seven continents, endowed Vancouver’s Poet Laureate, and has taught thousands of students around the world. Identified as one of the top ten thinkers and most thoughtful citizens in the province, he is included in Canadian Who’s Who and has been presented with numerous awards including The Order of British Columbia, Freedom of the City of Vancouver, The Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals, and a Culture Beyond Borders Medal from the United Nations.
In 2020, he was welcomed as an Officer of the Order of Canada. Active in communal affairs—especially in the areas of education, libraries, museums, the arts, social services, heritage conservation, gardens, philanthropy and religion—Yosef is a media commentator, public speaker and published author.
— Bio (2025) provided by The Oxford Centre for Life-Writing, Faculty of English and Humanities Division, University of Oxford
This is the fourth website constructed by Alan Twigg to honour remarkable people he has known. See AFTERWORD.
The range of Yosef Wosk’s charitable works and creative projects borders is vast and unusual, bordering on bizarre. [See C.V. & BIO sections of this site.] He is simultaneously a scholar, educator, author, rabbi, peace activist, philanthropist, art collector and Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, having visited more than 250 countries, states, provinces and territories, as well as both poles [See WORLD]. Increasingly active as an author [See PUBLICATIONS], he is currently co-creating a massive work of Haida art with the Masset-based master carver and Eagle clan Chief James Hart. Their yet-to-be-titled “Moses’ Wall” project will integrate the traditional symbology of Haida tribes with cultural equivalents emanating from the twelve tribes of Israel.
– Alan Twigg, OC, D. Litt
Next: HAIDA