Speaker Biographies - PDF format (May 13, 2010)

Keynote Speaker

Gerry Meek is the Chief Executive Officer of the Calgary Public Library‐one of the busiest public libraries in North America. Under the course of his dynamic leadership, the Calgary Public Library has won numerous awards for its innovative and highly creative approaches to public library service delivery and for the originality and quality of its sustainability, marketing, planning, ground breaking partnership and community outreach initiatives. Very active professionally, Gerry has served as President of the Ontario Library Association, Council Member on the Canadian Library Association, Chairman of the Council of Administrator’s of Large Urban Public Libraries in Canada, Chairman of The Alberta Library, Chairman of the Alberta Public Library Electronic Network Committee, and Chairman of the Alberta Public Library Director’s Council. He is also an adjunct faculty member at the University of Alberta School of Library and Information Studies and is a frequent conference and community speaker.

Pre-conference

Stephen Abram is a recovering librarian having received his MLS in 1980. He is entering a 12 step program as an association junkie. He is currently past President of SLA but he has endured the presidencies of his local, provincial, and national associations. He is the Vice President for Strategic Partnerships and Markets for Gale Cengage where he swims upstream continually to try to discover the future for all types of libraries and their vendors. He was Vice President Innovation for SirsiDynix and Chief Strategist for the SirsiDynix Institute. Stephen was listed by Library Journal as one of the top 50 people influencing the future of libraries and has received numerous honours. He holds audiences hostage for about 150 speeches a year. He writes all or parts of 6 books a year, posts thousands of blog postings and writes about 36 articles a year. He is nuts and doesn't sleep. His columns appear in Information Outlook and Multimedia and Internet @ Schools, and SirsiDynix OneSource and he is the author of ALA Editions 2007 bestseller, Out Front with Stephen Abram. He blogs at the popular Stephen's Lighthouse at http://stephenslighthouse.com. He has two children in university and is therefore quite broke. He spent a week in Italy on holiday this past August apologizing to his wife.

Caroleigh Garner has several years of experience as a Director of Human Resources complemented by a solid background in Staff Relations, Training and Development, Classification and Compensation and has played a key role in the Collective Bargaining process. Caroleigh is a certified Myers Briggs Typology Instructor and has been sharing her expertise in this field for the past 20 years. An inspirational Lecturer and Facilitator, her seminars have encompassed organizations and individuals throughout Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario as well as centers within the United States, Scotland and Amsterdam. Caroleigh specializes in providing the tools for understanding, appreciating, respecting, honoring and enjoying yourself first, and then all others, in your business and personal life.

Trina Grover is a member of the Canadian Committee on MARC (CCM). She has worked as a cataloguer at Ryerson University since 1995. She has developed and delivered cataloguing training for The MARC of Quality in the USA, Seneca College in Toronto and Red River College in Winnipeg. She teaches the Digital Applications for Collections Management course in the graduate program in Photographic Preservation and Collections Management at Ryerson.

Chris Oliver is the Chair of the Canadian Committee on Cataloguing (CCC). She has been a member of CCC since 1997 and this has given her the opportunity to be involved with the evolution of RDA from its early beginnings. She was also a member of the Joint Steering Committee’s Format Variation Working Group and Chair of the RDA Outreach Group. Chris has worked at the McGill University Library since 1989, beginning as a rare books cataloguing librarian, and then in various positions as a cataloguing manager; she is currently Coordinator of Cataloguing and Authorities.

John Tooth has been involved with copyright for over three decades, having been part of the Council of Ministers of Education Copyright Consortium, the Canadian Library Association Copyright Committee. He is currently preparing a book on copyright for school libraries. John Tooth is also the 09/10 Chairperson of the Canadian Association of Educational Resource Centres for Alternate Format Materials (CAER), and a member of the Library and Archives Canada Council on Access to Information for Print-Disabled Canadians.

Margaret Ann Wilkinson is a professor at the University of Western Ontario, jointly appointed to the Faculty of Law and Faculty of Information and Media Studies. At FIMS, she is active with graduate programs in the MLIS and Ph.D. She is also a member of the CLA Copyright Committee.

Conference

Stephen Abram is a recovering librarian having received his MLS in 1980. He is entering a 12 step program as an association junkie. He is currently past President of SLA but he has endured the presidencies of his local, provincial, and national associations. He is the Vice President for Strategic Partnerships and Markets for Gale Cengage where he swims upstream continually to try to discover the future for all types of libraries and their vendors. He was Vice President Innovation for SirsiDynix and Chief Strategist for the SirsiDynix Institute. Stephen was listed by Library Journal as one of the top 50 people influencing the future of libraries and has received numerous honours. He holds audiences hostage for about 150 speeches a year. He writes all or parts of 6 books a year, posts thousands of blog postings and writes about 36 articles a year. He is nuts and doesn't sleep. His columns appear in Information Outlook and Multimedia and Internet @ Schools, and SirsiDynix OneSource and he is the author of ALA Editions 2007 bestseller, Out Front with Stephen Abram. He blogs at the popular Stephen's Lighthouse at http://stephenslighthouse.com. He has two children in university and is therefore quite broke. He spent a week in Italy on holiday this past August apologizing to his wife.

Joanna Aegard is the Head of Virtual Library Services at the Thunder Bay Public Library. She manages the library's growing collection of online services and information, with the goal of making the virtual library easy to use. Joanna also spearheads the Library's Web 2.0 presence, and enjoys sharing her experience on the social web with Library staff and patrons, as well as community groups. She plays hockey and the flute, but not at the same time.

Marjorie Anderson has a PhD in English literature and taught writing, literature and communication at the University of Manitoba for two decades. During those years she also collaborated with her friend and colleague Carol Shields in editing the Dropped Threads anthologies. Currently, through her company, Wordwise, she does freelance editing, teaches personal story writing and manages literary projects from manuscript to polished book stage. As well, she and family members have formed a small, distinct publishing company, Anderson House.

Ricardo Blanco is an Argentinean-Canadian EAL student. He works in the windows industry as a saw operator and at the same time he has found time to keep alive his former occupation as a graphic artist.

Marni Brownell has a PhD in Developmental Psychology and is a Senior Research Scientist at the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy and Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, at the University of Manitoba. In her research she uses linked administrative health and social databases to study the social determinants of child health and development. Visit Marni’s homepage at http://umanitoba.ca/faculties/medicine/units/mchp/3643.htm.

Pat Cavill is mostly retired. She has been President of the Saskatchewan Library Association, the Library Association of Alberta and the Canadian Library Association, and has been on CLA Council five times. After a career in regional and public libraries in Saskatchewan and Alberta, Pat has been a consultant to all types of libraries all over North America, specializing in marketing, advocacy, leadership and ethics. She is the team leader for the Library Advocacy Now! program and was instrumental in its development. She is an organizer and the chief facilitator for Northern Exposure to Leadership.

Carol Cooke is the HSC Librarian/HSL Web Coordinator and an Associate Librarian with the University of Manitoba. In her roles with the University of Manitoba Health Sciences Libraries, she is responsible for coordinating the creation and maintenance of the Libraries web site; developing specialized local databases; providing reference services and training for faculty, staff and students at the University of Manitoba Bannatyne Campus and the Health Sciences Centre.

CJ de Jong is the Access Services Coordinator at the University of Alberta, supporting one of the major research collections in Canada by coordinating interlibrary loans, reserves, holds, discharging, and stack maintenance. Formerly, he was the Access and Reference Services Coordinator at the University of Winnipeg. He has co‐published an article on distance education, and presented at various conferences on topics related to information literacy and reference services. He is an active member of the Canadian Library Association, current convener for the Information Literacy Interest Group, and former Vice President of the Manitoba Library Association. CJ can be reached at cj.dejong@ualberta.ca.

Linwood DeLong is currently Head of Reference and Research Services at the University of Winnipeg Library. He has worked at the University of Winnipeg Library since 1983. He is passionate about print books and e-books, but equally so about classical music, cross country skiing, and Indian food.

Chantal Fillion is a Teacher Librarian at École Van Walleghem School in Pembina Trails School Division. She has been a Teacher Librarian for over 10 years. Chantal has been involved in the development of the ICT continuum since 2004, first as a member of the development team and then as a member of the Pembina Trails Division Implementation team. Chantal believes that the integration of technology into the Library is essential in developing students literacy skills in all areas. She has made audiobooks schools her focus for the last two years. Chantal is a mother of two boys and resides in Winnipeg.

Tania Gottschalk is the Education Services Librarian at the Neil John Maclean Health Sciences Library and an Associate Librarian with the University of Manitoba. In her current position with the UM Health Sciences Libraries, she coordinates education and training initiatives related to information literacy in the health sciences. Tania has a thorough knowledge of databases and resources for retrieving evidence-based health information, and expertise in web page design and development.

Karen Hildebrandt graduated from Grant MacEwan Community College with her Information & Library Technician Program diploma in 1998. She has served on program committees for the Alberta Association of Library Technicians (AALT) as well as co-chaired the conference committee in 2002. She recently graduated from Grant MacEwan University with her Bachelor of Applied Human Service Administration degree. She is Chair of the MacEwan Library and Information Technology Advisory Committee; Chair of the NEOS Consortium Access Service Standards Committee, Convenor for the CLA LTIG, a member of the CLA 2010 Program Planning Committee as well as the CLA Local Arrangements Committee. Karen currently works as the Circulation Services Coordinator at Concordia University College of Alberta.

Michael Hohner has been at the University of Winnipeg since 2001. He has been on sabbatical this past year, and, along with many other topics and activities, he has been studying and researching project management. He believes his newest title when he returns from his sabbatical will be Head of Library Systems and IT Services and Head of Scholarly Communications.

Brian Hubner is currently Associate University Archivist with the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections, and was previously employed at the Archives of Manitoba, Queen’s University Archives, Kingston, and at the Library and Archives of Canada in Ottawa. He has a Master of Arts (History, in Archival Studies) from the University of Manitoba, and a Master of Arts (History), from the University of Saskatchewan. Brian has published in the area of Aboriginal history and archives and his current interests include archives of the paranormal and depictions of western Canada in film and television.

Kelly Kubrick comes armed with academic credentials including an MBA New York University, a diploma from the Radcliffe Publishing Course at Harvard University and a BA from Victoria College at the University of Toronto. With over a decade of hands‐on experience with some of the best‐known brands on the planet – including TIME and Life as well as PEOPLE and Sports Illustrated – Kelly Kubrick of Online Authority offers valuable, practical and objective advice about how organizations can best leverage the web channel. As Director of eCommerce Development for Time Inc, Time Warner’s publishing division in New York, Kelly oversaw the planning, development and launch of more than 60 websites for such brands as In Style, Fortune, Entertainment Weekly, and Real Simple. She was a member, as well, of corporate task forces on initiatives such as joint Time Inc.–America Online (AOL) marketing, online customer service and email marketing. Since establishing Online Authority, an Internet performance measurement consulting practice, in 2002, Kelly has completed over 180 engagements with more than fifty public sector organizations across North America. Find out more about Kelly and Online Authority at http://www.onlineauthority.com/about-online-authority/.

Ken Kuryliw has twenty years of library experience in academic, government and public libraries. As a Provincial library automation consultant he was integral to automation of the Manitoba rural public libraries, and co-created the first computerized Union Catalogue (MAPLIN). He has spoken at a number of library conferences in Canada and the United States over the years. Currently he is the Director of Library Services at Red River North Regional Library based in Selkirk Manitoba.

Michelle Larose-Kuzenko Michelle Larose‐Kuzenko is a consultant, currently with the Learning Support and Technology Unit and formerly with Bureau de l’éducation française at Manitoba Education. She has been supporting teachers throughout the province with the implementation of the Literacy with Information and Communication Technology (LwICT) Across the Curriculum initiative since its creation in 2004. In her previous calling, she was a teacher‐librarian in River East Transcona School division and a past president of MSLA. She is the recipient of the National Book Service Teacher‐Librarian of the Year Award for 1998.

Michelle Larose‐Kuzenko est conseillère pédagogique, présentement avec la Section du soutien à l’apprentissage et des technologies, et auparavant au Bureau de l’éducation française d’Éducation Manitoba. Elle appuie les enseignants de la province dans la mise en oeuvre de la Littératie avec les technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC) dans tous les programmes d’études depuis la création de cette initiative en 2004. Dans une vie antérieure, elle était enseignante‐ bibliothécaire dans la division scolaire de River East Transcona et ancienne présidente de MSLA. Elle est la récipiendaire du National Book Service Teacher‐Librarian of the Year Award pour 1998.

Visit the Literacy with ICT (LwICT) Across the Curriculum Webpage at http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/tech/lict/index.html and the Wiki at https://lwict.wikispaces.com/

Dorothy Macnaughton has been involved in her local Friends of the Library group in Sault Ste. Marie, ON for 14 years, has been President of that organization for 10 years and is currently the Past President. She has been Secretary and is President of Friends of Canadian Libraries (FOCAL). She served on the CNIB Library Board for 11 years. She is a passionate advocate for libraries and has a special interest in ensuring libraries are accessible to all people with disabilities.

Crystal McGregor joined PLSB in June 2007 after working for her First Nation in Ontario as librarian for 10 years. Crystal wore several hats in the community and throughout the First Nation library community in Ontario. Crystal is a proud mother to an avid library son who enjoys visiting libraries throughout their family travels.

Dianna Morris has resided in Brandon since 1994. She has a Masters degree in German literature from the University of Western Ontario and a double honors degree in French and German from the same institution. Professionally, Dianna has 25 years experience as a language teacher in post-secondary education and has completed several appointments as administrator in post secondary educational institutions. Currently, Dianna is the French services and multilingual collection specialist as well as an acting consultant at the PLS Branch. She is both thrilled and proud to be supporting Manitoba’s public libraries.

Janis Pregnall teaches a communication course for internationally educated teachers. She also works with students who are training to be EAL instructors at the University of Winnipeg's Division of Continuing Education.

Guy Prokopetz is an EAL instructor at Red River College; in the past, he has also taught EFL in Brazil and Argentina.

Mark Rabnett is the Pharmacy and Pharmacology Liaison Librarian at the Neil John Maclean Health Sciences Library and an Associate Librarian with the University of Manitoba. Mark has been active in the Manitoba Library Association, the Manitoba Health Libraries Association (President 1999-2001), and the Manitoba Association of Health Information Professionals. Since 2000 he has been a Libraries Constituency rep on the Board of Representatives of the University of Manitoba Faculty Association, and from 2002 to 2008 he served as Contract Administrator on the UMFA Executive Council. Mark is the News Team Lead for the Health Sciences Libraries and the editor of the Info-Rx newsletter.

Anna Ramsay is the EBSCO Publishing Field Representative in Western Canada and has spent many years in the field of education and technology.

Maureen Sawa is Director of Public Service and Community Development for the Hamilton Public Library in Ontario. A graduate of the Faculty of Information Studies at the University of Toronto and an alumnus of the ‘Northern Exposure to Leadership Program’, Maureen has been the keynote speaker at numerous library conferences across Canada and she is especially well known for her ’12 Habits of Highly Effective Librarians’. She is presently serving as Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian Association of Public Libraries and also serves on the board of the Canadian Children’s Book Centre and is a member of the ALA Public Programming Office Advisory Committee.

Vickie Short joined the Lac du Bonnet Library in February of 2001 and became Head Librarian in May of 2007. Prior to working at the Library she worked as a bookkeeper for Imperial Oil and for a diamond drilling company. She completed high school in Hamiota, Manitoba and after completing school she jointly mixed farmed and held an Office Manager position for a local accounting firm. It was after this that she then moved to Lac du Bonnet and to joined the Lac du Bonnet Library. Vickie’s past times include curling, golf, reading and spending time with her 13 year old daughter.

June Shymko is an EAL teacher in the Winnipeg School Division Adult EAL Program.

Margaret Stimson is retired after 32 years in education, 17 of those years as a school library consultant in Pembina Trails and Assiniboine South School Divisions. In 2008 she was awarded the CASL Margaret B. Scott Award of Merit for contribution to school librarianship in Canada. She has also received the MSLA Distinguished Service Award, once in 1996 and again in 2007. Together, Margaret and Tom share a love for the outdoors as well as a fascination with Web 2.0.

Tom Stimson a teacher in Louis Riel School Division for six years, has been a leader and mentor in the use of ICT skills in the classroom. He often conducts practical experiments with new technologies in his multiage classroom. Tom has been one of the organizers of the LRSD student film festival for the last three years. Together, Tom and Margaret share a love for the outdoors as well as a fascination with Web 2.0.

Trevor Surgenor is Director of Public Library Services in Manitoba and a member of the Canadian Library Association Working Group for the Initiative for Equitable Access.

Lisa Sykes is the Teacher-Librarian at Westgrove School and has also worked at Oakenwald School Library and as a classroom teacher. She has always had a passion for reading and an interest in writing and the writing process. As project coordinator for "W is for Westgrove", Lisa was able to encourage her students to think of themselves as authors and illustrators and to demonstrate to staff the important role that the library could play in a school-based project. Lisa is a mother of three and lives in Headingley, Manitoba.

John Tooth has been involved with copyright for over three decades, having been part of the Council of Ministers of Education Copyright Consortium, the Canadian Library Association Copyright Committee. He is currently preparing a book on copyright for school libraries. John Tooth is also the 09/10 Chairperson of the Canadian Association of Educational Resource Centres for Alternate Format Materials (CAER), and a member of the Library and Archives Canada Council on Access to Information for Print‐Disabled Canadians.

Jennifer Trann is a graduate of the Occupational Health and Safety Program offered through Red River College, with a background in Sociology from the University of Winnipeg. Her expertise in a variety of industries, from construction to manufacturing to healthcare, has allowed her to develop health and safety programs, policies, and procedures that meet and, in some cases, exceed legislative requirements. This experience has also led to many opportunities to explore a variety of different interests such as confined space entry, fall protection, working alone, and first aid. Jennifer has worked in the health and safety industry for over four years and currently works as a Health and Safety Consultant for Change Innovators Inc. Visit Change Innovators Inc. at http://www.changeinnovators.com.

Larry Verstraete is a former teacher and an award-winning author of non-fiction books for youngsters. His two most recent releases - G is for Golden Boy: A Manitoba Alphabet (Sleeping Bear Press) and At the Edge: Daring Acts in Desperate Times (Scholastic Canada) – were both shortlisted for this year’s McNally Robinson Book for Young People Awards. In addition to writing, Larry enjoys visiting with readers & writers of all ages, and has a special fondness for collaborative ventures like W is for Westgrove. Visit Larry’s website at www.larryverstraete.com.

Maggie Weaver has worked with business information for a very long time, undertaking competitive & market research for the chemical industry, management consulting firms and small businesses. For 6 years she managed the Canadian office of Dialog, the world’s largest online business service before the advent of the Internet. She established IntelliSearch, the fee-based research service of the Toronto Reference Library. She teaches courses on secondary market research, importing and exporting, for entrepreneurs across Ontario. Among other activities, Maggie is the Secretariat of the Canada-Ontario Export Forum, the editor of the daily e-newsletter of the Canadian Association of Importers & Exporters, and Chair of the B2B Committee of the Market Research & Intelligence Association.

Denise Weir is a library consultant with Public Library Service Branch of Culture Heritage and Tourism. With a Masters of Library and Information Science from the University of Western Ontario, Denise’s background includes over a decade of consultation with rural and northern public libraries. Denise also has previous experience as a divisional coordinator for school libraries, and public library board member. Having lived in Churchill and other areas of rural Manitoba, Denise is convinced that everyone is responsible for creating community wellbeing. She sees public libraries as community building organization that uses books, technology and programs as tools to create individual and collective wellness. Ms. Weir has particular interest in the invisible, intersections between the resources of public libraries and the resilience of local economies.

Kathleen Williams is the Administrative Coordinator of Community Outreach and Marketing for Winnipeg Public Library. Her areas of responsibility include adult programming at the library, and outreach to the newcomer community.