If you are interested in serving on the Board of Directors, please see our Board Recruitment Brochure for more information. For a breakdown of the time and financial commitments required of WGA Board members, click here.
President: | Blaine Newton, Edmonton |
Blaine is a playwright, sketch and fiction writer, improviser and sometime engineer. When not bragging about himself in the third person, he has written sketches for shows you’ve never seen, short stories for magazines and anthologies you’ve never read, and plays for an audience of well under a million people. This, combined with his engineering training, allows him to alter current reality by day while creating alternate realities at night. His recent theatre productions include The Thin Grey Line, Cursive Writing Productions; Bravo, Shadow Theatre; Five Stages of Death, Cursive Writing Productions; and Oral Fixations (co-written with author Leslie Greentree), Ignition Theatre. His recent publications include the stories By the Numbers, Freefall Magazine, and Life in a Bottle, University of Bristol 2021 Anthology. He’s a member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada, a past-president of the Writers’ Guild of Alberta, and served two terms as president of Alberta Playwrights’ Network. | |
Vice President: | Teresa Wouters, Grande Prairie |
Teresa Wouters is a returning WGA board member with years of experience on a variety of boards. She is the second place winner of the 2021 Kemosa Scholarship for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Mothers Who Write. As well, Teresa hosts the Otâcimow Indigenous Writers Circle. Teresa lives in Grande Prairie as a teacher, author, musician, actress and television personality, and entrepreneur. Her goals, as an author, are to entertain, educate, and inspire. | |
Treasurer: | Olga Krochak Sulkin, Calgary |
Olga Krochak Sulkin has been a member of WGA since 2020. She received her BA in English Literature and Communication from Tel Aviv University, Israel, and MA in English Literature from University of Calgary. Olga has been writing poetry and short fiction since she was six and has published a few poems and academic articles. For over two decades Olga has been involved in the non-profit sector in various roles and is very excited to join WGA board as the new Treasurer. Currently Olga is the Director of Philanthropy for Spinal Cord Injury Alberta and is working on her first middle-grade novel. | |
Secretary: | Lori Hahnel, Calgary |
Lori Hahnel is the author of two novels, Love Minus Zero (Oberon, 2008) and After You’ve Gone (Thistledown, 2014); and two short story collections, Nothing Sacred (Thistledown, 2009), and Vermin: Stories (Enfield & Wizenty, 2020). Her work aired on CBC Radio and appeared in The Fiddlehead, Joyland, Prairie Fire, Room, The Antigonish Review, The Saturday Evening Post and other publications in North America, Australia and the United Kingdom. Lori teaches creative writing and was author-in-residence at the Calgary Public Library in 2020. | |
Members at Large: | |
Dr. Kimberly Fraser, Sherwood Park | |
Dr. Kimberly Fraser, an author with an MFA in Creative Nonfiction, has extensive clinical practice and leadership in nursing and health care. A nurse entrepreneur, Kim owned a successful home care company and vocational school with her husband for 25 years. Her research program and her writing focus on family caregiving and home care using innovative and arts-based approaches. She recently retired from her fulltime role as a professor (University of Alberta) and Clinician Scientist (Alberta Health Services). Kim uses applied research to incite public conversations and inform policy for better outcomes for home care clients and family caregivers. Kim has embarked on a second career as author and recently completed her first full length book manuscript, The Accidental Caregiver, forthcoming in 2021. She does contract teaching with Athabasca University. Kim has been active on several community boards in the past and is currently, she Vice-President of Caregivers Alberta. She is looking forward to the second year of her term on the board with WGA. | |
Nicole Hill, Edmonton | |
Nicole Hill is a new member of the WGA Board. She is the author and co-author of an array of academic and public-facing nonfiction works. Most recently, she co-edited Obstetric Violence: Realities and Resistance from Around the World (forthcoming 2022), in which she is also a chapter author. Nicole has a BA in sociology, an MA in integrated studies from Athabasca University and a PhD (ABD) in sociology from the University of Alberta. She served as co-editor and board member of the Journal of Integrated Studies and vice president academic of the Athabasca University Graduate Students’ Association. Nicole has a passion for storytelling and progressive works that enrich and challenge our ways of thinking and doing. | |
Moorea Gray, Calgary | |
Moorea Gray is an active member of the WGA since 2004. I have participated in workshops, attended Alberta Literary Awards events and written for WestWord. The WGA has provided me with many long-lasting opportunities, and it is my turn to give back to this important writing organization. I have a great interest and involvement in Alberta literature—past and present. In 2019, I published an anthology of the works of Icelandic-Canadian writer Stephan G. Stephansson. I am vice president of the Calgary Women’s Literary Club and secretary for the Leif Eriksson Iceland Club. In 2021, I completed a two-year term as a committee member with the Calgary Distinguished Writers’ Program at the University of Calgary. I hold a BEd and an MA in English Literature. Substitute teaching for children in kindergarten to Grade six is a highlight of my school year. Teaching offers me the opportunity to read and share my love of literature with a captive audience. | |
Member at Large (Youth Rep): | Sophie Pinkoski, Edmonton |
Sophie Pinkoski has been active on the board since October 2017 and is the current chair of the WGA Youth Committee. She received a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Victoria, and a Master of Science in Publishing from Edinburgh Napier University. She is a dark fantasy novelist in both the adult and young adult age brackets and offers marketing and editorial services through Pinkoski Consulting. While completing her Master’s, she took on a Managing Editor role at Merchiston Publishing and Features Editor role for Buzz Magazine, as well as working in the Children’s Marketing and Publicity office at Penguin Random House London. Her experience in the UK has given her opportunities to work closely alongside agents, publishers, and authors alike. | |
Past President: | Carol Parchewsky, Calgary |
Carol Parchewsky has been an active member of the WGA for over four years. She received her MFA in creative writing from Queens University of Charlotte, North Carolina, her BSc in mechanical engineering from the University of Saskatchewan, and postgraduate certificates in professional management—PEG, e-Learning, and creative writing from the University of Calgary. She is a knowledgeable senior leader with experience in government organizations, civic organizations, and the private sector. She is operations director of Legend Grafix, an all-inclusive graphic design house and wide-format printer in Calgary. Carol teaches ESL classes and writing classes, writes picture books, middle grade, adult fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. She is working on a novel and a collection of short stories. |
2020/2021 | |
President: | Carol Parchewsky, Calgary |
Vice President: | Theresa Uchechi Ezeuko, Calgary |
Treasurer: | Nicolas Brown, Westlock |
Secretary: | Lori Hahnel, Calgary |
Past President: | |
Members at Large: | Alison Clarke, Edmonton | Lisa Mulrooney, Stony Plain | Dr. Kimberly Fraser, Sherwood Park | Teresa Wouters, Grande Prairie | Sophie Pinkoski, Edmonton (Youth Rep) |
2019/2020 | |
President: | Leslie Chivers, Edmonton |
Vice President: | Leanne Myggland-Carter, Spruce Grove |
Treasurer: | Susan Carpenter, Calgary |
Secretary: | Kevin Thornton, Fort McMurray |
Past President: | Carol Parchewsky, Calgary |
Members at Large: | Dr. Kimberly Fraser, Sherwood Park |Teresa Wouters, Grande Prairie | Sophie Pinkoski, Edmonton (Youth Rep) |
2018/2019 | |
President: | Carol Parchewsky, Calgary |
Vice President: | Leslie Chivers, Edmonton |
Treasurer: | Falon Reed, Redwater |
Secretary: | Lori Hahnel, Calgary |
Past President: | Dustin Archibald, Grande Prairie |
Members at Large: | Alison Clarke, Edmonton | Joan Crate, Calgary | Lisa Mulrooney, Stony Plain | Sophie Pinkoski, Edmonton (Youth Rep) |
2017/2018 | |
President: | Dustin Archibald, Grande Prairie |
Vice President: | Carol Parchewsky, Calgary |
Treasurer: | Falon Reed, Redwater |
Secretary: | Lori Hahnel, Calgary |
Past President: | Anne Logan, Calgary |
Members at Large: | Alison Clarke, Edmonton | Joan Crate, Calgary | Leslie Chivers, Edmonton | Sophie Pinkoski, Edmonton (Youth Rep) |
2016/2017 | |
President: | Anne Logan, Calgary |
Vice President: | Dustin Archibald, Grande Prairie |
Treasurer: | Falon Reed, Redwater |
Secretary: | Fran Kimmel, Lacombe |
Past President: | Barb Howard, Calgary |
Members at Large: | Karen Pheasant, Edmonton | Kim McCullough, Calgary | Marc Colbourne, Edmonton | Teresa Wouters, Grande Prairie | Rachel Lee, Edmonton (Youth Rep) |
2015/2016 | |
President: | Barb Howard, Calgary |
Vice President: | Anne Logan, Calgary |
Treasurer: | Falon Reed, Redwater |
Secretary: | Fran Kimmel, Lacombe |
Past President: | Peter Midgley, Edmonton |
Members at Large: | Dustin Archibald, Grande Prairie | Leslie Chivers, Edmonton | Terry Cho, Calgary | Karen Pheasant, Edmonton | Barbori G. Streibl, Calgary (Youth Rep) |
2014/2015 | |
President: | Peter Midgley, Edmonton |
Vice President: | Barb Howard, Calgary |
Treasurer: | Kimberley Champigny, Red Deer |
Secretary: | Anne Logan, Calgary |
Past President: | Vacant |
Members at Large: | Leslie Chivers, Edmonton | Terry Cho, Calgary | Fran Kimmel, Lacombe | Rena J. Traxel, Onoway | Barbori Streibl, Calgary (Youth Rep) |
2013/2014 | |
President: | Peter Midgley, Edmonton |
Vice President: | Barb Howard, Bragg Creek |
Treasurer: | Kimberley Champigny, Red Deer |
Secretary: | Ann Logan, Calgary |
Past President: | Julie Sedivy, Calgary |
Members at Large: | Fran Kimmel, Lacombe | Shannon Lepine, Edmonton (Youth Rep) | Dianne Linden, Edmonton | Rena Traxel-Boudreau, Onoway |
2012/2013 | |
President: | Julie Sedivy, Calgary |
Vice President: | Peter Midgley, Edmonton |
Treasurer: | Kimberley Champigny, Red Deer |
Secretary: | (Vacant) |
Past President: | Patricia MacQuarrie, Wetaskiwin |
Members at Large: | Janet Gurtler, Calgary | Barb Howard, Bragg Creek | Fran Kimmel, Lacombe | Shannon Lepine, Edmonton (Youth Rep) | Dianne Linden, Edmonton |
2011/2012 | |
President: | Patricia MacQuarrie, Wetaskiwin |
Vice President: | Julie Sedivy, Calgary |
Treasurer: | Kimberley Champigny, Red Deer |
Secretary: | Rosemary Griebel, Calgary |
Past President: | Patricia MacQuarrie, Wetaskiwin |
Members at Large: | Jordanna Bubar, Edmonton (Youth Rep) | Dianne Linden, Edmonton | Peter Midgley, Edmonton | Susan Toy, Calgary | Teresa Wouters, Grande Prairie |
2010/2011 | |
President: | Patricia MacQuarrie, Wetaskiwin |
Vice President: | Julie Sedivy, Calgary |
Treasurer: | Kimberley Champigny, Red Deer |
Secretary: | Rosemary Griebel, Calgary |
Past President: | Audrey Seehagen, Edmonton |
Members at Large: | Leslie Greentree, Red Deer | Jennifer Kunlire, Calgary (youth member) | Dianne Linden, Edmonton | Teresa Wouters, Grande Prairie |
2009/2010 | |
President: | Audrey Seehagen, Edmonton |
Vice President: | Ian LeTourneau, Athabasca |
Treasurer: | David Richardson, Grande Prairie |
Secretary: | Patricia MacQuarrie, Wetaskiwin |
Past President: | Blaine Newton, Red Deer |
Members at Large: | Karen Bass, Hythe | Leslie Greentree, Red Deer | Rosemary Griebel, Calgary | Jennifer Kunlire, Calgary (youth member) | Julie Sedivy, Calgary |
2008/2009 | |
President: | Blaine Newton, Red Deer |
Vice President: | Audrey Seehagen, Edmonton |
Treasurer: | David Richardson, Grande Prairie |
Secretary: | Karen Bass, Hythe |
Past President: | Dymphny Dronyk, Grande Prairie |
Members at Large: | Rosemary Griebel, Calgary | Jennifer Kunlire, Calgary (youth member) | Patricia MacQuarrie, Wetaskiwin | Shirley Serviss, Edmonton | Ian LeTourneau, Athabasca |
2007/2008 | |
President: | Dymphny Dronyk, Grande Prairie |
Vice President: | Blaine Newton, Red Deer |
Treasurer: | Arthur Kan, Edmonton |
Secretary: | Audrey Seehagen, Edmonton |
Past President: | Lori Lavallee, Lethbridge |
Members at Large: | Karen Bass, Hythe | J. Paul Cooper, Calgary | Shirley Serviss, Edmonton Richard Stevenson, Lethbridge |
2006/2007 | |
President: | Lori Lavallee, Lethbridge |
Vice President: | Kelly Clemmer, Wainwright |
Treasurer: | Arthur Kan, Edmonton |
Secretary: | Dymphny Dronyk, Grande Prairie |
Past President: | Vern Thiessen, Edmonton |
Members at Large: | Alexis Hillier, Edmonton (youth member) | Audrey Seehagen, Edmonton | J. Paul Cooper, Calgary |
2005/2006 | |
President: | Vern Thiessen, Edmonton |
Vice President: | Lori Lavallee, Lethbridge |
Treasurer: | Arthur Kan, Edmonton |
Secretary: | John Mulholland, Grande Cache |
Past President: | Vivian Hansen |
Members at Large: | Kathryn Arnold, Edmonton | Kelly Clemmer, Wainwright | Dymphny Dronyk, Grande Prairie | Alexis Hillier, Edmonton (youth member) |
2004/2005 *elected at the Special General Meeting, December 11, 2004, Red Deer | |
President: | Vern Thiessen, Edmonton* |
Vice President: | Lori Lavallee, Lethbridge* |
Treasurer: | Joan Marklund, Drumheller |
Secretary: | Lorna Klose, Calgary* |
Past President: | Vivian Hansen, Calgary |
Members at Large: | Kathryn Arnold, Edmonton* | Kelly Clemmer, Wainwright* | Marilyn Dumont, Edmonton | John Mulholland, Grande Cache* | Wendy Rajala, Calgary* |
2004/2005 (elected at AGM) | |
President: | Anne Burke, Calgary |
Vice President: | Harvey Walker, St. Albert |
Treasurer: | Joan Marklund, Drumheller |
Secretary: | Gail Gravelines, Edmonton |
Past President: | Vivian Hansen, Calgary |
Members at Large: | Marilyn Dumont, Edmonton | Michelle Greyson, Cochrane | Rebecca Holand, Lethbridge | Faye Holt, Calgary |
2003/2004 | |
President: | Vivian Hansen, Calgary |
Vice President: | Anne Burke, Calgary |
Treasurer: | Susan Weckesser, Whitecourt |
Secretary: | Vivia Oliver, Caroline |
Past President: | Christina Grant, Edmonton |
Members at Large: | David Breakenridge, Sherwood Park | Michelle Greysen, Cochrane | Bob Stallworthy, Calgary | Harvey Walker, St. Albert |
2002/2003 | |
President: | Christina Grant, Edmonton |
Vice President: | Sharon Drummond, Calgary |
Treasurer: | Diane Schuller, Hythe |
Secretary: | Michael Penny, Edmonton |
Past President: | Suzette Mayr, Calgary |
Members at Large: | Vivian Hansen, Calgary | Richard Stevenson, Lethbridge | Diane Schuller, Hythe | Lyle Weis, Edmonton |
2001/2002 | |
President: | Suzette Mayr, Calgary |
Vice President: | Christina Grant, Athabasca |
Treasurer: | Mark Giles, Calgary |
Secretary: | Linda Goyette, Edmonton |
Members at Large: | Sharon Drummond, Calgary | Ruth C. Mackay, Millerville | Anna Mioduchowska, Edmonton | Diane Walton, Alberta Beach |
2000/2001 | |
President: | Geo Takach, Edmonton |
Vice President: | Suzette Mayr, Calgary |
Treasurer: | Leo Jacques, Red Deer |
Secretary: | Mark Giles, Calgary |
Members at Large: | Christina M. Grant, Athabasca | Ruth C. MacKay, Millerville | Anna Mioduchowska, Edmonton | Diane Walton, Alberta Beach |
1999/2000 | |
President: | Anne Burke, Calgary |
Vice President: | George Takach, Edmonton |
Treasurer: | Leo Jacques, Red Deer |
Secretary: | David Huggett, Edmonton |
Members at Large: | Rosemary Nixon, Calgary | Bernard Bloom, Calgary | Don Trembath, Morinville | |
1998/1999 | |
President: | Scot Morison |
Vice President: | Anne Burke, Calgary |
Treasurer: | Leo L. Jacques, Red Deer |
Secretary: | David Huggett, Edmonton |
Members at Large: | Rosemary Nixon, Calgary | Sandra Wunsch, Medicine Hat | |
1997/1998 | |
President: | Tololwa Mollel, Edmonton |
Vice President: | Shirley Serviss, Edmonton |
Treasurer: | Paul Harris, Red Deer |
Secretary: | Cherylyn Stacey, Edmonton |
Members at Large: | Elizabeth Celements, Medicine Hat | Sarah Murphy, Calgary | |
1996/1997 | |
President: | Fred Stenson |
Vice President: | Tololwa Mollel |
Treasurer: | Paul Harris |
Secretary: | Cheryl Chamberlain |
Members at Large: | Caterina Edwards | Jenny King-Brown | Sarah Murphy | Anne Burke |
1995/1996 | |
President: | Darlene Quaife |
Vice President: | Fred Stenson |
Treasurer: | Michael Penny |
Secretary: | Diane Walton |
Members at Large: | Jars Balan | Paul Harris | John Glawson | David Poulsen | Miki Andrejevic |
1994/1995 | |
President: | Alice Major |
Vice President: | Darlene Quaife |
Treasurer: | E. Stewart Bishop |
Secretary: | Diane Walton |
Members at Large: | Robert Runte | Lyn Thompson | Jars Balan | Irene Morck |
1993/1994 | |
President: | Candas Jane Dorsey |
Vice President: | Alice Major |
Treasurer: | E Stewart Bishop |
Secretary: | Robert Runte |
Members at Large: | Dave Duncan | Lyn Thompson | Diane Walton | Janeen Werner-King |
1992/1993 | |
President: | George Melnyk |
Vice President: | Candas Jane Dorsey |
Treasurer: | E. Stewart Bishop |
Secretary: | Robert Runte |
Members at Large: | Marie Jakober | Shirlee Matheson | Charles Noble | Diane Walton |
1991/1992 | |
President: | Reg Silvester |
Vice President: | George Melnyk |
Treasurer: | Yvonne Adam |
Secretary: | Caterina Edwards |
Members at Large: | Candas Jane Dorsey | Sarah Murphy | Charles Noble | Fred Wah |
1990/1991 | |
President: | Jon Whyte |
Vice President: | Reg Silvester |
Treasurer: | Michael Penny |
Secretary: | Amber Hayward |
Members at Large: | Caterina Edwards | Larry Harris | Sarah Murphy | Lorine Sweeney |
1989/1990 | |
President: | Myrna Kostash |
Vice President: | Jon Whyte |
Treasurer: | Michael Penny |
Secretary: | Amber Hayward |
Members at Large: | Lorine Sweeney | Darlene Quaife | Roberta Rees-Whalley | Melody Szabo |
1988/1989 | |
President: | Aritha van Herk |
Vice President: | Myrna Kostash |
Treasurer: | Becky Romanchych |
Secretary: | Monica Hughes |
Members at Large: | Sylvia Bough | Mary Howes | Birk Sproxton | Andrew Wreggitt |
1987/1988 | |
President: | Martyn Godfrey |
Vice President: | Aritha van Herk |
Treasurer: | Phyllis Shuell |
Secretary: | Vacant |
Members at Large: | Monica Hughes | Sylvia Bough | Joan Crate Taylor | Andrew Wreggitt |
1986/1987 | |
President: | Monty Reid |
Vice President: | Martyn Godfrey |
Treasurer: | Phyllis Shuell |
Secretary: | Mark Lowey |
Members at Large: | Sylvia Bough | Rebecca Luce-Kapler | Andrea Spalding | Richard Stevenson |
1985/1986 | |
President: | Gloria Sawai |
Vice President: | Monty Reid |
Treasurer: | James W. Fishbourne |
Secretary: | Shirlee Matheson |
Members at Large: | Elona Malterre | Don Meredith | Andrea Spalding | P. Derryn Yeomans |
1984/1985 | |
President: | Chris Wiseman |
Vice President: | Lorne Daniel |
Treasurer: | Clair Woodbury |
Secretary: | Shirlee Matheson |
Members at Large: | Elona Malterre | Rhonda McAdam | Monty Reid | Cora Weber-Pillwax |
1983/1984 | |
President: | Joan Clark |
Vice President: | Kathy Osgood |
Treasurer: | Mary Woodbury |
Secretary: | Ian Adam |
Members at Large: | Sharleen Chevreaux | Bill Latta | Marie Moser | Marilynn Stratton | Mary Riskin |
1982/1983 | |
President: | Ted Blodgett |
Vice President: | Tim Christison |
Treasurer: | Reg Silvester |
Secretary: | Mary Riskin |
Members at Large: | Cathy Reninger | Doug Barbour | Fred Stenson | Sharleen Chevreaux |
1981/1982 | |
President: | Ted Blodgett |
Vice President: | Tim Christison |
Treasurer: | Reg Silvester |
Secretary: | Mary Riskin |
Members at Large: | Cathy Reninger | Doug Barbour | Fred Stenson | Sharleen Chevreaux |
1980/1981 | |
President: | Rudy Wiebe |
Vice President: | Christopher Wiseman |
Treasurer: | Beverly Hocking |
Secretary: | Merna Summers |
Members at Large: | Joan Clark | Jan Truss | William Latta | Ted Blodgett |