When nominations closed on the February 25th for the very first Canadian Freelance Guild Board of Directors, every position but one had been filled by acclamation. During our Media Mixer on the 26th, we had the successful candidates introduce themselves, as well as the two candidates for the remaining position, the Director for Membership Management and Development. You can watch the introductions and conversation here, but below are the names and positions of 5/6ths of your new Board of Directors.
The First CFG Board of Directors will be:
George Butters – President, Halifax
Montaha Hidefi – Vice-President, Guelph
Helen Edwards – Secretary, Victoria
Paul Verhaegh – Treasurer, Calgary
Tina Pittaway – Director at Large, Dartmouth
There will be only one election, March 12-14, for the position of Director – Membership. There are two candidates, Lisa Caroglanian Dorazio from BC and Grant Frost from Nova Scotia. Voting will take place on line. Details to follow. Here are Lisa and Grant’s biographies and statements, with video statements to follow soon:
Lisa Caroglanian Dorazio, writer, editor, speaker, business coach and author of Bestseller “Conversations that Make a Difference: Stories Supporting a Bigger Vision” resides in Abbotsford, British Columbia. With ink literally and figuratively in her mix, Lisa started her career in the newspaper business as a carrier in her single digit years. Her print career as a Journée morphed from elementary school newsletter production on mimeograph paper – clearly she loved the sweet aroma of that pale blue intoxicating ink and the noise of the old-fashioned copy machine – to setting type for a bi-weekly publication and even selling Savin copiers in her mid-20s.
In between those years Lisa wrote weekly articles for the Armenian Weekly newspaper (which was distributed throughout the Armenian diaspora) and for local Metropolitan Washington, D.C. newspapers/organizations as a sports journalist, political contributor and technical writer.
As an active Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC) member from 2014 to its dissolution, Lisa served in the Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer roles of PWAC – Lower Mainland Chapter. In addition to those roles Lisa served as the Regional Director for British Columbia, Chair of the National Membership Committee, and the PWAC transition team with Canadian Media Guild prior to becoming an inaugural member of Canadian Freelance Guild (CFG).
No grass grows under Lisa’s feet. While certainly most passionate about CFG, Lisa finds time to volunteer with the Civil Air Search and Rescue (CASARA) in British Columbia. A certified radio operator, Lisa also works tirelessly with her local Toastmasters Club on the executive and currently serves as President of the Rise and Shine Chapter. Lisa shares her varied experiences as a long standing business owner of CanAmeri Consulting, Inc. not only with others in the writing/editing community but also mentoring her clients by living her motto “Always a Difference Maker”. Known for speaking truth to power, Lisa has never shied away from standing up for those in her community and will burn the midnight oil to help those in need.
When not working, or writing her next book, Lisa enjoys exercising, sports, traveling (even during these pandemic times), reading, sewing & crafts, gardening and baking for her family/friends. Yes, Lisa spread the joy of her “sourdough starter” around the BC writing community in the Lower Mainland.
Lisa has many years of high level board and community volunteer experience with a range of institutions such as the Alumni Association, University of Maryland at College Park, Maryland, the Awo Taan Native Women’s Shelter, Civil Air Search and Rescue Association (CASARA), the Human Opportunities through Physical Education (HOPE) organization, Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC), the Valley Women’s Association (formerly Network) and the Vancouver Board of Trade. These are but a few examples of her experience with non-profit, community and industry oriented organizations. To learn more about Lisa and her business please visit: www.canamericonsulting.com
Grant Frost: I am a public school teacher from Nova Scotia who began writing in 2012 when an op-ed in our provincial paper of record got me angry enough to send off a response. Since that time I have written dozens of articles on the state of public education in Canada and beyond, and have two books to my credit, one a self published collection of my writing and the other The Attack on Nova Scotia Schools published through Formac Lorimer. I also maintain a blog at Frostededucation.com.
Although writing about public education is certainly a passion of mine, it is not necessarily my writing which has led me to put my hat in the ring for the Director-Membership position with the CFG. Outside of my writing and teaching, I have spent a great deal of my time over the past decade working within the Nova Scotia Teachers Union. I have held numerous roles on a wide variety of committees at the regional, provincial, and national levels, and am just coming off a little over four years of working as a full-time union president. It is this experience which I think might be of use to our members.
As local president, I was immersed in things like contract interpretation, policy language, and constitutional reviews. This is not exactly the most exciting stuff, for sure, but is the foundation of any successful organization. I also spent an inordinate amount of time dealing with membership concerns, advising members of both their rights and privileges under the contract, and working on member engagement, again a key component for success. Finally, I was part of several teams responsible for collecting suggestions from the membership on everything from improving working conditions to psychological wellness and beyond. I was then tasked with taking these suggestions and turning them into correctly worded resolutions to be voted on at our annual general meetings.
The Canadian Freelance Guild will be a body made up of professional freelancers, but it is, at the end of the day, a labour organization. We are still very much in our infancy, but it will be vitally important for our longevity that we get off on the right foot. To do that, it may very well be in our best interest to have someone at the executive table who has an intimate understanding of the unionized world. If you feel that my skillset can be useful, I would welcome your support in the upcoming vote.
Grant Frost
Frostededucation.com
@frosteded
frostededucation@gmail.com