Board

Pronouns: he/him
Cariboo Regional District Library

Anton Dounts is the Manager of the Library Services for the Cariboo Regional District, a position which he held for the past three years. Prior to this role, Anton was the Area Librarian at the Williams Lake Library Branch. His earlier professional experience includes work at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Library in Nova Scotia and a variety of different library positions in Montreal, where he completed his studies at the McGill’s School of Information Studies. Over the past decade, Anton has maintained an active engagement with different library organizations within the province, which includes serving as the Chair of the Library Directors Advisory Group of the North Central Library Federation (Trustee), as well as the Sitka Business Function Group of the BC Libraries Cooperative, volunteering in the BCLA’s Mentorship Program, and continuing his active involvement as a member of the Association of BC Public Library Directors.

Pronouns: she/her
Vancouver Community College Library

Mari Paz Vera is the Library Department Head at Vancouver Community College. Since 2007, she has held several roles at VCC, including Public Services Librarian, Assistant Department Head, Records Management and Archives Coordinator, and now Department Head. Prior to this role, Mari Paz was s Science and Business Librarian at Vancouver Public Library Central Branch.

She has a strong commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. She served for many years as Chair of VCC’s Positive Space Committee and continues to be an active member. She is also a member of the College’s Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee as well as the Environment and Sustainability Committee.

Mari Paz holds a Master of Library and Information Studies from UBC and a Master of Science in Management from the University of Bath.

Pronouns: she/her
North Vancouver City Library

I am a member of the Métis Nation BC and grew up on the shared territories of the Kwantlen, Wsanec, Sto-lo, Katzie, and Semiahmoo people (Langley). My ancestors hail from Aotearoa (New Zealand) and the Métis homeland in Treaty 1 territory (Winnipeg). I received my Master of Library and Information Studies from the University of British Columbia in 2012 and I currently work at the North Vancouver City Library as the Manager of Public Services. I have a strong professional interest in inclusive library services, spaces and workplaces, as well as in decolonization. I greatly value the opportunity to serve our professional community as part of the BCLA Board of Directors.

Pronouns: she/her
UBC Okanagan Library

I am the Southern Medical Program Librarian at UBC Okanagan, which is situated on the unceded, ancestral, and currently occupied lands of the Syilx Okanagan Nation (Kelowna). As an embedded librarian, I work closely with the medical program as well as Health and Exercise Sciences delivering instructional and research services and support, particularly for knowledge syntheses. I am an active member of the ALA and MLA and the CE & Programming Director at HLABC. I have a BEd and MLIS from UBC with a background in language education (EN, DE) and am currently learning nsyilxcən. I love book clubs and am currently one of the organizers for an anti-racism book club at our library. Please ask me about it!

Pronouns: she/her
University of Northern British Columbia Library

Susie is the Data Services Librarian at the University of Northern BC, and has been a member of the BCALS executive since 2021. She is an active member of the national and provincial Research Data Management and Library Data Services communities.

Pronouns: she/her
BCLA Executive Director

I live and work in Victoria on the traditional territory of the lək̓ʷəŋən Peoples, specifically the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations. I’ve spent over 20 years in public library leadership with a focus on collections, technical services, and accessibility, although I’ve done a wide variety of library work including public services and programming for all ages. I’m passionate about advocating for libraries and library workers, and ensuring all people have equitable access to information, ideas, and works of the imagination. My approach to my work is informed by both my professional experiences and my personal experiences growing up in a blue-collar family as the daughter and granddaughter of immigrants. In my downtime I love spending time with my dog, reading frivolous books, and consuming more news than is probably wise.