The BCLA Nominations Committee has prepared a slate of candidates for Board positions with terms beginning June 18, 2025. A strong Board of Directors, committed to the goals of the Association’s purpose, strategic plan, and core values, is essential to the growth and stability of BCLA.
In considering potential candidates the Nominations Committee considered BCLA values and anticipated board work for the coming year, as well as striving for a board that reflects of variety of professional and personal lived experiences.
The 2025 Nominations Committee for the BCLA Board is chaired by BCLA President Tracey Therrien and includes BCLA Board members Suzanne Rackover, Sajni Lacey, Ann Johannes, Sarah Tarcea, Sarah Felkar, and Rina Hadziev (ex officio).
2025-26 Slate of Candidates
Incoming President/President (four year term)
Anton Dounts (he/him)
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. Anton has maintained an active engagement with different library organizations within the province by serving as the Chair of the Library Directors Advisory Group of the North Central Library Federation (Trustee), volunteering in the BCLA’s Mentorship Program, and continuing his active involvement as a member of the Association of BC Public Library Directors.
Incoming Treasurer/Treasurer (two year term)
Mari Paz Vera (she/her)
Mari Paz Vera is the Library Department Head at Vancouver Community College, located on the traditional and unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. 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. Mari Paz is passionate about user experience and continuously works to ensure library spaces, services, and collections are welcoming, accessible, and inclusive for all students.
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.
Her professional interests include decolonizing library practices, supporting Indigenous initiatives, improving access through technology, and enhancing outreach and engagement. Mari Paz holds a Master of Library and Information Studies from UBC and a Master of Science in Management from the University of Bath. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family and supporting efforts that advance educational equity and environmental sustainability.
Two Director-at-Large positions (each a two year term)
Hillary Bloom (she/her)
Hilary has been with the Squamish Public Library since 2002, and in the role of director of library services since 2014. She received a Master of Library and Information Studies from the University of British Columbia in 2005. Hilary was a tutor for the provincial Community Librarian Training Program courses in children’s and youth services for six years, and an auxiliary librarian at Quest University Canada. She served on the BC Libraries Cooperative board from 2017-2019 and is an active participant in the Association of BC Public Library Directors and InterLINK Administrators’ Advisory Group. Hilary’s most prestigious job title is that of “Mom” to her two daughters.
Jane Jun (she/her)
Jane Jun is the Southern Medical Program Librarian at UBC Okanagan. She is a second-generation Korean immigrant who has spent most of her life on unceded, ancestral Musqueam Territory (UBC Vancouver) and is currently living and working as an uninvited guest on the unceded and ancestral lands of the Syilx Okanagan Nation (Kelowna). As an embedded librarian, she works closely with the medical program as well as Health and Exercise Sciences delivering instructional and research services and support, particularly for Knowledge Syntheses. Jane is an active member of the ALA and MLA and is the CE & Programming Director at HLABC. She has a BEd and MLIS from UBC with a background in language education (EN, DE) and is currently learning nsyilxcən.
Call for Additional Nominations
In accordance with BCLA practise, this announcement is an opportunity to call for additional nominations for these positions on the BCLA Board.
Nominations can be submitted via the online nomination form. A nominee must be an individual member of BCLA, and their nomination must be supported by three other individual BCLA Members. In the event of multiple candidates for open Board positions, BCLA will mount an election. Nominations for Board positions must be completed and submitted by May 28, 2025.
If you are interested in applying for a BCLA Board position and would like more information, please contact Rina Hadziev, Executive Director using the subject line: BCLA Board Position.
Thank you on behalf of the 2025 BCLA Nominations Committee.