About Us

Board of Directors

Shelagh McDonald, President

Prior to entering library work, Shelagh McDonald spent over 20 years as a bookseller employed by several local  businesses before establishing (in partnership) titles bookstore – a quality independent which operated out of the same location currently occupied by UNA Pizza + Wine. Despite having left this pursuit, she has maintained a fierce interest in publishing, the role of established authors balanced with the emergence of new voices in a constantly changing and challenging  industry. In her spare time, outside of reading, Shelagh is a documentary film enthusiast, musical theatre fan (Sondheim, forever!), and
profoundly bad golfer. She is also a proud member of Word on the Street, and with the board, dedicates this year’s festival to the memory of her sister and  past president, Susan McDonald.

Diane Larouche-Ellard, Treasurer 

Diane Larouche-Ellard (recently retired) has over 10 years of experience in payroll, benefits administration, and marketing with strong Excel and Payroll Administration skills.   In addition to her financial background Diane is a painter and mixed-media artist based in Saskatoon. She holds a BFA from the University of Saskatchewan and exhibits her work throughout the province. Her ongoing connection with the visual arts community  provides a conduit to the city’s strong artistic community, aiding in fostering future partnerships for future programming.

Donna Canevari de Paredes, Board Member

Donna is a Librarian Emerita of the University of Saskatchewan, where she was a member of the University Library faculty for 40 years, working primarily with the development of humanities collections in subject areas including English, History, Modern Languages, and Women’s & Gender Studies.  A graduate of Skidmore College (History) and Columbia University (Library & Information Science), she is an avid and wide-ranging reader (has been since childhood!) and is happy to be part of the Word of the Street Board.

Kyle Graham, Board Member

My name is Kyle Graham. This is my fourth year as a board member and my first as Secretary of the Word on the Street Board! I was raised in Saskatoon. I worked as a Paramedic in rural Saskatchewan for a number of years. After my time as a first responder, I caught the teaching bug and decided to head back to school. I convocated with a Bachelor of Education from the University of Saskatchewan in 2010. I returned to the U of S for my Master’s in Education Administration, completing that in 2025. I have worked for the Saskatoon Public School Division since 2010. I have taught at Tommy Douglas Collegiate, Centennial Collegiate, and I am currently teaching at Estey School. While I have taught a wide variety of classes over the last 16 years (Drama, Art, History, Resource) my primary teaching area has been English Language Arts. I am the father of two amazing teenagers! My lovely and intelligent wife of 20 years, Erin, is a Pediatric Nurse at the Jim Pattison’s Children’s Hospital.

Katherine Lambi, Board Member

Katherine Lambi is a secondary school library technician with over 30 years’ experience. She currently operates the library at Walter Murray Collegiate and joins fellow board member, Kyle Graham (English teacher, Centennial Collegiate) in possessing extensive knowledge of YA literature, a genre identified as a priority going forward.

Mike Raine, Board Member

Mike Raine’s 40-plus years as a journalist began in large daily newspapers and wire services and, for 32 of those, was at Saskatoon-based Western Producer Newspaper. As a reporter, photojournalist, editor at Western Producer Publications and grandfather of producer.com (registering the URL in 1995 and growing it since then) his life with publishing in all formats has covered the periodicals span from newspapers and magazine startups, online newsletters, websites an even fax-delivery of news and markets stories. Retiring as the editor of Canada’s largest agricultural publication, including the 6-million annual page view producer.com. Mike also has non-profit board experience, including fundraising. Crucially,through this experience, he has successfully navigated the often-arduous process of securing charitable status designation – and has volunteered to steer this effort for WOTS.

Greg Mills, Board Member

Greg Mills, a devoted reader, is a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan and holds the position of Manager of Implementation Services/Clinical Specialist with BDM Healthware Inc., an early, local success story in the city’s thriving tech industry with national and international clients. His knowledge and extensive history within the digital and corporate communities will be of significant benefit to WOTS going forward.

Lisa Vargo, Board Member

Lisa is a Distinguished Professor Emerita, Department of English, University of Saskatchewan, with research interests in scholarly editing and British women writers of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. This is her second time serving on the Board for the Word on the Street Saskatoon; the first time was so enjoyable that she was happy to accept when asked to serve on the Board for a second time.