Board of Directors

Elizabeth Pszczolko - President

Elizabeth has been involved with NOWW since its early beginnings more than twenty years ago. She recalls early meetings with fellow writers and feeling she had found her "kindred spirits." Since those early days, Elizabeth said it has been wonderful to see how much NOWW and the writing community has grown and developed through the region. Recently retired as manager of the Thunder Bay Public Health Laboratory, Elizabeth is looking forward to finding her writing legs again. because she believes, "writing is about learning and exploring." Her work has been published in the NOWW magazine and she recently started her own blog: www.awonderinglittlevoice.com/

Susan Rogers - Vice President

A love of writing led to a career in journalism for Susan who has worked for radio, television, newspapers, and magazines across the country. She won first prize in the creative non-fiction category of the NOWW literary contest in 2014 and 2015. Her plays, What’s in a Name? and Sperm in the Fast Lane were performed as part of the 10x10 Showcase in Thunder Bay in the past two years. Now retired from the CBC, she enjoys northwestern Ontario's great outdoors, Agentine tango dancing and experimenting with her writing. You can read her blog, The Jubilant Jubilada, here.
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Charles Campbell - Treasurer

Charles Campbell is an accountant by day and writer by evening and weekend. Although he has had succesfully submitted his tax returns for decades, he is far more proud of having his plays selected for the 2015 and 2016 10x10 showcases. Charles joined NOWW to get away from financial statements and to dedicate more time to develop his writing, but much like Michael Corleone, he's been 'pulled back in' and is serving as Treasurer.

Jane Crossman - Past President

Jane Crossman is a Professor Emerita at Lakehead University and while on sabbatical has taught in England, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Her passion is creative writing. Since 2000, Jane has been a member of the Thunder Bay Writers Guild. She has had short stories published in The New Writer, Quality Women’s Fiction, Odyssey, Lexikon, Fireflies, Artery, NOWW Magazine, Fuel, Twenty Years on Snowshoes and was shortlisted for the Ian St. James Award (UK). Her play Golf Lessons was included in the 2017 10X10 Showcase. Jane divides her time between Thunder Bay, Arizona and Ireland.

Sarah Mendek-Walker - Secretary

Sarah is very excited to join the NOWW board. She has always enjoyed writing and has a passion for being creative. She is looking forward to gaining more knowledge on writing, tuning her own skills and making connections within the NOWW community.

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Jodene Wylie

Jodene Wylie has lived in the Thunder Bay region all her life. She has a Master of Arts degree in English Literature from Lakehead University and is a lover of books, stories and mystical lands. She occasionally writes short stories and is currently working on her first novel with the hopes of one day publishing. She has a dog named Bailey and is an avid tea drinker, a novice gardener and traveller (as much as she possibly can).

Graham Strong

Graham is a full-time freelance marketing writer, journalist, and ghostwriter and has been a writer his entire life. Graham is a former Editor-in-Chief of Argus, the Student Newspaper of Lakehead University, and helped transition it into one of the first digitally produced newspapers in North America. Graham won an Honourable Mention in NOWW’s first writing contest in 1998 for his short story Hat Trick. Professionally, Graham provides marketing writing services to businesses and organizations around the world. He also writes for several news outlets including the Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal and the Northern Ontario Medical Journal, and has written for Canadian Press. In his spare time he is writing his first novel. Graham lives in Thunder Bay with local potter Noël Keag and their three incredible sons. His favourite writers are Paul Quarrington, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Hunter S. Thompson.

Doug Diaczuk
Doug Diaczuk is a writer and journalist in Thunder Bay, Ontario. He has a master’s degree in English Literature from Lakehead University and is currently working as a reporter/photographer with the Thunder Bay Source. Doug has been a member of the Northwestern Ontario Writer’s Workshop for the past two years. His work has been published in Geist, Quill and Quire, and Subterrain. In 2015, Doug won the 38th annual 3-Day Novel Contest for his novel Chalk, which was published in 2016. Chalk has also been shortlisted for the Northern Lit Award. Doug’s short story, Frogs Don’t Swim, was included in the NOWW collection, Twenty Years on Snowshoes.

Siobhan Farrell
Siobhan moved to Thunder Bay for a one- year contract over 30 years ago. She has since that time worked in community development, health planning and adult education. She has always had a strong interest in the arts, starting with an undergraduate degree in film and photography. She loves to run, hike and travel, especially if it involves mountains or at least very high hills. She has practiced meditation for many years and teaches it to female prison inmates, which she finds both humbling and rewarding. She credits these activities with helping her to write poetry, reflect and escape earthly boundaries. While taking a long break from writing on a regular basis, she is now an active writer and won first prize for poetry in the 2016 NOWW contest. She has two daughters and two cats. The daughters come and go, but the cats, like her, for now remain rooted in Thunder Bay.

Don Parsons

Don is our administrator and comes to us with a wealth of experience ideally suited to the position. He was a teacher, Vice -Principal, and Coordinator of Student Services for the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board, He also held positions as an Education Officer for the Northern Schools Resource Alliance and was the Mental Health Project Lead for the Superior Greenstone DSB. Don comes to NOWW with strong public relations, communication, and problem solving skills, and is deft at various social media platforms.