2010 Board Members

Louise Smith, President

Louise Smith has an MBA from the Schulich School of Business, and is the Director of Strategic Solutions for Credit Union Central of Manitoba. Louise has over 20 years of experience in strategic planning, organizational change management, project management and marketing, gained through banking, information technology and senior provincial government roles. She joined the WIWF board in 2002.

Dave Williamson, Vice-President

Dave Williamson has written four novels, a short story collection, and a memoir, and co-authored the play Anniversary with Carol Shields. He is currently working on the official history of Red River College, where he founded the Creative Communications Program and for many years was Dean of Business and Applied Arts before retiring in 2006. He has been chair of The Writers' Union of Canada, president of the Manitoba Writers' Guild, and chair of the Winnipeg Arts Council. He re-joined the WIWF board in 2009.

Charles Leblanc, Treasurer

Charles Leblanc is a St. Boniface translator, writer, editor, actor and poet. He is a founding member of the Collectif post-neo-rieliste, and helps to create the Foyer des écrivains, the Festival’s francophone programming. He won Manitoba’s Prix littéraire Rue-Deschambault in 2005 for L’appétit du compteur. Charles has served on the board since 1998.

Warren Cariou, Secretary and Past-President

Warren Cariou was raised in northern Saskatchewan, the setting of his award-winning memoir, Lake of the Prairies. Warren teaches English and Creative Writing at the University of Manitoba, and is now the Director of the university’s new Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture. Warren has served on the Festival Board since 2001, assuming the role of President in 2007.

Michael Fedun, member

Michael Fedun was until currently the Marketing Manager for Palliser Furniture Ltd. Since the mid 1970s he has worked in the Advertising/Marketing field at some of Winnipeg’s largest advertising agencies and corporate marketing departments as well as managing his own graphic design business for eleven years. He joined the WIWF board in 2009.

Carol Dahlstrom, member

Carol Dahlstrom worked for 20 years at the University of Manitoba Press, where she apprenticed as a copy-editor and moved on to managing all the Press’s projects. She worked for four years as managing editor for Mosaic, an international interdisciplinary literary journal based at the University of Manitoba, before her retirement in 2004. As a freelancer, she now edits academic work, novels, and educational materials. She has given workshops in all aspects of scholarly publishing.