Board Members

The Prince George Public Library is directed by a dedicated volunteer Board appointed by Prince George City Council. Meetings of the Prince George Public Library Board are open to the public.

You can contact the Board at board@pgpl.ca.

Jennifer Amell (Vice-Chair)

Jenne (she, her/hers), Ontario born and Nova Scotian educated, I moved to Prince George and found a community I now call home. I am a mother who regularly visits and benefits from the library services, programs, books, and safe spaces. I experience rich nostalgia when entering the library; my mother proudly worked in our community library for her entire working career. I remember reading in cozy nooks and studying scattered papers on Titanic tables, all while enjoying the quiet solitude. I am a Registered, Community Occupational Therapist with 12 years experience along the healthcare continuum. I support residents of Prince George and area with challenges that impact their ability to perform desired, everyday activities that requires access and interaction with our community. I bring lived-experienced of integration and quality improvement and resulting resilience.  My personal interests and lived-experience focus on sensory processing challenges with my daughter, she guides me to see and feel the environment differently. The books offered by the library contribute to my personal growth as a human; as I grow into motherhood, unpack systemic racism as a white person, and learn more about myself. For me the library is more than the books on the shelves, it is a safe haven, a resource for learning and growing, and a place to bring people together. I am delighted for the opportunity to contribute to the Prince George Public Library Board and our community. 

 

Councillor Garth Frizzell

Garth is the Prince George City Council representative on the Library Board.
He has borrowed and returned books to libraries at UVic, UNBC, CNC, U of Ottawa, Ottawa Civic Library, the Sechelt Public Library, Chatelech Secondary School Library and the Prince George Public Library. He paid fines twice.
Garth came to Prince George as a student, founded Terra Cognita Software Systems, pursued politics and moved into teaching. He is currently a Business instructor at the College of New Caledonia, teaching entrepreneurship, economics and business. He was re-elected in 2022 for his fifth term on Prince George City Council.
Garth’s interests and experience include technology, politics, international development, equity diversity and inclusion He rides a motorcycle and is currently writing his own book, though not at the same time.

Rahim Somani

Rahim (he/him) is a son, husband, father, and a transformational leader fostering compassion, innovation, creativity, excellence, and societal impact. He self-identifies as an Ismaili Muslim from South Asia and immigrated to Canada in 2017 and moved with his family to Prince George in 2020. Rahim has a bachelor’s degree in Commerce, a master’s degree in Educational Planning, Economics, and International Development, is a CPA, CA, and currently pursuing Doctor of Education (EdD) in Leadership and Innovation at the Arizona State University.
The fundamental premise of Rahim’s approach to leadership is transforming challenges into opportunities, effective people engagement with compassion, fostering innovation, creativity, and excellence. His transformational journey which started with the Aga Khan Education Service, Pakistan in 1998 took a leap of faith in 2008 joining the leadership team of the University of Central Asia to setup a multi-campus development university established through an international Treaty with operations across Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Afghanistan. Over the last two decades, Rahim played an integral role in setting up, leading, and managing people, programs, and institutions with an aim to develop ethical, responsible, and compassionate citizens through innovation in, and relevance of teaching and research, addressing gender disparity in education and enabling socio-economic development of the communities. The journey has evolved to Canada with his appointment as the Vice President, Finance and Administration at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC).
Rahim believes that libraries can play an important role in positively engaging all members of the community and improving their quality of life and is looking forward to making his humble contribution through the Prince George Public Library. In addition, Rahim serves as Director of the Prince George Community Foundation, United Way of Northern British Columbia, and the UNBC Land Development Corporation, and President and Director of the Northern Sport Centre Limited.
After serving communities in five countries across two continents, Rahim and his family are respectfully grateful for the opportunity to live, learn, and work on traditional unceded territory of the Lheidli T’enneh and opportunity to work with First Nations and Indigenous Communities as part of UNBC family.

Erin Anderlini

Erin grew up on a farm in Salmon Valley. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminology, a Master’s of Education Degree in Counselling and is a Registered Clinical Counsellor. While attending university, Erin was a note-taker, editor and exam proctor for students with disabilities. She has a lifelong love for reading, especially classic literature/historical fiction; and is an adoptive and past foster parent. Erin worked for Indigenous social service agencies as a residential care worker, counsellor, manager and clinical supervisor for 20 years; most recently as the Director of Health for the Prince George Native Friendship Centre. She is currently the Operations Manager at Rotary Hospice House, and the President of the Board at Central Interior Native Health Society.

Kirsten Thomson

Kirsten is a life-long Prince George resident, with a love of reading and learning. She has been carrying a Prince George Public Library card since the age of 4, enjoying all of the services offered over the years. Kirsten has a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy, Bachelor of Laws, Master of Business Administration, and designations in Risk Management and Governance. Kirsten has worked with the Northern Health Authority for the past 20+ years in a variety of roles, currently as the Regional Director, Legal Affairs, Enterprise Risk, & Compliance and Chief Privacy Officer. In her spare time, Kirsten enjoys reading, learning new languages, knitting, and participating in a variety of physical and outdoor activities.

Arlene Stevens

Arlene was born in Saskatchewan, spending the majority of her youth between Saskatchewan and Victoria, BC, where the local library played an important role in her life. It was the Saskatoon Public Library that instilled in her a passion for history, the unknown, music, theater, and a desire to write. It is because of the library and the wonder it offered that Arlene chose to go into the field of Religious Studies and Anthropology, in which she became a published writer and was featured in an article on the front page of the Globe and Mail on the topic of the Trailer Park Boys. She also worked in the Department of Native Studies at the University of Saskatchewan, where she had the opportunity to work under such inspirational people as Métis author Maria Campbell and Cree storyteller Tyrone Tootoosis. Arlene next moved to the Department of Medicine at the University of Calgary to work as a researcher. From Calgary she went to the Shuswap and a rewarding experience with the Columbia Shuswap Regional Fire Department. Arlene now works as conductor for CN Rail in Prince George, a career that affords her the luxury to focus on her passion: writing and aspiring to become a published author. With all things in her life, everything seems to have come full circle and back to the library, this time with the hopes of being a benefit to the Board and to the Prince George Public Library system.

Mike Gagel

Mike earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Nursing at the University of British Columbia. He started his career as a nurse and for almost 20 years progressively focused his career on staff education and the use of technology. For the next ten years, Mike worked at the BC School Trustees Association where he was responsible for all the Association’s technology needs and supported various trustee committees. Mike currently works for Northern Health as their Regional Manager, Communicable Disease.

Hailing from Vancouver, Mike and his family moved to Prince George in the summer of 2013. An active volunteer, Mike is a local Cub Scout leader, is Chair of his children’s school Parent Advisory Council (PAC), and sits as a director of the SD57 District PAC. He is also a director with the BC Library Trustees Association. An avid reader, Mike’s interests include medieval European history, and science fiction and modern murder-mystery novels. He has listened to dozens of audio books and downloads e-books frequently. Mike’s other interests include Maker initiatives, birding, backyard astronomy, and travel.

Anna Duff (Chair)

Born and raised in Prince George, Anna has fond memories of eagerly anticipating regular trips to the Bob Harkins branch as a child with her family. At a young age, she recalls appreciating the diversity of resources available to all patrons, from picture books to car repair manuals and everything in-between.
As a communications professional with a background in leisure and tourism, Anna highly values the importance of having a welcoming and inclusive space where everyone is welcome to spend time without any obligation to spend money. She is constantly amazed at the creative and effective ways PGPL staff respond to the changing needs of their patrons and the innovative programming and collections that are offered. She is also appreciative of the extensive and free learning opportunities that are available through programming and digital resources.

Jennifer Wilczek

Jennifer has always enjoyed reading and often had a book nearby, and often still does to this day. She remembers being in the children section exploring the books, progressing to the teen section and then upstairs to the general fiction section at the Bob Harkin’s Branch of the Prince George Library. Jennifer has a Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science from UBC and a Doctor of Optometry from Pacific University in Portland, Oregon. Jennifer has been at Parker Optometry for over 10 years where she helps bring everyone’s life into focus. Jennifer has been a director at Integris Credit Union for 9 years and brings with her experience in governance, policy review and strategic planning. She is excited to be a part of the Library Board team and to continue the great work of the library.