Our Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors is composed of professionals with diverse and extensive experience in various facets of the book publishing industry, academics, and accomplished writers. This diversity in professional backgrounds ensures a well-rounded and comprehensive approach to decision-making, strategy formulation, and governance within our organization.

The professionals on our Board bring a wealth of knowledge from different sectors of the book publishing industry, including editorial, marketing, distribution, and strategic planning. Their collective expertise enables us to navigate the complexities of the publishing landscape, staying abreast of industry trends, and making informed decisions that contribute to the success of our publications.

In addition to industry professionals, our Board includes esteemed academics who provide valuable insights into literary and academic considerations. Their perspectives enrich our understanding of the broader literary landscape, ensuring that our publications not only meet industry standards but also contribute meaningfully to scholarly discourse.

Complementing the industry professionals and academics, our Board includes accomplished writers who bring an intimate understanding of the creative process, the challenges faced by authors, and the evolving dynamics of the literary world. Their firsthand experiences as writers enhance our ability to support and showcase a diverse range of voices in our publications.

Overall, our Board of Directors is a dynamic and collaborative group that represents a spectrum of professions within the book publishing industry, academia, and the creative writing community. This diversity ensures that our decision-making processes are well-informed, innovative, and inclusive, aligning with our commitment to excellence in literature and the advancement of diverse voices.

  • Mary Metcalfe, M.S.

    Chief Financial Officer and Board Member

    Mary has extensive and wide-ranging experience in all facets of publishing, including self-publishing three Women's Fiction novels under her own banner Laskin Publishing (2012-2023). She maintains avid involvement in Ottawa-area non-profit Not Just Tourists/Plus Que Touristes she launched in 2005, which collects and distributes donated humanitarian aid and surplus medical supplies within Canada and to over 90 countries in need. She also nurtures a network of authors who are writing about Indigenous Truth and Reconciliation in Canada. She still takes on occasional "passion projects" and also maintains feeding stations for local birds, squirrels, and assorted critters around her lakefront property. Her reading interests are quite wide-ranging. She recently read The Road to Me, by Women's Fiction author Laura Drake and has been re-reading Wawahte by Robert Wells, which features the lived experiences of three Indigenous residential school survivors.

  • Henry Ssali

    Vice-Chair and Board Member

    Henry is a PhD student at the University of Toronto, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). His core research interest is in examining whether policy is loosely managed and how institutional policies affects street level bureaucrats in Higher Education. Other interests encompass nutrition, academic achievement, wellbeing, social capital, inclusion, A.I, other new techs and the economics of education. Henry is the Founder and Executive Director for the African Alumni Association at U of T.

  • Michael Johnson

    Board Member

    Michael is passionate about teaching and entrepreneurship. He graduated the Master of Arts in Business Economics program at Wilfrid Laurier University where he performed research on macroeconomic and microeconomic topics. He recently completed the Bachelor of Education program at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and is certified to teach by the Ontario College of Teachers. He has extensive experience with HTML, CSS, WordPress, STATA, Eviews, R, and Microsoft Excel. He is currently teaching microeconomics and eCommerce at Seneca College and Conestoga College.

  • Yasin M. Kiraga

    Board Member

    Yasin is an experienced event promoter, producer, experienced artistic director and manager for upcoming and professional recording artists. As the founder/Executive and Artistic Director for African Descent Festival, he is responsible for guidance, management and strategic leadership of the team.

  • Kenneth Lumpkin

    Board Member

    Kenneth Lumpkin is an educator, writer, poet, musician, Freemason and activist. He has published four collections of poetry to date: “Gather the Ashes”, 1984, winner of the Louis Ginsberg Memorial Fellowship from the Chaucer Guild, “Song of Ramapough: A Poetics of Place”, 2016, “Love Lake”, 2017 and “God Has Many Names and other poems”, 2018 and "Slip of the Tongue", 2019 NS "Possum: Tales from the Hidden Wood", 2021. He teaches anthropology online through three New Jersey state universities and resides in London, Ontario with his wife, Kim and cat, Molly.