FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Toronto, June 19, 2023—The Editors’ Association of Canada (Editors Canada) has announced that Gael Spivak (she/elle) of Ottawa, Ontario, is the recipient of the 2023 Lee d’Anjou Volunteer of the Year Award.
In the 15 years since joining Editors Canada, Spivak has represented the association in many high-profile ways. Serving as president, helping to establish Editors Canada’s Equity Fellowship, and leading committees and national and international conferences are just some of the roles she has taken on that will have an immeasurable impact on the association and the editing community for years to come.
In a volunteer-run organization like Editors Canada, there’s also always work being done behind the scenes to keep the association running. This work, while often not seen as glamorous, is essential.
“Her work with governance for the association has resulted in the creation of many policy and procedures documents that make things clearer and easier for members,” said her nominators. “She volunteered to read through minutes of all the previous annual general meetings to create a document containing all decisions made by members from 1979 onward, which makes it easier for the national executive council to make informed decisions. She oversaw the process of updating all the Editors Canada policies and procedures in 2021 and took the lead on making the approved revisions to those documents.”
She has also been integral in developing Editors Canada’s relationships with other organizations. In addition to supporting other organizations in developing their own governance documents, she spearheaded most of Editors Canada’s partnership agreements, securing new benefits for members.
“[Spivak] has done invaluable work for Editors Canada and often goes above and beyond what is expected of her,” said her nominators. “Through all of her roles, [she] has contributed valuable time, effort and dedication toward making the association better for members.
Established in 2010, the Editors Canada President’s Award for Volunteer Service recognizes outstanding service to the organization by member volunteers. From among the nominations received for the President’s Award, one nominee is selected to receive the Lee d’Anjou Volunteer of the Year Award. Recipients of the 2023 President’s Award for Volunteer Service are as follows.
Sylvie Collin (elle/she) (Editors Québec)
Maureen McGuigan (she/her) (Editors British Columbia)
Emily Stewart (she/her) (Editors Ottawa–Gatineau)
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About Editors Canada
Lee d’Anjou is a founding member of the Freelance Editors’ Association of Canada and remains a guiding force in the association now known as Editors Canada. She is a champion of professional standards of editing, a pioneer of the association’s certification program, and one of the association’s most recognized and outstanding volunteers.
Additional information about the President’s Award for Volunteer Service and the Lee d’Anjou Volunteer of the Year Award can be found on the Editors Canada website.
Editors Canada began in 1979 as the Freelance Editors’ Association of Canada to promote and maintain high standards of editing. In 1994, the word “Freelance” was dropped to reflect the association’s expanding focus to serve both freelance and in-house editors. As Canada’s only national editorial association, it is the hub for 1,300 members and affiliates, both salaried and freelance, who work in the corporate, technical, government, academic, not-for-profit and publishing sectors. The association’s professional development programs and services include professional certification, an annual conference, seminars, webinars, and networking with other associations. Editors Canada has four regional branches: British Columbia; Toronto; Ottawa–Gatineau; and Quebec, as well as smaller branches (called twigs) in Atlantic Canada, Barrie, Calgary, Edmonton, Hamilton-Halton, Kingston, Kitchener-Waterloo-Guelph and Manitoba.
Media contact
Michelle Ou (she/elle)
Senior Communications Manager
Editors Canada
communications@editors.ca