Board of Directors

Jessica Payne (president) is a writer, poet and interdisciplinary artist currently at work on an autofiction novel she began at the University of King’s College, where she holds an MFA in creative nonfiction. Her personal essay “Mirrors and The Madonna” won a 2019 HA&L Short Works Prize for literary nonfiction. Previously, her botanical art, poetry and interviews were featured in The Hamilton Spectator, Green Living Magazine, Flower House Detroit, Urbanicity, Grimsby Wayzgoose and other independent journals. Her poem FIREWEED was exhibited in Alchemical Afternoon for the 2023 CONTACT Photography Festival and she has a forthcoming essay on creativity in Bad Artist anthology. When she’s not writing you can find her rooting around in her garden. She lives in Toronto.

 

Wanda Taylor (vice-president) is an award-winning journalist, author of seven books, filmmaker and college professor. Her middle grade nonfiction book, Birchtown and the Black Loyalists was listed as one of the top Black History books for children by the Canadian Children’s Book Center and Parent Today Magazine. Her magazine features, poems, and essays can be found in publications across Canada, the UK, and the US. She teaches courses in Journalism, Story Writing for Media, Communications, Essay Writing and Creative Writing and is also Faculty/Mentor for the MFA Writing and Publishing Program at the University of King’s College, Halifax. Her new nonfiction book is forthcoming with Nimbus Publishing in 2024. Wanda served on CNFC’s 2023 Conference planning committee.

 

Marsha Faubert (treasurer) is a Toronto-based writer and lawyer. Her first book, Wanda’s War, a story of war, displacement, and exile, will be published in February 2023 by Goose Lane Editions. Her next project will explore the history and legacy of environmental injustice in her hometown of Sarnia, known to some as Canada’s Chemical Valley. In addition to degrees in psychology and law, she holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from the University of King’s College in Halifax.

 

Taslim Jaffer (director-at-large) is a freelance writer, editor and writing instructor with a special interest in culture, identity and home. Her bylines include Maclean’s, CBC, WestCoast Families, Unearth Women and more. Taslim is currently working on her memoir-in-essays, a book she began during her MFA in Creative Nonfiction (University of King’s College). She serves on the Board of Directors for Word Vancouver and enjoys moderating panels, hosting events and contributing program ideas. Taslim lives in Surrey, B.C. with her husband, 3 kids and a very cute puppy named Ruby.

 

AnnMarie MacKinnon (director-at-large) has worked in both magazine and book publishing for nearly two decades in a number of editorial and marketing positions, including for GeistVisual Arts News, and Douglas & McIntyre. She has also taught creative writing and has worked as a freelance writer and editor.

 

 

Lenore Rowntree (director-at-large) lives in Vancouver and on the Sunshine Coast in BC. She is a former lawyer and now a writer whose publications include Hidden Lives: true stories from people who live with mental illness, Cluck, a novel, and the forthcoming See You Later Maybe Never. She has been a board member for several not-for-profit societies including the Motivation, Power & Achievement Society, Astrolabe Musik Theatre, and The Historic Joy Kogawa House Society. She is a current member of the CNFC Conference Committee for 2022 and hopes to meet everybody live in 2023.

 

Laura MacGregor (director-at-large) is an ethicist, researcher, and co-editor of the Mad and Crip Theology Press, a boutique publishing house committed to sharing stories about spirituality, disability, mental health, and caregiving. Recent publications include ‘Felt Faith’ in Broadview Magazine, and Beyond Saints and Superheroes (published 2023). She currently acts as the out-of-province member for The Island Walk Board of Directors in PEI. Laura is a recent graduate of The Writer’s Studio at Simon Fraser University in BC and she will co-present a workshop at CNFC’s 2023 Halifax conference titled: Writing Crip and Mad Stories: Practical Ways to Avoid the “Inspiration Porn” Trap.

 

Sue Nador (director-at-large) is an Ottawa-based freelance writer with personal essays and feature stories in several publications including The Globe and Mail, LiisBeth, and Corporate Knights. She was in a consulting partnership for many years, providing advice on employee communication and engagement and she continues to do some corporate consulting independently. Prior board experience includes Chair, Elizabeth Fry Society of Toronto, and national board member of the Strategic Capability Network. Currently, she volunteers as an ESL tutor. Sue holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from the University of King’s College, Halifax. She served on CNFC’s 2023 Conference planning committee.