Board
President
I was born and raised in Saskatchewan. My love for history and creativity has led me to pursue a career in museums. I earned by Bachelor of Arts Double Honours in Archaeology and Classical Medieval and Renaissance Studies from the University of Saskatchewan in 2016 and went on to complete my Master of Arts in Museum Studies through the University of Leicester in 2018. My thesis focused on the relationship between Saskatchewan museum’s and their local communities and what we can do to strengthen these ties.
I am currently the Curatorial, Collections, and Exhibits Manager at the Diefenbaker Canada Centre, but started as the Centre’s Administrative Coordinator in May 2019 before moving into this position the following July. I perform the multifaceted duties of museum registrar, conservator, exhibit designer and preparator. I am also involved in the development and delivery of programming related to exhibits on display at the Diefenbaker Canada Centre. I am passionate about exhibit development and design, especially when I have the opportunity to collaborate with community groups.
In the past I have worked in multiple positions at the Museum of Antiquities as well as served as a summer curator for my hometown museum in Cudworth, Saskatchewan. During my career I worked hard to gain experience in only a few short years in the areas of museum curatorship and collections management, community outreach and engagement, local heritage management, museum educational programming and leading a volunteer team.
I have been a board member of the Wakaw and District Museum since 2018 and was recently nominated to serve as its chairperson. I am interested in sitting on the MAS Board of Directors because of its role in serving its communities and members as well as its efforts to create a vibrant museum community in Saskatchewan.
Vice-President
Vincent is the Administrative Assistant at the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery. He has a Master’s in Arts Leadership from Queen’s University in Kingston, ON, having focused primarily on the interaction between major and planned gift fundraising and the succession planning process for artistic leadership. He has also worked at places including the Saskatchewan Arts Board, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame, and Swift Current Museum, and currently also sits on the board of CARFAC Saskatchewan.
Directors
I spent my early years in Europe, France, Belgium, and Germany. As a family and on my own, we wandered across the map of Eastern Europe. Because I was a romantic child and a reader, I got to touch walls and stand on the floors that characters from our past had touched; history became important to me.
I spent ten years out of Canada in Europe and have a genuine interest in preserving the history of Canada for the generations ahead of me. I have a certificate in Horticulture from the University of Guelph, certificates in Horticulture, Landscape Design and Landscape Technician from the College of Rockies in Cranbrook, British Columbia.
I worked as a volunteer, then as the Heritage Gardener at Fort Steele Heritage Town in British Columbia for eight years. My role was as the heritage interpreter and the gardener for 2300 square feet of gardens. I ran a successful volunteer program in the gardens, and a school program, Grades Kindergarten to Grade 11.
When I came to Saskatchewan in 2008, I sat on the Board of the Biggar Museum & Gallery for four years, then stepped down from that position to assume the role of Executive Director. I firmly believe if we study history, we learn from it and are not doomed to repeat it, in theory. In the past, it was because not enough read history to learn anything from it. I believe it is the role of the Museum to connect to the community and raise awareness of the history of their surroundings.
I am very aware of the closing or near closing of many small, volunteer-run museums in our region, and likely in every area in Saskatchewan. I would like the stories recorded and preserved coming from these regions. I am also very aware of the Truth and Reconciliation and Calls to Action and how little Indigenous history the public is aware of.
I am excited to be on the board of the Museums Association of Saskatchewan to learn more about policy and procedures in the governance of a museum for these very reasons, continuing to tell the story of Saskatchewan to the world.
Jennifer Fitzpatrick has been passionately involved in arts, culture, and heritage in the province throughout her 30+ year career. She started as a summer student at the Humboldt Museum and has led the organization since 1989. She is currently the Director of Cultural Services for the City of Humboldt. She led the expansion of the organization by rehabilitating a 1920s bank building into a community public art gallery that opened in 2014. Jennifer’s focus has always been community narratives, and this respect and dedication led to the development of a prairie field into the Original Humboldt site, which is an 80-acre parcel of land with public archaeology, art installations, trails, and space to share multiple \ narratives of history.
Jennifer believes that heritage shapes our contemporary stories, whether on the land at Original Humboldt or through the historic Water Tower, which has been re-adapted with an internal staircase into a unique tourist attraction that offers the best view of the city. Jennifer celebrates the connection between culture and commerce as an active member of the Humboldt Downtown Business Improvement District, and in cultural planning at the municipal level. She is proud to be part of a community network creating partnerships for projects around Reconciliation.
She has a degree in Anthropology from the University of Saskatchewan and a Diploma in Cultural Resource Management from the University of Victoria. She was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 for her work in heritage and cultural activity, and the Platinum Medal in 2022 for contributions to the province for public service. Jennifer’s diverse range of experiences in the cultural sector is a quest for continual learning to help support community sense of place, identity, and cultural understanding.
Dr. Barbara McNeil is an Associate Professor, in the Faculty of Education, of the University of Regina. She teaches in the Graduate, Undergraduate, Elementary, Secondary, and Arts Education programs
Curious and passionate, Barbara believes in the open-endedness of agency and hope in relation to the power and value of language, literature, literacy, and cultural/pedagogical sites such as museums, libraries and art galleries to engender social justice and equity for all. She is committed to using arts-based approaches to work collaboratively, compassionately, and ethically with children and youth of underserved/marginalized communities in the interest of imagining and creating better worlds for self and all planetary others. Overall, Barbara’s research orients toward justice, collective well-being, and the ‘not yet’ of our positive potentialities.
My name is Ally Forand and I am a museum professional from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in Treaty 6 territory. I earned my Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Saskatchewan and my Masters of Museum Studies from the University of Toronto. Throughout my career, I have worked in programming, collections, and curatorial roles at various heritage organizations in Saskatchewan, such as the Government House Historical Society, Royal Saskatchewan Museum, and Wanuskewin Heritage Park.
I am committed to community engagement, fostering connections, and creating welcoming and interesting spaces for everyone. I am an avid gardener, language learner, animal enthusiast, hike taker, food experimenter, and hobby collector (evidently!)
I am passionate about promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the museum industry, and I am eager to contribute to the Association’s mission of supporting and advancing museums in the province. If given the opportunity to serve on the board, I will work diligently to ensure that all museum professionals have access to the resources and opportunities they need to succeed, and that museums are valued as vital community institutions that connect us to our shared past and inspire us to create a better future
Nate Day is a lawyer with experience working in both the private and public sector. He has appeared as counsel-of-record before all Saskatchewan Courts on a variety of matters including class actions, contract disputes, and property tax assessment appeals. While previously employed with the Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority, he represented Saskatchewan on several national committees relating to the development of securities and derivatives regulations, and brought enforcement proceedings against persons who violated provincial securities laws. He is currently a Crown Counsel with the Civil Law branch of the Ministry of Justice, and provides legal advice to a number of government ministries.
Nate has always had a strong interest in Saskatchewan history and local museums. He is a prior board member and past president of the Friends of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum (“FRSM”). While acting as president of the FRSM, he provided oversight and direction to the organization and met with MLAs to discuss issues related to the Museum. Nate really enjoyed his six years with the FRSM, and would like to continue to volunteer his time to assist local museums. In his spare time, Nate researches and attempts to locate lost fur trade forts. He also searches for fossils, particularly those of creatures that once lived in the Western Interior Seaway.
My name is Courtney Tuck-Goetz and I am the Education & Public Programs Supervisor for the Western Development Museum Saskatoon. I have been in this role for 5 years. Previous to working at the WDM, I took on many different positions in the 5 years I worked at the Museum of Antiquities, including Community Engagement Coordinator and Assistant Curator. I graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a master’s degree in history in 2019. My thesis was titled “Femina Furiosa: Female Arena Performers and the Role in Roman Spectacle”, so my academic concentration was in Ancient Roman social history.
I currently serve on the following boards: Girls Rock Saskatoon, Saskatchewan History & Folklore Society, Heritage Festival of Saskatoon, and Spark Your Pride. I strongly believe learning about history is an integral part of understanding the human experience and that history should be accessible for everyone. I endeavour for all of the programming that is offered at the Western Development Museum Saskatoon to incorporate aspects of critical thinking and empathy building as I believe these things to have the potential to have a positive impact on the next generations of my local community.
My name is Caitlin Woloschuk, and I am deeply passionate about history and applied museum sciences. I hold a Double Honours B.A. in Women & Gender Studies and History and a certificate in Ethics, Law, and Justice Studies. I am in my second year of a History M.A. at the University of Saskatchewan. My thesis focuses on representations of lumberjacks in 19th-century colonial literature and their relation to nation-building, mythmaking, masculinity, and muscular Christianity. I volunteered at the University of Saskatchewan’s Women’s Centre and Pride Centre during my undergrad and am passionate about intersectional representation and equity in my communities. In addition, I recently spearheaded restarting the History Graduate Students’ Association and rewriting its constitution and am proud of the resurgence this association has since experienced.
