Our Team
Parisa (Paris) Radmanesh
Coordinator, Little Red Reading House
With diverse experience spanning the arts, post-secondary, government and corporate sectors, Parisa is a creative and a community builder dedicated to making Calgary an interesting and fun place to live. Working for seven years at Calgary’s Esker Foundation Contemporary Art Gallery, Parisa developed arts-based programming for children and adults of all ages, encouraging individuals to find and embrace their own creative potential. As an Undergraduate Practicum Coordinator for the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary, Parisa supported students in their career goals, by challenging them to make the most out of their practicum experiences. A lifelong bookworm, Parisa loves reading and writing poetry, and the genre of magical realism. Parisa holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Fine Art History from the University of Toronto, and has completed the Rozsa Arts Management Program.
Lucas Field
Community Engagement Assistant, Little Red Reading House
I am a children’s book and adult fiction author and literacy advocate born and raised in Calgary. Through my work in childcare as a nanny and social services as a senior care specialist, and as a father of two boys, I have come to realize the nuanced power of reading in every facet of a child’s life. As a House Host at Little Red Reading House, my goal is to help every child feel voraciously entitled to the worlds between pages.
Dawn Cruickshank, Administrator, Book Bank
Administrator, Book Bank
Hailing from Scotland, Dawn Cruickshank moved to Canada in January 1991. She is a Reading Advocate and Connector. Dawn started her literacy journey with Calgary Learning Centre as a Family Literacy Facilitator and loved working as a role model for parents and helping prepare children for Kindergarten. She joined Calgary Reads as a Read Up! tutor in 2000 and later joined their staff team in 2006, first as Office Manager and then moved into the Volunteer Manager role, overseeing Read Up!, wee read and Big Book Sale volunteers. In January 2023, now working with the University of Calgary’s Owerko Centre, Dawn took on the role of Book Bank Administrator. She believes in the importance of children having access to books so they can become confident readers and successful learners. The Book Bank has given out over 25,000 books to over 34 Community agencies since January 2023. Dawn continues to support the annual Calgary Reads Big Book Sale as Volunteer Manager, overseeing over 1300 volunteers last Spring.
Dr. Jessica-Lynn Walsh, MB BCh BAO
Manager, Community Partnered Research and Engagement, Owerko Centre, University of Calgary
Dr. Susan Graham, PhD, RPsych
Director, Owerko Centre, University of Calgary
Dr. Susan Graham’s research covers a range of topics in language and cognitive development during the infancy and preschool years. In Canada, 25% of kindergarten children have difficulty in at least one of five key developmental domains prior to entering Grade 1. These early-emerging developmental issues are often long-lasting and have cascading effects over development. Dr. Graham’s research program examines child development with specific focus on delineating the interactive trajectories of early language, cognitive, and social-cognitive development. Her research program examines how young children form and use concepts to organize their worlds. Another core line of research examines how children become effective communicators, taking other speakers’ perspectives and emotions into account.