Our Team
Parisa (Paris) Radmanesh
Coordinator, Little Red Reading House
Parisa coordinates family and community visits to the Little Red Reading House, leads school field trips, oversees the operation of the Little Red Reading Van, and works directly with children, youth, volunteers and post-secondary students to move the needle on literacy in Calgary. With a background in the arts, post-secondary, government and corporate sectors, Parisa is a creative and a community builder dedicated to making literacy and the arts accessible to all Calgarians. 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. 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. Jessica-Lynn Walsh is a passionate champion for children’s literacy and community well-being. As Manager of the Little Red Reading House, she works at the intersection of research, community engagement, and program innovation. She collaborates with local and provincial non-profits—including the Kids Literacy Collective—to transform emerging evidence into meaningful, accessible programs and supports for children, youth, families, and communities. For more than nine years, Dr. Walsh has partnered with diverse communities to mobilize evidence to practice in areas such as children’s and women’s health, reading and literacy, resilience, flourishing, and social connection. Dr. Walsh holds an MSc in Medical Sciences from the University of Calgary and earned her medical degree from Trinity College Dublin in Ireland.
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.