For Melody Paruboczy, who joined the Movement for Canadian Literacy (MCL) as executive director March 31, literacy has been a touchstone throughout her career.

Formerly Executive Director of the Dave Smith Youth Treatment Centre in Ottawa, Melody says educational and learning challenges played a role in many of the youth seeking help from substance abuse and in many of their families. In some cases, teachers at the centre steered clients toward getting high-school credits, and there was a robust parent education and support program which “empowered the parents and gave them hope,” she says. And similar to the experience of many adult learners attending their first literacy class, the youth at the centre warmed to the individualized learning strategies they received.

At Dave Smith, and previously, as executive director, at Ottawa-based Vista Centre, which provides therapy and counseling for people recovering from brain injuries, literacy issues were acknowledged as an important component in individual development.

Melody says she was compelled to join MCL — the non-profit organization providing professional development services for, and representing the interests of, the network of provincial and territorial literacy coalitions across the country – for both professional and personal reasons. “I have known friends and neighbours who have struggled with low literacy and who have been successful as they worked themselves through the learning process.”

Melody brings extensive leadership, fund-development, change-management and communications expertise to her role. At time of writing, she was looking forward to strategic planning meetings with MCL’s member coalitions, and to discussions with other national literacy organizations. Coalition discussions will set priorities, and Melody counts among these MCL’s networking expertise, its research capabilities (one piece concerns ESL, another a report on family literacy practices in Canada), and its government liaison function, including the annual Literacy Action Day on Parliament Hill that, she says, “we intend to start up again.”

Just out of the gate, Melody is looking forward to meeting and getting to know the people from various literacy organizations. “Collaboration will be an important component – building capacity with other organizations to support people and adult literacy education across the country,” she says. “The rewards are great – the rewards that come when you see people changing their lives, being successful.”