Margaret Andrewes has a wealth of community leadership experience garnered from a lifetime of intersecting volunteer and career opportunities. Her entry into the library world began 36 years ago when she was appointed to the Lincoln Public Library Board. Since then, she has served in senior volunteer leadership positions with both the Ontario Library Association and Canadian Library Association. Notably, she has worked as Advocacy Coordinator, Canadian National Institute for the Blind Library; Chief Executive Officer, Lincoln Public Library; an elected Municipal Councillor in the Town of Lincoln.
Margaret is a member of the Rotary Club of Lincoln and actively involved in Rotary projects locally and internationally. She is founding co-chair of the Niagara Best Start Network and continues as a volunteer leader with many organizations and projects in Niagara Region. Most recently, she chaired a capital campaign raising $4,000,000 for the new library and arena complex, which opened on June 21, 2014 in her hometown.
In 2005, Margaret Andrewes and Randee Loucks established Building Strong Boards dedicated to nurturing and enabling public library and other not-for-profit boards to govern effectively and creatively.
Between 2007 and 2013, they spearheaded the creation of the Ontario Library Boards’ Association’s Leadership by Design, which is now being incorporated in Learn HQ as a series of self-directed board development modules. Margaret and Randee collectively have more than sixty years of experience working with volunteer boards and continue to provide training, coaching and facilitation services. Most recently, they have worked with Niagara Falls, Sault Ste. Marie and Welland Pubic Library Boards.