Staff

Expertise

Members of the Board and staff of the Legal Resource Centre have been involved in the provision of public legal education for over 30 years. During that time, they have amassed considerable expertise in assessing and meeting a diverse range of needs of a broad cross-section of the public through an array of services and delivery vehicles. The Legal Resource Centre features a multidisciplinary team of professionals including Internet strategists, legal specialists, editors, instructional designers, writers, educators, web site developers and managers, information management specialists, and a marketing specialist who work to provide legal education and information for the public.

Diane Rhyason BEd, BLS, MLIS, PhD
Executive Director, Legal Resource Centre

As Executive Director of the Legal Resource Centre, Dr. Rhyason is responsible for providing the administrative direction to the Centre, while continuing to provide educational leadership to a variety of specific projects, activities, and websites. Administrative functions include finance and business management, human resource management, resource allocation, and the overall responsibility for functions such as marketing and promotion. She is also Publisher for LawNow magazine. Prior to coming to the Legal Resource Centre, she was Vice President, Learning Support and Corporate Services, at Lakeland College.

Carole Aippersbach BA, MA, JD
Public Legal Education Lawyer, Legal Resource Centre

Carole obtained her law degree from the University of Victoria and was called to the bar in 2000. She has experience in private practice and as a Barrister and Solicitor for the Alberta Pensions Administration Corporation. Her responsibilities include the research and drafting of legal information for all the LRC websites and publications. Carole has also managed several projects.

Ryan Day BEd
Youth Program Coordinator

Ryan graduated from the University of Alberta in 2009 and spent two years teaching at an international school in Sweden. He now uses his experience in the classroom to create legal education resources for schools and young people.

Rochelle Johannson BA, LLB
Public Legal Education Lawyer, Residential Tenancies Legal Information Program

Rochelle obtained her law degree from the University of Alberta and was admitted to the Alberta Bar in 2010. She is responsible for developing materials on residential tenancy law in Alberta, as well as conducting community presentations and workshops.

Teresa Mitchell BA, LLB
Editor/Legal Writer, LawNow Magazine

Teresa has been an Editor of LawNow magazine since 1990. She was admitted to the Alberta Bar in 1977 and was a lawyer in private practice prior to joining the Legal Resource Centre. As well as her responsibilities with LawNow, she researches and writes a twice-monthly online column about recent significant changes in case and statute law across Canada, and works with members of the team on other projects such as the current Rules of Court project.

Margo Till-Rogers BA, MA, MIT
Librarian, Legal Resource Centre

Margo's responsibilities at the Legal Resource Centre include managing the LawCentral Alberta, LawCentral Canada and LawCentralFrançais portals as well as the LRC blog, Blogosaurus Lex. She also conducts community presentations on LRC resources and services. Prior to joining the Legal Resource Centre she worked at post-secondary institutions in Canada and Australia.

Lois Gander Q.C.
Founding Director of the Legal Resource Centre and Professor Faculty of Extension, University of Alberta

Lois is a pioneer in the field of Public Legal Education (PLE) and is one of the most experienced and respected practitioners in Canada. Her thesis for her LLM was The Radical Promise of Public Legal Education in Canada. She passionately believes in the right of access to legal information for all individuals and that the participation of everyone, not just the ‘experts’ is essential in establishing the kind of law and justice we want in Canada. She has practiced in the field for over 30 years, first helping to establish Student Legal Services of Edmonton and then as Director of the Legal Resource Centre/Legal Studies Program; a position she held until March 2007. Lois was instrumental in the establishment of the Public Legal Education Network of Alberta (PLENA) and the Public Legal Education Association of Canada (PLEAC), organizations that work to coordinate the collective wisdom of the sector and enhance the practice of PLE. She was one of the founders of the Alberta CBA Law Day and Open House at the Edmonton court house.