THE TEAM

Reach out anytime, ask questions, we're here to help.

Robin
​van eck

Executive Director
​

CONTACT

Robin has been with the AWCS in various capacities since 2003. First as a member learning to write, as a board member for several years, as office personnel and eventually, when there was more team to manage, Executive Director. 
Robin is a writer like everyone else with several short stories and personal essays published. Her first novel, Rough, came out in November 2020.

KIM
​firmston

Program Director:
​Youth Education​

CONTACT

Kim is a published writer of YA novels, short stories, and articles, and has plays produced worldwide. She is a writing mentor and instructor for the AWCS, the Writers’ Guild of Alberta, and the Alexandra Centre Society’s DramAntics Theatre camp. Kim specializes in collaboration projects with people of all ages.

precious
​de leon

Program Director:
​Community Engagement

CONTACT

Precious is a poet and speculative fiction writer. She writes through the lens of a Filipino Canadian settler in Mohkintsis/Calgary. Following her stint as a business journalist and editor in the Middle East, her creative writing journey started with the 2019 Borderlines Writers Circle Calgary (now Own Voices Alberta), a program she now works on with the AWCS team since she joined in 2020.

Nicole
​Zylstra

Program Director:
Feature Initiatives

CONTACT

Nicole is a writer, songwriter, performer, and arts educator with a deep love of storytelling. She has spent over two decades working across the creative spectrum—as a playwright and new play developer, improviser, director, and communications pro—bringing programs and events to life in Calgary’s expanding arts scene. Nicole holds an MFA in Directing from the University of Calgary and a BA in English from McGill. She teaches public speaking and storytelling at Mount Royal University and is thrilled to support the vibrant writing community at the Alexandra Writers’ Centre Society.