Meet the Board

As a life-longer learner, Jim Bennett received a B.A. in Psychology/Sociology from Carleton University (1971), a B.Ed. (1986) and M.Ed. (1990) in Educational Administration from University of Ottawa.

Jim Bennett was an educator in the Ontario public education system teaching various subjects, including information technology, for 3 decades to intermediate pupils. For Jim’s contributions to the education profession at the local and provincial level in teaching, marketing, public relations, communications, and collective bargaining he received an Ontario Public School Teachers Federation honorary district life membership in 1998.

In 1999, in his 2^nd career as a Knowledge Exchange Broker in the field of competitive intelligence, he was first author of “Cancer Control Strategies in Eleven OECD Countries” published online under a Health Canada contract with the Neural Regeneration Laboratory, University of Ottawa. Mr. Bennett also constructed an interactive online database and research tool to characterize NGO input and involvement into International Cancer Control Strategies

As well, Jim Bennett has considerable experience on advisory committees (federal, municipal, education) and in communications (public relations, outreach, marketing) addressing client service needs in science, education, health and social services augmented and refined by specialized training and practice. Mr. Bennett’s volunteer work has focused on being a community reviewer on Canadian Institutes of Health Research Peer Review Panels. He has served on Ottawa’s Health and Social Services Advisory Committee and the Public Advisory Committee for the Light Rail Transit Community Design Project in 2006-7.

In his 1^st term on Ottawa Public Library (OPL) Board, Jim was a member of the Facilities Planning Committee (2007-8), Governance and Audit Committee (2007-8), and Budget and Finance Committee (2009-10), and Chair of the Performance Measurement Committee (2009-10) assisting the Ottawa Public Library accomplish its mission and ends.

Jim, a municipal public library advocate, helps ensure that, as a citizen appointee to the OPL Board, the OPL, in a sustainable, cost efficient, optimal manner, is able to meet its strategic global end that the people of Ottawa enrich their personal, professional, and civic lives through free and equal access to information, resources, and ideas in trusted, bilingual, public, physical and virtual settings that serve as community gathering places.

Jim, in his 2^nd year as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Federation of Ontario Public Libraries promotes the valuable contributions public libraries make to their communities by increasing provincial government awareness of the issues and strategic directions related to financial operating and capital requirements of 387 Ontario public library systems.