Profile: Joan Brown-Hicks President CCLOW

by Viviane Carson

Joan Brown-Hicks was one of only two women in her graduating class from Yarmouth High School in 1957 who went to university. Her mother was working as a registered nurse and her father was an invalid at home.

"It was obvious to me how important it was to us as a family that my mother had taken further training after her high school. However I still had to justify to everyone except my family why I would want to go on to university. After all, I would never use it as a mother and a wife. So I registered as a Home Economics student to get around that criticism. The education would not go wasted!"

Her Home Economics career lasted for one year before she switched
to a B.A. with a major in philosophy.

"But what could I do with that degree? Take a B. Ed. Women make
good elementary teachers, right?"

The next 13 years included 5 years teaching and a move to Quebec near Montreal, marriage, 3 children, a move from Quebec back to the Maritimes, a career change to adult education at the local Y and a divorce. As with many women, this crisis in her life made her look much more closely at her educational and training needs. Especially since she now had the responsibility to support her children as well as herself. She applied to a number of places for work and to the Maritime School of Social Work to study part time.

"Part time learning, what is that? Sorry, they told me, you have to study full time here."

Discouraged, she gave up the idea of studying and took on a new job as Coordinator of Community services at the Halifax City Regional Library. She later remarried and with the support of a feminist-thinking husband, an enlightened employer, and adequate finances, she was able to consider again further education. After six years of part time study, last May she finally finished her thesis and received a Masters in Education.

Joan is currently Coordinator of Community Services at Halifax's City Regional Library. She is responsible for public awareness of resources offered at the library. She gathers information and offers it to the community in the form of courses or seminars. She uses the adult education model to link the library to the community.

Joan is hopeful that CCLOW's Learning and Resource Centre will become a tool for women who need information for briefs or reports. She feels that CCLOW has an important role to play that will make an impact on the education of women.

"It is with feelings of both anxiety and excitement that I begin my new responsibilities as the President of CCLOW. My anxieties are partially based on the fact that, coming from the Maritimes, one tends to feel somewhat out of the mainstream of Canadian society. My excitement comes from having the opportunity to work with the dynamic group of women on our board and staff. We are now in a position to futher establish ourselves as a national feminist organization knowledgeable about women's learning."

Viviane Carson is the Managing Editor of WEDF.