ABOUT SHELLEY O’CALLAGHAN

Shelley O’Callaghan lives in North Vancouver, and has two sons and six grandchildren. She is passionate about history, social justice and the environment. Shelley practiced environmental law for 25 years and has been recognized as one of Canada’s preeminent environmental lawyers. She has published numerous articles and has been a frequent speaker at conferences on environmental law.

Shelley is committed to social causes. As a volunteer teacher for two years with the Canadian University Services Overseas in Zambia following graduation from university, Shelley fostered literacy among adults and encouraged girls to stay in school. During her tenure as president of the YWCA in Calgary, she spearheaded the opening of the city’s women’s emergency shelter. In 2006, Shelley, with others, formed a non-profit charity, Friends for Zambia Society, raising funds to build a school in Zambia for 350 children from pre-school to grade 7.

Shelley is a member of the North Shore Writers Association, the Federation of BC Writers, the Canadian Creative Non-Fiction Collective, and the Writers Union of Canada. She attended the 2014 Summer Workshop of the Sage Hill Writing Experience and a writer’s workshop with Merilyn Simonds in 2016.

Shelley’s Passions

Shelley returns to Zambia every year to reconnect with the school she helped build. The focus on the education of girls is a priority for her and a sponsorship program has been established to enable disadvantaged students to attend Twitti School. www.friendsforzambia.org.

Shelley is a lifelong traveller, from hitchhiking solo across Europe at nineteen, to camping through East Africa in 1971, to visiting India with her three granddaughters in 2015, to exploring Iceland with her three grandsons in 2018.

Shelley is a member of Burstin’ with Broadway, a 150 member choir that performs a medley of songs from Broadway musicals. She is an avid downhill skier; a long-time member of  Whistler’s Senior Ski Team program.