Please join us as we gather to celebrate our year, to recognize the contributions of our members, supporters and volunteers and to elect our new board. All Sombrilla members in good standing can vote and memberships will be available at the meeting.

This year we are happy to welcome Bill Howe as our keynote speaker. Bill will be speaking on the need to find ways to reduce the barriers to education and how Sombrilla projects are doing that in El Salvador and Honduras. 

The meeting will be hybrid again this year. There is a link to our Zoom for those who would prefer to join us remotely. The zoom link will be active from 6:30 to 7:45 pm.


Please note that there may be a library strike staring in the next few days. If the library is closed on February 27th due to the strike, we will make other arrangements. Watch for an email with a new location.

6:00 – 6:30 refreshments and socializing
6:30 – 7:45 Keynote and business meeting
7:45-8:15 refreshments and socializing

Keynote Speaker Bill Howe: Removing Barriers to Education

Bill is passionate about issues of education, global citizenship, student voice and student agency. After a year in Nicaragua and seeing the political activism and contributions of adolescents and young adults, he left a career in engineering to become an English Language Arts and philosophy teacher, believing that change will come through the engagement of youth.

Throughout his career he has been involved with numerous student-led activities, learned from and with students in various social justice groups and worked in every level of education, from K to post-secondary, consulting, Alberta Education, university, and the Alberta Teachers’ Association. Expanding his understanding and appreciation of the challenges and opportunities of education, he has had the privilege of travelling to many countries of the world and has had two brief assignments in Uganda through Project Overseas.

After 32 years in the classroom and completing his PhD in education addressing the challenges of education, polarization, and complacency, he continues to work with struggling students at Centre High and teaches periodically at the University of Alberta
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As a volunteer on several committees and boards, he is involved in numerous projects researching and supporting global citizenship, student mental health and belonging, and striving as much as possible to support education of, by and for compassion, relationships, and generative difference.