Carey Rigby-Wilcox is a committed literacy learner, activist, volunteer, business owner, illustrator, and author who is deeply dedicated to promoting literacy at the local, provincial, and national levels. She was a learner with READ Saskatoon from 1991 to 2010, served on the READ Saskatoon Board of Directors, on the Board of Directors for the Saskatchewan Literacy Network, and was for four years the Saskatchewan Learner Representative for the Movement for Canadian Literacy. From September 2009 to May 2010 she was employed as the Adult Learner Advocate for READ Saskatoon.

Carey is the recipient of the Saskatchewan Council of the Federation Literacy Award (2006), the Canada Post Literacy Award for Achievement in Learning (2001), and the Saskatchewan Literacy Award of Merit (1999). She was nominated for a YWCA Women of Distinction Award. Her highest achievement to date is her self-published book My Mummy Couldn’t Read. Written and illustrated by Carey, it describes her personal challenges with literacy. This was her second book in her See a Book Take a Look Series and it was short listed for the 2008 Saskatchewan Book Awards Book of the Year. To view her books go to www.seeabook.com.

Carey is committed to spreading the word about the importance of literacy and the barriers adult learners face receiving literacy training. She regularly visits schools in Saskatchewan, sharing the importance of learning to read with school children. Carey has given numerous keynote presentations, speeches, and workshops on literacy issues to local organizations, as well as to provincial and federal governments. Her passion to be an advocate for literacy has even taken her to Parliament. Her advocacy work and her experiences as an adult learner are the subject of newspaper articles and she was featured in a Raise-a-Reader commercial broadcasted nationally. You can view it at: (http://www.readsaskatoon.com/learners.htm ).

Carey is an inspiration to volunteers across the province. Upon receiving her Council of the Federation Literacy Award, Saskatchewan Literacy Commissioner Dr. Margaret Lipp called her “an excellent role model for literacy, who has shared her experience both as a literacy learner and as a literacy volunteer,” while the Minster of Learning Deb Higgins observed that “Carey Rigby-Wilcox’s contribution will help many individuals participate more fully in the social, cultural, and economic life of our province.” Former Premier Calvert said, “Her contribution to raising the awareness of literacy is Saskatchewan is helping the province to build a social legacy that will enhance the quality of life in our communities for generations to come.”