Secretary
Farah Friesen
Farah received her Master of Information (Library & Information Science) degree from the University of Toronto in 2013. Upon graduation, she worked as a Reference Intern at the Dorothy H. Hoover Library at OCAD University and volunteered with the St. Michael’s Hospital Health Sciences Library. Starting in 2014, Farah joined the world of health professions education and medical education research. She was a program and research coordinator with the Centre for Faculty Development at Unity Health Toronto for 6.5 years. In August 2020, she became the Coordinator for the Office of the CEO, Women’s College Hospital and in September 2021, Farah rejoined the research world as a Research Associate II at the Centre for Interprofessional Education, University of Toronto & University Health Network. While Farah reluctantly left libraryland in pursuit of employment, she has brought a librarian’s ethos to all her positions. Her passion remains effective knowledge sharing and access to information. She is proud of the fact that multiple scientists said, after working with her, “I didn’t know a librarian could do all that!” and said they’d always try to hire librarians as researchers in the future as we have such diverse skillsets. Farah’s main research interest is in critically examining traditional academic performance indicators, encouraging alternative perspectives on metrics, and working towards a broader (re)definition of academic and educational impact. Farah is very excited to join the THLA Executive to continue learning and contribute to the health libraries community.