Debbra Mikaelsen was born in the Okanagan and moved to Penticton on March 13, 2020. She works as a freelance copywriter, loving the variety of jobs and the flexible schedule that gives her time to swim in Okanagan Lake, hike local trails, and skate-ski at Nickel Plate. She volunteered for the board because she believes libraries are essential to thriving communities, and because, on a personal level, they have provided her with so much joy. While she would find it impossible to choose a single favourite novel, The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy is high on her list of top 10.