Balbir Gill, who works in the public library system, will run for a seat as a school trustee in Abbotsford.
Gill said he is informed, knowledgeable and passionate about education and giving back to his community.
He has lived in Abbotsford for 23 years, and has spent 20 years with the library working on behalf of children to provide programming, collection development, multilingual leadership and numerous literacy services.
In addition to this work, Gill has been a volunteer Parent Advisory Council (PAC) executive member and said he has volunteered at almost all school events over the last 13 years. He has also been District PAC executive member for several years, as well as a volunteer crossing guard.
He is an active Rotarian and a board member of the Fraser Valley United and Abbotsford Youth Commission. He has also volunteered with the Salvation Army, Canuck Place, AbbyFest, Abbotsford Food Bank, Dasmesh Punjabi School, Friday Nite Basketball, Gladwin Language Centre and the 2010 Olympics.
He is founding member of the Fraser Valley Cultural Diversity Awards and was a Fraser Valley Indo-Canadian Business Association director.
Gill said he believes in a strong, diverse, healthy secular school system and an equitable and balanced approach to governance.
He said he will advocate for providing equal educational opportunities for all students regardless of socio-economic background, and a safe, secure and friendly environment to keep students away from drugs, gangs and violence.
He added that adequate class sizes are necessary to both facilitate excellent learning and deal with demographic issues, while ensuring fiscal responsibility.