Born in 1954 in Tofino, on the west side of Vancouver Island, Debra Barr first attended the University of Victoria and then finished her B.A. at Simon Fraser University in 1977. Following her passion for archives, Barr enrolled in the first Master of Archival Studies program at the University of British Columbia in 1981 and studied under notable archivists Terry Eastwood and Hugh Taylor. Graduating from the program in 1985, Barr went on to work in various archives and records management positions including the Archivist of the Anglican Diocese of British Columbia, Ministry Records Officers for the BC Ministry of Housing, Recreation and Consumer Service and Records Manager for Royal Roads University. She authored the Guide to the Canadian Manuscript Collections in Victoria University Library in 1988, was a member of the Rules for Archival Description (RAD) Textual Records Working Group in 1990 and 1991, helped prepare the Guidelines for the Development of a Two-Year Curriculum for a Master of Archival Studies from 1987-1989 and wrote articles for the Canadian journal Archivaria (issues 25 and 28), which looked at fonds level description, as well as being guest editor of the journal in the 1990 issue dedicated to religious archives. With Walter Meyer zu Erpen, another notable Canadian Archivist, Barr was one of the founding directors of the Survival Research Institute of Canada (SRIC), which was dedicated to researching continued spiritual existence after death and the possibility of communication with such spirits. With Meyer zu Erpen, Barr co-authored a biography of Albert Durrant Watson, Canadian physician, poet and psychical researcher, for the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, published in 2005. After her death in 2008, Royal Roads University set up a memorial fund in her honour and sought to name a new archives room after her.

A graduate of the University of British Columbia Master of Archival Studies program, Walter Meyer zu Erpen has been president and archivist of the Survival Research Institute of Canada since its creation in 1991. Meyer zu Erpen has also played an active part in local and British Columbia politics. As a member of the Green Party, he ran for Victoria municipal council in 1999, coming only 180 votes shy of winning the seat. In 2001, he ran provincially and placed third. He also served the party as Campaign Manager for the 2005 election and co-manager for the 2009 election and served provincially as Fund-Raising Chair from 2003-2005 and Party Chair from 2007-2009.