Virtual Academic Directors
Harry Bell
VAD - United States of America
Harry lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba with his wife and two sons. He has worked in public education for 36 years – as a classroom teacher, an Art and Physical Education specialist, a Student Services teacher, a Teacher-Librarian, a Curriculum Coordinator, a Divisional Citizenship Coordinator and Vice-Principal. He has worked in both English and French Immersion schools from Kindergarten to Grade 12. His time with Maple Bear as both an in-school and initial trainer has been very rewarding. Meeting new people and sharing in the love of learning is what draws him time and again to working with students, teachers, support staff and administrators. Rather than striving to be an “out-of-the-box” thinker, Harry suggests the box should be thrown away altogether - then there really would be limitless possibilities in education!
Mary Ellen Barreth
VAD - South Asia
Mary Ellen has worked in education for over 35 years. She taught at all grade levels from Grade 1 to grade 12 and was an in school administrator for more than 10 years. Mary Ellen also worked as curriculum coordinator in Central Office for two years. She obtained her B. Ed. in 1988 from the University of Saskatchewan. Later she obtained qualifications in student services and a Master's Degree in Curriculum and Instruction in 2005 from the University of Regina.
Mary Ellen began working with teachers overseas in 2000 when she worked in Dominica through Project Overseas at the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation. Since then, she has worked at programs and schools in Belize, Burkina Faso Tanzania and Brazil. She also participated in high school mission trips to Peru, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. She has led workshops in resource-based learning, differentiated instruction, classroom management, mathematics and curriculum implementation including backward by design.
Her personal interests include working on the family farm, golfing and especially time with her children and grandchildren. Mary Ellen is proud to have received the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation Arbos Award for Contributions to the Teaching Profession. Mary Ellen joins Maple Bear as trainer.
Lynne Charette
VAD - Morocco
Lynne’s experience in education spans 35 years in Ontario with the Ottawa Catholic School Board as a classroom teacher, FSL teacher, special education teacher, special education consultant, vice principal, principal, System Principal of Student Success Department, and School Effectiveness Framework System Lead. Lynne was also the founding principal of a new school that opened its doors in 2016.
Lynne was an instructor and mentor for the Catholic Principals Council of Ontario’s principal qualification courses. She has been awarded the Ottawa Catholic School Board Director of Education Commendation Award for excellence in education in 2010. Lynne has also been recognized by the Learning Partnership as one of Canada's Outstanding Principals for 2019. Lynne’s love of children drives all aspects of her career. She believes that every student can succeed given a student-centered learning approach that embraces the “whole” child.
Upon retirement from the Ottawa Catholic School Board, Lynne had the pleasure of working with teachers in training as a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa. Lynne is excited to be part of the Maple Bear team of trainers and quality assurance reviewers.
Lynne enjoys time with family, connecting with friends, gardening, walking, and traveling.
Shawna Gates
VAD- Central & Eastern Europe
Shawna Gates is a self proclaimed life long learner. She is passionate about learning with and from others. She feels that some of her best learning has come from working alongside students while supporting and facilitating their quest for understanding and from working with teachers while developing their practice.
Shawna has her Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Education and Masters of Environmental Studies. She is qualified to teach in the primary, junior and intermediate divisions. She has received additional qualifications in Reading, Mathematics, Special Education and Librarianship.
Shawna has taught students from JK to Grade 8 in both the Toronto District School Board and the York Region District School Board in Ontario. She is proud to also have been a Vice Principal and Principal at some amazing schools in Ontario and looks forward to sharing her experience with Maple Bear Schools.
Shawna has supported the professional learning of many school staff (teachers, educational assistants, vice principals). She has been part of planning teams designing professional learning for schools within her district. She has also been part of the Vice Principal Selection Committee. She is a certified coach from CFF (Certified Coaches Federation).
Shawna lives in Ontario with her husband and son. She can often be found hiking, running or tending her vegetable garden.
Carol Koran
VAD - The Gulf Region
Carol’s experience in education spans 36 years in Alberta as an English Language Arts teacher and administrator. During these years she also enjoyed working as a Professional Development Instructor for the Alberta Teachers’ Association and mentoring interns and student teachers in the Education Faculty at the University of Lethbridge.
Upon retirement from teaching, she embarked on the adventure of taking a position as Director of Learning for Nishimachi International School, a K- 9 school in Tokyo, Japan. Her three years in Tokyo allowed her to learn more about working with elementary school teachers and students, and to explore Southeast Asia. Carol is particularly interested in the application of brain research in teaching and learning. She enjoys travel, hiking all kinds of trails - from the Grand Canyon to the Kumano Kodo - and spending time with family.
She joined the Maple Bear community as a trainer in 2019.
Maple Bear Faculty
Claudia Kline
Director of Camps and Experiential Learning
Claudia brings with her 33 years of experience as teacher, coach, and Principal of one of the largest School Boards in Ontario, Canada. She has also instructed the Catholic Principals Council of Ontario, Special Education for Administrators course. With an immense love for the outdoors and physical education background, Claudia continues to challenge students to develop leadership, collaboration, ecological responsibility, and wellness through experiential learning. She has joined the Maple Bear Team as the Director of Camps and Experiential Learning.
Pat Adamson
Pat Adamson has been a literacy educator in Manitoba for over 40 years, having served as a classroom teacher, resource teacher, special education consultant and a literacy specialist/coordinator. She has a Masters in Education and is a certified Reading Clinician. Pat has worked with teachers throughout Manitoba and has been both a faculty advisor and sessional instructor at the University of Manitoba and a sessional instructor at the University of Winnipeg.
Pat has worked with Maple Bear as the former Virtual Academic Director of Central and Eastern Europe, and currently as a curriculum writer and trainer. She believes in a collaborative approach to teacher professional development and strives to build positive relationships with teachers to ensure successful learning for all students and school teams.
Joy Antoniuk
My name is Joy Antoniuk and I live in London, Ontario with my husband, John Fritz. I am a passionate, skilled, and caring educator who is extremely proud both professionally and personally to be part of the Maple Bear faculty. My academic qualifications include a honour Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education, Principal Certification Part 1 and 2, Master of Education in Educational Studies and Supervisory Officer credentials. I hold qualifications in all four divisions (Primary, Junior, Intermediate and Senior) and specialist qualifications in special and physical education. I have served as an elementary teacher in all divisions from Senior Kindergarten to Grade 8, as a secondary teacher for Adult Education (Basic Literacy and Adaptive Physical Education) and special education teacher. My administrative career includes elementary Vice-principal , Principal, System Principal, secondary Supervisor and Education Officer. I have a proven track record of effective teaching, administrative and leadership qualifications, skills, and experiences that I bring to the Maple Bear organization. I have been part of the Maple Bear team since 2017 serving in the roles of trainer, quality assurance reviewer and special education advisor in both in-person and virtual settings in MB Brazilian schools. I am pleased to be part of the dynamic team the works collaboratively with all stakeholders to ensure the best of Canadian education for a global future for students and their families attending our amazing schools.
Mariette Baker-McDermid
Mariette has taught K-12 over 35 years in a myriad of settings: Indian Reservation, small and large urban, rural, public and private schools. She obtained her B. Ed. in 1981 from the University of Saskatchewan. Later post graduate certificates in technology integration as well as online teaching were awarded. Mariette spent eight years as an elementary principal as well as a year as a technology consultant in a private international school in Bangkok, Thailand. She has led teacher workshops in Ghana and Guatemala. Resource based, experiential learning as well as eLearning are her passions. She has led workshops in technology, differentiated instruction, classroom management, the writing process, and backward design. Her personal interests include travelling, gourmet cooking, and electronic scrapbooking. She joins the Maple Bear faculty as a trainer.
Angelie Lopez Barkey
Angelie Lopez Barkey was a classroom teacher, special education teacher, vice principal and principal in Ontario, Canada for 32 years. In her role as principal, she focused on working with her school teams to cultivate a collaborative, professional learning environment to support student achievement and success. Through her principal role, she regularly led and facilitated staff training in the areas of teacher planning, assessment, and instructional practice for school improvement. She believes that improvement of teacher practice results in student success. Her passion to work with students, particularly those with special needs, continues to be the driving force of supporting teachers towards current and best teaching practices.
Ms. Lopez Barkey’s teacher training experience also brought her to mentor teachers abroad in Dominican Republic with the Teacher Mentors Abroad organization. During the summers of 2017-2019, she led Canadian teachers as site principal in Taiwan and Beijing to teach English. With her deep commitment to ongoing professional learning, she desired to continue collaborating and supporting educators internationally toward implementation of best teaching practices.
Ms. Lopez Barkey holds a Master of Education degree in Educational Leadership and Policy. She is a member of the Ontario College of Teachers with additional specialist qualifications in teaching Reading and Special Education. In her spare time, she enjoys serving as a volunteer for several organizations that support women and new Canadians.
Brendene Barkley
Brendene Barkley has taught for 37 years. She served as a Math/ Science Consultant in her school division in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada. She served as vice-principal then principal before retiring. Brendene was also a writer and team leader for the Kindergarten to Grade 4 Science curriculum for the Manitoba Department of Education. She was a writer for the Science Everywhere and Math Everywhere science textbooks published by Harcourt Canada. Brendene began working with Maple Bear Global Schools in 2013 as a curriculum writer and trainer (Nursery, Jr K., and IK). Aside from education, Brendene loves spending time with her grandchildren, painting, music and travelling.
Joan Barry
Joan brings to her role as a Maple Bear Trainer 30 years of experience in her various roles as a classroom teacher, Special Education Resource Teacher, Numeracy Learning Partner, School Effectiveness Framework System Lead, Vice Principal, Principal, System Principal of Special Education and Student Services as well as an instructor for the Catholic Principals’ Council of Ontario for principal qualification courses. She has been awarded the Ottawa Catholic School Board Director of Education Commendation Award for excellence in education.
Joan has had extensive experience on local and provincial committees writing and exploring curriculum and inclusive practices, as well as supporting new and experienced educators, school and system teams through the lens of student centered learning, inclusion and professional collaborative inquiry. Her work is guided by her belief that all students can learn and thrive in conditions where effective pedagogically sound practices are embraced with discernment and implemented with innovation and creativity, and fun!
Joan lives in Ottawa, Canada with her two amazing daughters where she enjoys spending time at her family cottage, reading, traveling, and new adventures!
Beverley Bennett
Beverley Bennett’s introduction to Maple Bear was as acting principal to assist with a school opening in Brasilia in 2010. Since then, she has had the opportunity to visit ten Maple Bear countries, providing a wide range of services from initial training, classroom support, to training and quality assurance. A highlight for Beverley has been developing and delivering literacy instruction workshops.
On top of her training work, she has also worked in Sao Paulo in the central office and teaches University of Winnipeg courses to Maple Bear teachers in Brazil as well as to Canadian education students in Thailand and China. She especially enjoys her role in preparing new Canadian expert trainers for their first assignments. Beverley holds a Master of Education from McGill University. For her, Maple Bear has been a fulfilling second career in education.
Cheryl Boguski
Cheryl Boguski has over 30 years of professional experience in the field of education. She has taught students from middle years to high school mainly in the areas of Science and Biology.
Cheryl has written various middle years Manitoba Science Curriculum Documents. She also has facilitated workshops throughout the province to introduce teachers to the activities and concepts associated with the curriculum. She believes that collaboration with teachers during those processes strengthened her own pedagogy and classroom teaching skills.
Cheryl has continued her curriculum work with Maple Bear, writing the Grade 10
Science and Grade 11 Biology Integrated Documents. She has had the opportunity to facilitate workshops for Maple Bear science teachers in Brazil focussing on assessment in science, content area literacy, and differentiated instruction. She looks forward to continuing to collaborate with Maple Bear colleagues to enhance science education.
Marilee Boles-Wilson
Marilee Boles-Wilson is a trainer with Maple Bear Global Schools. She has been an educator for more than thirty years and holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree, a Bachelor of Education Degree and a Master of Education Degree. She has taught in Early Years grades through to high school grades. Marilee was seconded to the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Education to teach in the Bachelor of Education Program. She led training for the Canadian Teachers' Federation to support teachers in third world countries. Marilee lives in the city of Ottawa with her husband and three children. She is a Mentor-Coach to teachers new to the profession in her city’s public school board. A proponent of Balanced Literacy, Marilee incorporates Orton-Gillingham practices into the teaching of students with learning disabilities. Training for Maple Bear has been a pleasure for Marilee.
Candace Borger
Candace has served as an educator in the St. James-Assiniboia School Division in Winnipeg, Manitoba for over 45 years and has assumed many roles including early years classroom teacher, Resource Teacher, Resource Coordinator, Vice-Principal, Principal and Administrator of Educational Support Services. Candace retired in 2017 and then worked in a French Immersion school as a Resource Teacher supporting students who were not only learning French but were acquiring English as an Additional Language.
She holds a Masters of Education (Reading and Language); a full slate of Masters courses in Educational Psychology and Bachelor’s degrees in Education and Home Economics. Certificates are held in the areas of Administration, Special Education and Violence Threat Risk Assessment. Throughout her career she has been an advocate for literacy learning and inclusion and believes strongly in providing appropriate programming and orchestrating the environment to maximize learning for all students.
Candace joined the Maple Bear family in January, 2018 and has provided central training in differentiated instruction and planning in special needs as well as initial and school-based training in Brazil. She values the opportunities to collaborate and team within the schools by providing on-site support and professional learning opportunities.
Candace enjoys gardening, cooking and outdoor activities and volunteers for organizations including The Winnipeg Art Gallery, The Council for Exceptional Children and most recently Take Pride Winnipeg, an organization promoting citizen responsibility in maintaining a clean environment.
Janice Bortoluzzi
Janice Foster Bortoluzzi has been training for Maple Bear Global Schools since her retirement in 2017. As a public school educator for over 35 years, Janice has held positions as both Early and Middle Years Classroom Teacher, Student Services/Resource Teacher, Language Arts Consultant, and Reading Recovery Teacher.
In addition to her work with Maple Bear Global Schools Janice is currently employed as a Substitute Teacher and part-time Resource Teacher in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Janice enjoys her work with Maple Bear and looks forward to a return to in-person training as soon as possible.
Brian Briggs
Brian Briggs holds a B. Ed specializing in Science Education and a M. Ed in Curriculum and Instruction. He lives in Calgary, and this is 40th year in education. Prior to becoming a school principal, he taught grades 2 to 9 and later, served as a District Science Teaching and Learning Consultant working with schools and their teachers in the development of effective inquiry-based instruction and assessment strategies. Currently, he is a Faculty of Education Instructor at St. Mary’s University where he teaches science methodology courses and works with pre-service teachers as a Practicum Advisor.
Duane Brothers
Duane has taught at the early and middle, and senior years levels in Manitoba and British Columbia. He has also served for 20 years as an assistant superintendent and superintendent in three different school divisions in Manitoba.
As a facilitator and speaker, Duane has worked in British Columbia, Manitoba, the USA, and Mexico in the areas of organizational improvement, diversity, governance, and leadership. He has served on the Board of the National Principals Leadership Institute in NYC, was on the Cabinet for the United Way Manitoba, the board of the Manitoba Association of School Superintendents, and is currently the board chair of Special Olympics Manitoba. In 2018, Duane completed his PhD in Educational Administration at the University of Manitoba.
While officially retired from the k-12 system, Duane has been teaching graduate level courses at the University of Manitoba and is looking forward to working in Quality Assurance with Maple Bear.
Deborah Burnside
Deborah Burnside has been an educator for over 40 years! She taught all grades K-12, in English and French. Deborah has been a sessional instructor with Brandon University for the past 11 years. She was principal at a K-6 School and retired in Dec. 2019 as Student Services Coordinator with Swan Valley School Division. She obtained a Master in Educational Administration degree, as well as a Master in Special Education degree. Both Master degrees were completed through BU. Besides graduate studies, Deborah has a B.Ed., a B.A. and a Graduate Diploma in Ed. Admin. As you can see she spent most of her life in education! In the past three years, Deborah completed Maple Bear training with schools, teachers, and coordinators in Brazil. It was an amazing experience working with the children! She also hosted a couple of webinars for Maple Bear Global Schools on Transitioning Students with Special Needs Back to School and she hosted a Central Office Training Session on the Maple Bear Handbook for Students with Special Needs.
Deborah has two children. Her son is a doctor and her daughter is a registered professional forester. She has two grand-daughters, Charlie and Blair. Being Grandma the best job of all!! Her most recent hobby has been quilting. It is a relaxing way to spend some quiet time constructing comfy quilts. Most quilts have been given away as gifts. She also enjoys gardening, reading, and travelling. When she travels, her favourite part is visiting schools.
Michael Byrne
Michael holds degrees of M.Ed. focusing on School Administration and a B.Ed. He also has both Alberta and British Columbia teaching certificates. Michael worked for Sturgeon School Division in Alberta for 26 years where he served as a high school teacher and a school principal. He also worked in Bangladesh and Oman as a school principal. On his return to Canada he worked for “Ascend” a catholic online and distant learning school. His primary interest is school administration and is one of our Quality Assurance Faculty. Michael lives in Penticton, B.C.
Glenn Cake
Glenn Cake comes to the Maple Bear team with over 30 years of foreign language teaching experience, in both Core French and French Immersion. He has worked with students of all ages and has been a lead distance education teacher with the Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation since 2003.
Glenn holds a Bachelor of Education and Masters of Education (Information Technology) from Memorial. He has been an active member, presenter and promoter of French which include tenures with the Canadian Parents for French Provincial chapter as a Board of Directors position as well as CASLT (Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers) where he served as the National Council representative. Internationally, Glenn has teaching experience in Bermuda as well as Qatar in the Middle East.
Glenn enjoys providing professional training to teachers, particularly in the areas of concrete and practical internet resources and software that teachers and students can use to enhance their technology skills.
Glenn makes his home in St. John’s, Newfoundland with his wife and two children. When not travelling, he enjoys playing guitar and sports such as hockey and golf.
Florence Campbell
Florence Campbell works for Maple Bear in both a training as well as a quality assurance capacity. She has spent her 29 year Canadian career working in immersion schools from Kindergarten to Y8. She has also been an administrator for 14 years: 10 as principal and 4 as Assistant Principal. She took her administrative skillset abroad as well in a principal role of a Canadian high school for 2 years in China from 2011-2013. As a classroom teacher, she taught all subjects from Y1-Y8.
Florence is a passionate educator who especially loves to work in programming for students with special needs, coaching and mentoring school leaders and developing reading and writing skills in the classroom. She is a solution-focused, practical educator who loves people, travel and working with educators.
Florence and her husband have 4 wonderful children and 1 beautiful granddaughter.
Tony Carvey
After a 35 year career in education including teaching stops in California, Vancouver BC and Winnipeg as well as 18 years in administration at the middle years and high school levels, Tony is looking for a new adventure working in Quality Assurance with Maple Bear. His experience included stops at the divisional level as a Middle Year’s and Physical Education Consultant as well as the principal at two different large Winnipeg High Schools. He received his undergraduate degree in physical education from the University of Oregon and a master’s in education technology/administration from the University of Manitoba. Tony was honored as one of Canada’s Top 40 Outstanding Principals in 2017. He is looking forward to sharing his knowledge and experience around creating positive school culture and high academic expectations for staff and students in this new role with Maple Bear. Developing leadership capacity amongst staff on the ground is a passion of his and he is excited about being part of the Maple Bear team. His most recent experience has been as the principal of the Maple Bear South Korea Gimpo campus from March 2023 to present. After this contract is complete at the end of February he looks forward to returning to his role in Quality Assurance with Maple Bear Global.
Matt Champion
Matt joined the Maple Bear team in January of 2018 as a trainer. He comes to Maple Bear with almost 35 years of experience in education as teacher, administrator, and consultant at all levels from Kindergarten to Post-Secondary.
He received his Bachelor of Education from Brock University with certification from Kindergarten to Grade 12 and has specialist qualifications in Special Education and Reading Instruction. He also has extensive training in classroom observation and instructional coaching. In recent years Matt has worked in Beijing, China as a teacher trainer and ESL teacher at all levels of the Chinese school system.
Matt makes his home in Toronto Ontario, Canada. When not travelling he enjoys relaxing in his garden with a good book.
Martha Coates-Eveleigh
Martha has taught at private IB and public schools, as well as at Ottawa and Carleton Universities since 1989. She is a continual learner and pushes through her comfort zones in order to become better at her craft. You will gain a strong sense of her ethos around teaching and learning when you discover the multilayered and highly engaging inquiry-based curriculum that Martha has developed over the years.
Working with teachers, parents, and students, Martha manages to infuse her programme of instruction with a culture of literacy. In fact, she has a passion for reading and focuses on training teachers to develop effective and equitable literacy instruction for all students. Martha takes particular interest in exploring ways to help teachers work together to provide meaningful literacy instruction across all disciplines. As a special education and literacy specialist, she knows that through a collective and strategic approach, all students can reach great heights. Martha is delighted to be part of the Maple Bear team of trainers.
Patti Cohen
Patti comes to Maple Bear with a B.S. in Elementary Education and an MEd in Educational Administration. She has taught Nursery to Grade 6 and has specialized in the early years. She is an experienced Reading Recovery teacher and has led teacher in-services in early years literacy, writing, and folk dance. Patti was a board member of the Early Childhood Education Council and wrote a column called “Kindergarten Corner” for the newsletter.
Patti loves to design and implement learning experiences which provokes the young child to ask questions and become excited about learning. She integrates literacy and numeracy into a play-oriented early years program. She believes that music, dance, and movement are essential learning tools for the young child. Patti has travelled extensively and enjoys meeting new people through International Folk Dance. She joins Maple Bear as a teacher trainer.
Brian Davidson
Brian lives, works and plays in Williams Lake, in the central interior of British Columbia, on the traditional, unceded lands of the Secwepemc people. He began working as an Elementary teacher in 1986 and has worked in Canada, Australia and Tanzania, at all grade levels. Brian earned his Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Victoria. He earned his Masters degree (Distributed Learning) from Royal Roads University in 2003. In 2015, Brian completed the ‘Transformative Educational Leadership Program’ from the University of British Columbia (UBC).
Brian has administrative experience at the elementary level, which supported his great passion for working collaboratively with other educators to support ongoing professional learning. He believes that developing educator efficacy and supporting the growth of educators is the most effective work we can do that leads to direct impacts on student learning. With experience in Mentoring early career teachers, co-organizing Professional Development for his school district and supervising UBC teacher-candidates, Brian is well-positioned to support ongoing professional learning in Maple Bear Schools.
Stephen De Paulo
Stephen De Paulo is a Trainer with Maple Bear Global Schools. He lives with his wife and two children, in Grimsby, Ontario, a small town nestled in Niagara Peninsula wine country. Prior to working with Maple Bear, Stephen spent 33 years working in the Ontario school system, as a classroom teacher, Special Education Resource Teacher and serving as an acting Administrator in schools, He earned a Bacholar of Physical Education at McMaster University, a Bacholar of Education at Brandon University as well as his Specialist Qualifications in Special Education through Laurentian University. Stephen enjoys keeping active, skiing, golfing, running, and hiking, as well as traveling and exploring wine country.
Deenah De Sousa Baptista
Deenah is a second-language specialist who has been a trainer with Maple Bear since 2016. Over the course of her 19 years in education, she has taught French, Français, Spanish, German and EAL from grades 1-12, and has educational experience on five continents. An avid traveller and a lover of languages, Deenah is currently working on her 11th language, so she is no stranger to the challenges and rewards that come with language-learning. She holds an Advanced B.A. in languages from the University of Manitoba, a Master’s Degree in Education from Manchester Metropolitan University in Manchester, UK, and is certified to teach in both Canada and the UK.
Based in Winnipeg, Deenah is currently working as a Student Services teacher in a K-8 school, and delivering the Grade 3 & 4 Science Curriculum to virtual learners.
Deenah is a veteran of the Canadian Forces, and has worked in Bosnia and Afghanistan. In her spare time, she is a fitness instructor who teaches Zumba, Yoga, Pilates, Aquafit, and Tai Chi.
Lynne Driedger-Enns
Dr. Lynnette Driedger-Enns works in Academic Faculty with Maple Bear Global Schools. Through her previous research and teaching practice, she is a narrative inquirer who is interested in teachers, children, families, principals, and their experiences together in schools. Threads of identity, music, literacy, math, and, most significantly relationality, are woven through her research as well as her years as a teacher in early childhood education through elementary and middle years, and as a teacher educator working with graduate and undergraduate students in Universities in Canada, Ireland, Chile, Africa, and India. Her home is in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Therese Durston
Therese graduated from the University of Regina with both a Bachelor of Education and a certificate of Inclusive Education, she has an impressive 45 years of experience in the field of education. Her expertise spans from teaching classes ranging from Kindergarten to university level. At Saskatchewan Polytech, she has been entrusted with teaching all Pedagogy classes for both the Educational Assistant Program and Early Childhood program. Additionally, she has served as a sessional lecturer at the University of Regina, imparting knowledge on inclusive educational courses.
Her dedication to professional development is evident through her training in Positive Discipline by renowned author Jane Nelsen. Since 2019, she has been an integral part of Maple Bear, contributing significantly to teacher training in Brazil and delivering central training courses on the Early Childhood Education continuum for ELA across the globe.
Residing in the central part of Canada, Saskatchewan, she continues to make profound contributions to the field of education through her vast experience and dedication to inclusive teaching methodologies.
Cindy Ediger
Cindy lives in the historic heart of Winnipeg, Manitoba with her husband, Alan. She has studied at both University of Calgary and Manitoba, and since 1989 has taught in a myriad of capacities including K-9 classrooms, high school alternative programs, Reading Recovery and Early Reading Intervention, Student Services (resource, special education and counselling), District Behavioural and Autism Teacher Mentor, sessional instructor at University of Manitoba, District Student Services Co-ordinator and most recently, as vice-principal of a Kindergarten to Grade 8 school.
She has presented to a multitude of parents, para-professionals, teachers, and administrators on a variety of topics including reading, behaviour and self-regulation. She is a trainer of Collaborative Problem Solving through Think: Kids at Massachusetts General Hospital. She thrives on working with school teams to ensure all students and teachers are successful and enjoying their school experience.
Cindy’s personal interests include travelling, hiking, reading and spending time with her 3 young grandchildren. She is delighted to join the Maple Bear faculty as a trainer.
Crystal Exner
Crystal Exner, a Maple Bear Trainer, brings 33 years of teaching experience to her role. She's worked as a classroom and learning support teacher, and administrator for 15 years. Crystal taught in three different communities in Saskatchewan and Alberta, covering grades K-9. Throughout her career, she's been a mentor to many teachers, both new and experienced, showcasing her passion for education. Crystal is a dedicated educator who enjoys working with both teachers and students. She has also volunteered at an orphanage in Tanzania, Africa. Joining the Maple Bear Faculty in 2023, she loves the energetic and exciting atmosphere of students, staff, and parents in Maple Bear schools.
Cathy Faux
Cathy Faux is a passionate and dedicated Canadian educator with over 30 years of experience as a school administrator, Special Education Consultant and classroom teacher. In 2016, she was awarded the Ottawa Catholic School Board Director of Education Commendation Award for excellence in education. Cathy acquired her degrees from Carleton University and the University of Ottawa. She also holds a diploma in Child and Youth Work.
Cathy strives to create rich learning opportunities for students enabling them to take supported risks, develop collaborative skills, expand a growth mindset and experience the joy of learning. She believes that every student can succeed given a student-centred learning approach that embraces the “whole” child.
As an Administrator, Cathy believes in creating opportunities for educators to collaborate, innovate, grow and flourish while on their lifelong professional learning journey. As part of her leadership portfolio, she worked on the New Teacher Induction Program (NTIP) and mentored new Administrators as part of the Learning and Leading Board program. Cathy also was part of the Leading Student Achievement project in partnership with the Ministry of Education. Over the course of 15 years, she was instrumental in facilitating and implementing various school improvement plans (SIP) with a focus on the implementation of New Pedagogies for Deep Learning strategies in all classes.
Cathy resides in Richmond, Ontario where she enjoys spending time with her husband, children and her grandchildren. She enjoys reading, gardening, quilting and the new growing sport of Pickleball. She is excited to continue to work and mentor educators in the Maple Bear community.
Dean Finlay
Dean Finlay would describe himself as a life long learner. As a graduate of the University of Winnipeg with a Bachelor of Education degree in 1981, Dean has dedicated the last 42 of his life pursuing his love of learning.
Dean’s teaching experience for the first 20 years of his career included teaching primarily English and Mathematics at the Middle Years and High School Level. He also spent some time teaching English as an additional language and a High School upgrading program at a community college in British Columbia.
Dean finished his public-school career as a Vice Principal at both the Middle School and High School Level. His final nine years of his career were spent as the Principal of a Middle School in Winnipeg.
He has also had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Brazil over the past two years as a teacher trainer with Maple Bear to work with some amazing educators in South America.
Dean resides in Winnipeg with his wife.
Suzanne Fitzgerald
Suzanne Fitzgerald has over 30 years of experience in the education sector, as a school administrator, primary and junior level teacher, and as a teacher at the college level. Suzanne has significant experience in developing and implementing school improvement initiatives and developing a positive working environment that successfully integrates collaboration, learning, and innovation. Suzanne has demonstrated success in facilitating meetings to support the needs of parents, teachers, and students. She also has delivered countless presentations in both French and English at the national, provincial, and local levels. Since her retirement in 2017, Suzanne has been a Special Equipment Allowance coach for the Ottawa Catholic School Board helping students with special needs learn how to use technology as a tool to help with their learning. Also, Suzanne has also worked with new students at the college level helping them navigate the assessment process. Suzanne has a passion for learning and believes that teacher innovation and collaboration is an imperative strategy to help every student learn.
Suzanne makes her home in Toronto where she enjoys spending time with her 3 children and her 2 grandchildren. Suzanne joins the Maple Bear faculty as a trainer.
Fatima Formariz
In her 35 years as an Ontario educator, Fatima has held various roles as a K-10 classroom teacher, Early and Middle years Literacy Intervention Specialist, Special Education Resource Teacher, Literacy Coach and Consultant, Curriculum Writer, Vice Principal and Principal. She joined Maple Bear 3 years ago as a trainer and quality assurance reviewer. She has trained teachers and supported schools in Brazil and Portugal.
Fatima has had experience on local and provincial committees writing and exploring curriculum and inclusive assessment practices for EQAO, as well as supporting new and experienced educators, school and system teams through the lens of student centered learning, assessment, school improvement and professional collaborative inquiry. She has a special interest in working with students and practices that support early reading development in at risk communities. Her work is guided by her belief that all students can learn and succeed in conditions where effective research based pedagogy and sound practices are adopted and when instruction is responsive to the student. Fatima lives in Toronto, Canada with her husband with whom she shares the love of travelling, hiking and gardening.
Brian Fries
Brian holds a BPE, Ed Degree and a post Baccalaureate in ED admin. During his 35 year teaching career he taught in schools from Kindergarten through Grade 12. He began his career teaching Physical Education and has had experience teaching Social Studies, Science, and Language Arts. Brian spent the last thirteen years of his career as a school administrator. He worked in Seven Oaks and Louis Riel School divisions in Winnipeg and worked as a Principal in an International School in Cyprus. In 2014, Brian joined the Maple Bear team and has completed Quality Assurance visits to over sixty schools in Brazil.
The experience of meeting so many owners, coordinators , teachers and of course children has been both exciting and rewarding.
Cathy Gamble
Cathy Gamble brings over 30 years teaching experience to Maple Bear. Having taught in both Canada and Australia, she contributes expertise in multi-age and regular classrooms from Kindergarten to Grade 5. Her professional development has been dedicated to literacy and numeracy with emphasis on reading comprehension, the reading and writing process, and planning for success with struggling learners. Her most recent study has looked to improve mathematical reasoning and problem-solving outcomes. It is her belief that teacher-student relationship and self-regulation are paramount to student success. Over the course of her career she has served as an acting principal and a mentor to new teachers. Cathy has provided Maple Bear Academic Support in both Brazil and Mexico.
Laura Garvey
Laura Garvey, a seasoned educator with 34 years of experience, holds a degree in Education from the University of Regina, along with special education certification and master's level classes. Throughout her extensive career, she has served as both a Classroom and special education teacher in various educational settings across Canada.
Laura's teaching journey has taken her to diverse environments, including small rural schools, a Hutterite Colony school, Catholic Schools, and Inner City Community Schools. Her commitment to education also led her to collaborate with the Ministry of Education in Saskatchewan, where she played a crucial role in developing and marking province-wide testing in math and writing. Additionally, she was seconded by the Ministry of Education to contribute to the development of a province-wide assessment for grade 4, covering English Language Arts and Treaty Understandings.
Currently, Laura is delighted to serve as a trainer with Maple Bear, where she continues to share her passion for teaching math and science. She strongly advocates for hands-on, deeper learning strategies to enhance the educational experience for her students.
Outside of her professional life, Laura finds joy in various activities. Gardening, training her dogs, riding her horse, and spending quality time with her grown children and grandchildren are among her favorite pastimes. Originally from Thompson, Manitoba, Laura now resides on a farm in Southeastern Saskatchewan near Estevan.
Nicole Gillard
Nicole has been an educator for over 32 years. She graduated from the University of Ottawa with a degree in Psychology and successfully completed her Bachelor of Education afterwards. Her classroom experience has been mostly with Grades 1 to 6 students, but always in a French Immersion school.
Outside the classroom setting, Nicole has taught Additional Qualification courses in French as a second language Parts 1-2-3 for Nipissing University. Currently, she is teaching a French class at Collège Boréal for adults who wish to learn a second language.
Nicole has joined the Maple Bear team in 2019 and has found it to be a rich and rewarding experience. She remains committed to nurturing the joy of lifelong learning in a safe environment so that her students are equipped with the skills necessary to achieve their dreams.
Michael Glofcheskie
Michael Christopher Glofcheskie has been an educator for more than thirty years. He taught Early Years, Primary, Junior, and Intermediate classrooms for two decades, with additional experience in the Arts and Physical Education. Subsequently, as a Teacher Consultant, he supported school teams, facilitated job-embedded professional learning, co-created publications and teaching frameworks, and coached educators - while learning alongside and collaborating with his colleagues in the educational community. His K - 12 work is based on the foundations of Instructional Practices for Reading, Writing and Thinking, Assessment, Differentiated Instruction, Universal Design, Special Education, ESL, Mathematics, Early Years, and Social-Emotional Learning. Teaching and Learning are in Michael's heart.
Dave Halase
Most of Dave Halase's 30 year career in education has been in Alberta, with a few years in British Columbia. He has taught each of the grade levels (K-6), is well acquainted with the Early Childhood program, was a Physical Education specialist, directed the remedial language intervention program, was a Learning Coach assisting teachers in honing their craft, and spent a decade as a vice principal. Prior to all that he was a District Supervisor with the City of Calgary responsible for recreation programming, assisting community associations with all aspects of operation, and was a special event coordinator for the city. Currently he is employed by St. Mary’s University where he assists student teachers during their practicum placements – a truly brilliant job!
He is a voracious reader of education material, and much of his current professional development centres around Attachment Theory and the impact of relationship on learning. He possesses undergrad degrees in Science and Education, as well as a Masters in Educational Leadership. His skill set includes team building, English language acquisition, aligning stated objectives with actual practice, and finding simple solutions amid the complexities of life.
His classroom and his schools were always infused with a sense of fun and excitement about what each day had in store. He lives by the guiding question, “What can I do to make your life better today?”
Lynn Harper-Harris
During my career, I have worked in both regular and specialized settings and have pursued leadership opportunities. As a classroom teacher I have taught in single and multi-graded classrooms from kindergarten to Grade Eight. I have held various roles in special education that include; Resource Room teacher for students with learning disabilities, a teacher for the deaf and hard of hearing, Learning Resource teacher and Reading Interventionist. After many years in classrooms, I was offered a position as an Instructional Consultant for PreK-12 Education in my school division and later accepted the role of Educational Consultant for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education.
I completed my Bachelor of Education from the University of Saskatchewan, Diploma in Education (Education of the Deaf) from the University of British Columbia and Masters of Education (Special Education and Psychology) from the University of Saskatchewan.
Susan Hayward
Susan graduated from the University of Manitoba with a B.A. and B.Ed. Her career includes classroom experiences from Grade 1-12 with a concentration in middle years for over 30 years. Her involvement with Maple Bear began in Brazil in 2017 with Quality Assurance and a teacher-training experience in 2018.
In addition, she was an assessment and literacy consultant before going into administration at both the Early Years and Senior High levels. Susan has served on Manitoba Education projects involving integrated units with multimedia, assessment practices, tracking student data to support graduation, and the ELA curriculum. She has been a faculty supervisor with the University of Winnipeg, a president for an early childhood daycare board, and president for the Manitoba Reading Association.
Marguerite (Margo) Hebert
Margo has worked in education for over 30 years and holds a Bachelor of Education Degree and Post Baccalaureate (Student Services) from the University of Manitoba. She has experience as Classroom Teacher, Teacher-Librarian and Resource Teacher in French Immersion schools years Kindergarten to Grade 9.
Her passion is to support students and teachers in second language learning, inquiry-based learning, and planning for the inclusive and student-centred classroom. Margo has been a trainer for Maple Bear Global Schools since September 2018. She enjoys collaborating with the Maple Bear school personnel on site and remotely. She appreciates the opportunity to support educators to build on their knowledge and skills to empower their students to become risk-takers, problem solvers and independent learners.
In her free time, Margo enjoys visiting with her family and friends, traveling, reading and being in the great outdoors.
Brent Hoffos
Brent joined the Maple Bear Faculty in January of 2019 as part of the quality assurance team, central trainer, and in-school trainer. He had worked with schools online and has travelled to Brazil to provide in person training.
He has 38 years of experience in education as teacher and administrator at all levels from grades one through twelve. During his career, Brent worked in southeast Saskatchewan in three different schools. His last assignment was at Spruce Ridge in Estevan where he was appointed principal and was involved in the design and building of the school.
Brent was also affiliated with the University of Regina where he provided workshops for interning and cooperating teachers. Further, he delivered several workshops at various conferences specializing in technology implementation and effective leadership skills.
Brent received his Bachelor of Education and Post Graduate Diploma from the University of Regina. Later, he completed his Master’s Degree in Educational Administration from the University of San Diego.
Brent has been married to Patrice for over 30 years who just retired from teaching. They have 2 children, Jordi who is a school counselor and Chris who works in finance. He enjoys daily workouts, all sports, music, reading, and time at the lake.
Brent is dedicated in building positive relationships and providing the skills needed to foster effective schools.
Ray Houssin
Ray lives in Birds Hill, Manitoba with his wife and children. He obtained a Bachelor of Education Degree from Brandon University and a Master of Education Degree from the University of Manitoba. His teaching career spans 32 years, 3 School Divisions and 9 individual school settings. This diverse experience has given Ray a valuable perspective of teaching and learning across many academic settings and has influenced his personal philosophy and commitment to education: “To meet the academic, social and emotional needs of the child, build positive relationships, and promote rigorous and relevant learning experiences”.
Ray’s professional roles in education include Substitute Teacher, Physical Education Specialist, Middle and Senior Years Teacher, Curriculum Writer, Coach, Vice-Principal, Principal, and Faculty Supervisor/Sessional Educator at the University of Winnipeg.
This broad and comprehensive career that Ray brings to Maple Bear Global Schools is combined with a commitment to identifying and promoting 21st century learning skills, supporting research-based instruction, infusing activity-based/cooperative learning experiences, and implementing restitution/Collaborative Problem-Solving based classroom management. Ray’s role as a Trainer and Quality Assurance at Maple Bear Global Schools is a continuation of his passion as a life-long learner and educator.
Leigh Howard
Leigh lives in Abbotsford B.C., a vibrant, multicultural community in the Fraser Valley, an hour east of Vancouver. After receiving her education degree from the University of British Columbia, Leigh began her career as a primary teacher in northern British Columbia. Through the years she taught throughout BC at all grade levels, coordinated a college program for Early Childhood Education in Williams’s Lake, earned a master’s degree in educational leadership, was a middle school vice principal and district principal of Special Education. Leigh retired from the Abbotsford School District as Director of Learning Support Services and has a passion for supporting students with diverse learning needs.
Leigh finds working with Maple Bear a wonderful experience. She loves to build learning relationships with the bright, vibrant teachers and administrators of the Maple Bear schools in Brazil. Working with Maple Bear is an extraordinary opportunity to keep up with current educational practices and to share years of expertise with energetic teachers.
Lori Jamison
Lori Jamison is an educator, author and consultant. In addition to her career as a classroom teacher, she was the K-12 Language Arts Consultant for Regina Public Schools and a Reading Assessment Specialist for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education. She is the only Canadian from a K-12 school system to have served on the Board of Directors of the International Reading Association. Lori has written many books, guides and other curriculum resources for teachers. She is currently an independent Educational Consultant and the Education Director for High Interest Publishing, a company that publishes novels for struggling and reluctant readers (www.hip-books.com). Her website is lorijamison.com.
Sandra Janzen
Sandra Janzen is a Certified Reading Clinician with Clinical Support Services in Winnipeg School Division. She has over 30 years of experience in the field of literacy instruction and holds a Masters Degree in Language and Literacy. Grounding her practice in research and evidence-based strategies, Sandra helps support teachers and students in Manitoba. She believes that building strong, early foundational literacy skills is essential to develop lifelong readers and writers. Sandra has worked with Maple Bear, providing professional development on assessment and high-impact, research-based strategies for teachers in Brazil. She is currently the President of the Manitoba Council of Reading Clinicians and is a representative on the Manitoba Reading Association.
David Johnson
David Johnson is a retired educator with over 30 years’ teaching experience. He has taught all grades from grade 2 to 12 in both England and Canada. David also worked as a teacher mentor in the later part of his teaching career in Winnipeg, Canada. Recently, David worked in adult education and is currently teaching adult literacy in Winnipeg, Canada. David has a wide range of academic credentials including a B.Ed. B.A. Master’s in Education and a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Special Education.
David is a resourceful teacher with experience teaching students that have a strong focus on academic excellence. He is skilled at building relationships within a multi-disciplinary team in order to support students and teachers in a variety of settings. David is recognized as a skilled communicator and effective planner.
David Johnson joined Maple Bear as a trainer in 2019.
Elaine Junk
Elaine loves teaching and enjoys sharing her enthusiasm with others. Her passions are developing a love of lifelong learning and fostering a love of literature in her students. Elaine has over thirty years of experience in the field of education. She has been an elementary classroom teacher, with a specialization in language arts, as well as a literacy intervention and support teacher. Elaine has taught preservice teachers at university, been a sessional instructor and mentored student teachers in her own classroom. She has had the opportunity to work alongside teachers in Kenya, Burundi and Belize and conduct workshops. Elaine was excited to join the Maple Bear team after retiring from teaching in June of 2020. She lives in Edmonton, Alberta and spends her time teaching English as a second language and enjoying time with her daughters and grandchildren.
Darlene Keith
Darlene has a Bachelor of Education degree and a Post Baccalaureate in Special Education. She has taught in many grades from 1 to 7 as well as resource teacher positions in schools from K to 12. Presently Darlene is in the role of Literacy Coach with her school division working with teachers to constantly improve instructional practice. Teacher efficacy is a belief of hers that continues to inspire her to constantly be learning as she works with other educators. As a trainer with Maple Bear, her experiences allow her to keep learning as she collaborates with teachers for mutual professional growth. Darlene currently lives in Manitoba, Canada.
Maria Kerkinos
Maria has worked in all levels of schools, from elementary through to high school, for over 30 years. For 15 years she worked as the department head of Student Services at a high school. She has specialized in integrating students with special needs in regular classroom settings at all grade levels. She has provided support for teachers in differentiating instruction to support all students in regular classrooms.
She has also worked as a hospital consultant to schools for students that were experiencing mental health issues in school. More specifically she has provided workshops for students and teachers in the areas of anxiety, Autism and ADHD.
Maria has worked with students and classrooms to support students that were experiencing behavioural concerns in the classroom. She has also offered workshops in the area of self-regulation for both students and teachers.
She has worked as a trainer for Maple Bear Global schools since 2016 and has provided workshops for teachers in the areas of behaviour and self-regulation.
Karin Klassen
Karin Klassen is a passionate educator who has taught students of all ages for over 25 years. She loves to work together with other educators to find best teaching practices and positive solutions for every teaching situation. Karin has taught on exchange in Australia for a year. She has also worked with educators at schools in Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Brazil and Paraguay. Currently Karin is a Practicum Advisor with teacher candidates in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba. Karin is thrilled to serve as a trainer with the Maple Bear faculty.
Karin is a professional violinist, having played with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra for many years. She was a long-time conductor of the Winnipeg Youth Strings Orchestra. She was honoured to receive the Morna June Morrow Award for Excellence in Music Education in Manitoba. She loves to motivate student learning and engagement through music.
Karin and her husband have two wonderful children and two beautiful grandchildren, who are the love of her life.
Sherry Klassen
Sherry Klassen worked as an educator and school administrator for 33 years. Throughout her career, she has seen firsthand the benefits to students when best educational practices are put in place. Her launching of an education consulting cooperative has allowed Sherry to continue collaborating with teachers and administrators in developing professional development sessions regarding those best practices in areas including student assessment and engagement, school culture development, and crisis prevention intervention to name a few. Sherry’s training in both cognitive and IPEC coaching also allows her to support school leadership as they encounter the challenges of today’s school administrators.
Sherry truly believes that we are better when we work together. She is passionate about creating school cultures that keep collaborative learning at the center of decisions related to education. She joined the Maple Bear training team in 2018 and has had the pleasure of working with middle years and high school teachers while in Brazil and more recently, virtually as a webinar instructor and central training presenter. Additionally, she has been working closely with school leaders to develop school-specific professional development opportunities.
Sherry’s on-going goal is to bring a healthy dose of optimistic energy to each day. She looks forwards to sharing that energy with the staff of Maple Bear.
Lee Koran
Lee is passionate about teaching and learning. His educational career has included 35 years as a teacher and as a teaching principal in schools with students from grades Pre-K to 12. He is an Alberta Department of Education teacher instructor in mathematics, has served as president of the Council on School Administration, has led workshops on best practices in mathematics instruction and has led workshops to parents and teachers on the continuous progress of students. He followed this with 6 years in international education as a Director of Curriculum and as Head of School, in Beirut, Lebanon; Yangon, Myanmar; and Tokyo, Japan. He has a BEd from the University of Alberta and a MA from Gonzaga University Spokane. In these capacities Lee has embraced diversity, inclusion, learning readiness, and the why, not just the how, of teaching and learning.
Lee is also a Professional Learning Consultant with North West Educational Association, the MAP people, and offers workshops for teachers on assessment and the use of data to improve student learning.
Lee is currently living in Lethbridge, Alberta with his wife Carol with whom he shares a love of travel and adventure.
Kim Kovacs
Kim is passionate about teaching and lifelong learning. She joined the Maple Bear team in the Spring of 2017 and has had the pleasure of providing in school training to schools in Brazil and Morocco. In addition, Kim has enjoyed coaching and mentoring school leaders and new school start-ups and has had the privilege of facilitating Initial Training workshops. Kim has also facilitated various Central Training workshops on Early Childhood Education, Literacy and Language, and those designed specifically for new Maple Bear teachers.
Kim draws upon her 30-year career in teaching and educational leadership in Winnipeg, which has included roles as classroom teacher, resource teacher, and Principal, specializing in second language learning and supporting immersion schools. Kim has a deep passion for early literacy and language learning. When Kim is not working in schools, you can find her in her gardens or walking the forest trails in nearby parks.
Rick Kraychuk
Rick joined the Maple Bear Faculty in January of 2018 as part of the quality assurance team. He has 37 years of experience in education as teacher, counsellor, and administrator at all levels from grades one through twelve. During his career, Rick worked in Northern Manitoba and Winnipeg then later internationally in Cairo and Guangzhou. He also participated with Project Teach in Haiti and Project Overseas in Ghana to help regional teachers further develop their skills.
Rick received his Bachelor of Education from the University of Winnipeg and two Post Baccalaureates from the University of Manitoba in Math/Science Education and another in Counselling. He has his Administrators certification and was also the coordinator of his school divisions Continuing Education/After Hours Program.
Currently, Rick and his wife of 39 years live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and enjoy their six grandchildren. When not running nana and pops daycare, he enjoys traveling and working around the house.
Karen Kroft
Karen is a passionate and committed educator. She joined the Maple Bear team in 2018 and has thoroughly enjoyed the opportunities to provide training for schools in Brazil both in person and on-line. Karen had the opportunity to extend her last training assignment to include a week of additional training in supporting Students with Special Needs.
Karen has over 30 years of experience in teaching and educational leadership in Winnipeg as well as in an International School in Honduras. Karen’s roles have included early and middle years classroom teacher, Resource teacher, EAL teacher, Literacy Support teacher and Reading Recovery teacher. Karen has a passion for early literacy, language learning and assessment and has presented numerous workshops in the areas of Running Records, Guided Reading, Balanced Literacy and Assessment. Karen has extensive experiences as a case manager supporting families and students with Special Needs. Karen has worked as a faculty advisor with the University of Winnipeg supporting teacher candidates in Early and Middle Years schools.
When not involved with schools, Karen enjoys time with family especially with her grandchildren, connecting with friends, walking, yoga, traveling, gardening, and reading.
Carole Kuryk
Carole Kuryk was thrilled to join the Maple Bear team in 2015. As a University of Manitoba graduate with a Post Baccalaureate In Education, Carole willingly shares her background knowledge (Early Years Education, Reading Recovery and Resource). Having experience as a faculty advisor with the University of Manitoba and as a sessional instructor, Carole feels privileged to be guiding young teachers as they learn and adopt Canadian methodology. Most recently, Carole has in-serviced Brazilian teachers on differentiated instruction (ways to meet the varying learning styles of students). Watching young children develop their potential as they grow to be the citizens of tomorrow is certainly a passion for Carole.
Jo-Anne Lalonde
Jo-Anne Lalonde started her career in 1988 at the Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. She has a wealth of teaching experience in the classroom as well as in her role of instructional leader. She holds a Master’s Degree in Second Language Teaching from the University of Ottawa. Her teaching career includes experience as a classroom teacher, as an Educational Consultant for learners of french and for new immigrants to Canada. She also worked as an Educational Consultant for The New Teacher Induction Program of Ontario. Jo-Anne continues to be a passionate learner and now works as a part time supply teacher and consultant. Because of her passion for teaching second languages, and her hope to travel abroad, Jo-Anne is looking forward to be part of the Maple Bear family in 2021.
Kerry Lamming
Kerry’s educational career included teaching at every grade level from Kindergarten to Grade 12, before becoming a Principal at both the Elementary and Secondary levels. He has always had a strong interest in the individual needs of his students and obtained his Specialist qualifications in Special Education in order to develop greater expertise in meeting those needs through differentiated instructional practices.
During his career as Principal, he became the School Board Lead related to the Ontario School Effectiveness Framework, working collaboratively for a number of years with all of the Principals and their staff, in the development and implementation of School Improvement Planning. The focus of this process was to build capacity within the school community, with the priority goals of building the best learning environment, while assisting each student to achieve the greatest success possible.
For the past 6 years, Kerry has been a Principal Coach, working with Secondary Principals in Toronto and Northern Ontario. In this role he supported the principals, as they developed capacity as Instructional Leaders in the areas of Literacy and Numeracy, while collaborating with them and their academic teams in further developing their evidence-based instructional strategies.
Kerry lives in the growing community of Russell, southeast of Ottawa and is excited to work with Maple Bear Global Schools, in both Quality Assurance, as well as a Teacher Trainer.
Janice Leroux
Janice spent 32 years in the Manitoba school system as an Elementary and Middle Years classroom teacher, Behaviour Resource teacher, Vice Principal in a K-12 French Immersion school, and Principal of two K-6 schools.
Janice is passionate about early literacy and during her last tenure as principal, her school received the Manitoba Childcare Educaring Award for developing partnerships and innovative early literacy programming with and for their pre-school community. In 2012, Janice was the proud recipient of the Manitoba Reading Association Crocus Award: Administrator.
Janice joined Maple Bear in 2012 as principal of Maple Bear Vietnam and in 2013, continued as an Interim Principal and Trainer in Brazil. From 2015-2018, she worked with the Central Office Team in Sao Paulo as the Director and then Associate Director of Maple Bear Brazil focusing on leadership, teacher and coordinator training, school excellence, curriculum implementation, and assessment. Janice resides in Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba and continues to enjoy her on-going work with Maple Bear through various training opportunities.
Kristina Lukianenko
Kristina is a retired teacher who has taught in the French Immersion programme for 30+ years. She lives in Ottawa, Ontario. Kristina’s past experiences in education also include teaching and taking on an administrative role in the International Language programme at local school boards. She has also taught at an international school in Europe. During the course of her career, Kristina has had the opportunity to mentor new teachers in the schools where she has taught.
Kristina believes that we can all learn from each other and that working collaboratively benefits both students and teachers. She is part of the Maple Bear training team.
Colleen MacDonald Macleod
Colleen MacDonald MacLeod is a graduate of St Francis Xavier University 1973-74 with BA and B.Ed. and a Certificate in Educational Technology from Cape Breton University 2002. The Strait Regional School Board employed her for 32 years, teaching elementary education at Port Hastings School, NS; Port Hood Consolidated, NS; Bayview Education Centre, in Port Hood, NS, Canada. Upon her retirement, she took the opportunity to travel and has spent time in schools in Oman, Egypt and Kenya. In 2011 she began working as a Maple Bear trainer and more recently as an Initial Trainer.
Colleen lives in Judique, NS with her husband Archie and volunteers with ‘Inverness County Cares’ providing educational and daily life support to the 280 students of the St Charles Lwanga School in Ruai, Nairobi.
John Mackle
John lives in Toronto with his wife Susan. They have 4 wonderful grandchildren that keep them both very busy. John enjoyed a 37 year career in Catholic education in Ontario, serving as teacher, Vice Principal, Principal, Superintendent and Director of Education.
Once retired, he accepted a 4 year appointment as Director of Programme/Principal of an International school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This was an exciting new adventure which provided the opportunity to work directly with students, staff and parents as well as travel extensively in SE Asia to both market the school and recruit students.
In 2018, John joined Maple Bear and has been involved in Quality Assurance work throughout Brazil.
Allison Macfarlane
Allison Macfarlane has taught a myriad of subject areas and in many capacities from Kindergarten to Grade 10 in Ontario and British Columbia, Canada. She prides herself on being a lifelong learner and has spent a career engaged in investigating and honing her skills in new best practices. In addition to her love of working with students of all ages she has demonstrated a passion towards instructional leadership. Allison has led many workshops for teachers in her school and district; most often in the areas of literacy and assessment. After retiring in June 2020, she accepted a position with University of British Columbia (Okanagan) as an Intern Observer supporting and guiding teacher trainees in their final practicum. Allison lives in Kelowna, BC but looks forward to the international opportunities that await working as a trainer within the Maple Bear faculty.
Denise Maisonneuve
Denise has over 30 years of experience in education. She graduated from the University of Ottawa with a degree in Psychology and her Bachelor of Education and began her career in French Immersion schools. Thereafter, she taught in French schools, while also obtaining her Master’s degree in Special Education (re-education of reading and writing). She worked in various grades from K-8, and took on various roles such as classroom teacher (regular stream and behavioural classes), resource teacher and consultant. A lifelong learner, Denise then obtained her qualifications to work with deaf and hard of hearing children. She developed a passion for this field which is where she spent the rest of her career. She led many workshops in the areas of deafness, literacy, and student engagement for French teachers throughout eastern Ontario. She was also appointed to the Ontario Ministry’s Advisory Council on Special Education (MACSE) for 5 years.
After retiring, Denise accepted a position working with special needs students. She teaches them how to use technology software and apps to achieve success in the classroom.
As a trainer with the Maple Bear Faculty she now looks forward to bringing her experience and leadership to help other teachers develop their craft.
Tony Makowski
Tony received his Bachelor of Physical Education and Bachelor of Education degrees at the University of Calgary. He was granted a Masters of Education degree in Instructional Leadership from Gonzaga University, Washington. Tony has served as a teacher, consultant, vice principal and principal for 32 years with the Calgary Catholic School District.
He also worked for 3 years in the Education Faculty at St. Mary’s University in Calgary, teaching courses in Instructional Strategies; Ethics and Social Justice to students who were in their final year of teacher preparation. Later, as a Practicum Advisor at St. Mary’s, he provided mentorship to student teachers progressing through their final teaching practicum. One of the most satisfying experiences in his teaching career was the three and a half years spent as Curriculum Coordinator at Mount Saint Agnes Academy in Hamilton, Bermuda. There, Tony played an important role in assisting staff and students in successfully adopting the Canadian curriculum.
Tony has served for 8 years on the Executive of the Health and Physical Education Council of the Alberta Teachers’ Association. He has presented at numerous education conferences and teacher workshops throughout his career. Tony is presently employed as a guest teacher / administrator in Calgary and as a trainer for Maple Bear Global Schools.
Elvira Markovich
Elvira has worked as an educator in Winnipeg for 36 years. Her roles included classroom teacher, enrichment facilitator, Resource and EAL teacher. Most of her experience has been in French Immersion schools from K to grade 7. Elvira speaks French and Italian and is learning Spanish. She is passionate about teaching second languages and developing strong literacy and numeracy skills.
She believes that one of the keys to education is collaboration - sharing ways to engage and motivate students through activity-based learning. She also values mentoring. Being a trainer with Maple Bear provides her with the opportunity to share her experience and knowledge and to continue to develop her skills in these key areas. Elvira joined Maple Bear as a trainer in 2019.
She enjoys traveling and meeting new people, photography, quilting, hiking and cycling.
“True leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders.”
Claire Maxwell
Claire lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She has a Special Education Certificate and a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration. She has over 25 years experience in Public Dducation. Her experiences are vast and include teaching in elementary, middle years and high school classrooms. She has been a High School Vice Principal, Elementary and Middle Years Principal, as well as a District Coordinator of Student Services.
Claire enjoys her role as a Maple Bear Trainer and is always open to new experiences.
Carole McCurry
Carole has 33 years of experience in Kindergarten to grade 2 classrooms. She taught Reading Recovery© and has provided literacy support to students in Kindergarten to grade 5. She was the lead on a Kindergarten committee where the team developed a common report card, assessment document, as well as planned and provided professional learning opportunities for the kindergarten teachers in the division. Carole facilitated a variety of professional learning experiences for various school divisions in Manitoba throughout her career.
Carole ran a child led, play-based classroom that was Reggio inspired. She believe in the power of play, learning outside and following the lead of the children.
Carole is a curriculum writer and trainer for Maple Bear Global Schools.
Cheryl McMahon
Cheryl McMahon, a Maple Bear trainer residing in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, brings with her 41 years of teaching experience. Having served as a classroom teacher, literacy specialist, teacher mentor, and special needs teacher, Cheryl is well-equipped with a wealth of knowledge. Living in the central region of Canada, in Winnipeg, Cheryl is enthusiastic about applying her extensive teaching background to her role as a trainer at Maple Bear Schools.
Debra Melle
Debra Melle has over thirty-five years experience as an educator. In addition to her career as a classroom teacher, she was a Kindergarten to Grade 12 Principal, an Instructional Consultant for two Saskatchewan School Divisions and an Instruction and Curriculum Consultant for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education. Debra also served as president of the Saskatchewan Middle Years Association and on the Board of Directors of the Association of Middle Level Educators.
Debra is passionate about getting students engaged and excited about writing and working to help them build skills and achieve success with the process of writing. She believes that those who teach the craft should do the craft and models this herself as a writer. Through out her career she has enjoyed collaborating with teachers and providing on-site instructional support and professional learning opportunities.
An acreage in Regina, Saskatchewan is home for Debra and her husband who are parents to three adult children and grandparents to three highly active boys. She is thrilled to be a part of the Maple Bear Trainer team!
Carla Miller
Carla Miller is a Trainer with Maple Bear Global Schools, residing in Regina, Saskatchewan, with her husband and two adult children. Prior to her current role with Maple Bear, Carla dedicated 35 years to teaching in schools across Saskatchewan. Her professional experience extends to providing Speech and Language programs, serving as an acting Administrator in schools, and conducting Summer sessions at the University of Regina for interns in the Faculty of Education.
Heather Minielly
Heather has a deep belief that all students are capable of learning and her experiences reflect this. She has taught special education classes and Reading Recovery and led a collaborative research project to improve outcomes for students with learning disabilities in mathematics. After years of teaching students in all grades from JK – 8, Heather assumed various leadership roles supporting teachers and system leaders: curriculum consultant, student achievement officer with the Ontario Ministry of Education, school principal, and writer and instructor of mathematics additional qualification courses for teachers. She has presented at provincial conferences including the Ontario Association of Math Educators Conference and the Ontario Council for Exceptional Children Special Education Conference. Heather has recently retired from her full-time career to spend more time with friends and family skiing, kayaking and hiking in the beautiful Bruce Peninsula along the shores of Georgian Bay. She is excited to continue to support educators and students in her new role as a trainer with Maple Bear schools.
Bunny Mitchell
Bernice (Bunny) Mitchell has over 35 year’s professional experience in the field of education. She has taught students in the primary, elementary, junior high and high school grades and students with special needs. She has worked as a Student Services teacher (resource and counselling). Her leadership experience includes positions as a district coordinator, school vice-principal and principal at the elementary, high school and post-secondary levels. Bunny has delivered professional development on several topics including numeracy and literacy, social emotional needs, learning strategies, differentiated instruction and behavioral management.
Bunny holds a Master’s in Education (Educational Psychology), Pre-Master’s (Counselling) and a Bachelor of Education. She holds Level 1 and Level 2 School Administrator’s Certificates. Her roles within Maple Bear include in-school training and initial training, along with mathematics implementation guide writing for grades 3 and 4. In addition, Bunny has conducted several central office math workshops and has helped prepare trainers to conduct initial training.
Vanda Mitri
Vanda Mitri, based in Brandon, Manitoba, has dedicated 40 years to education. Her career spanned Early Years, Middle Years, and High School, working with students in Southwestern Manitoba and Western Ontario. Vanda also taught at Brandon University in the Faculty of Education, engaging with undergraduate teachers.
Beyond classroom teaching, Vanda supported teachers and students in a Specialist role. She collaborated with adult learners in professional development for effective teaching. Vanda holds an undergraduate degree in science and math, an Education degree, and a Master of Education degree in Curriculum and Learning.
Colleen Nick-Johnson
Colleen has over thirty years’ experience as an educator. While the first half of her career was as a classroom teacher, she went on to become the Middle Years Consultant for RETSD in Winnipeg, Canada and then into school administration at the Early and Middle Years level. Colleen is an instructional leader with a broad knowledge of Canadian curriculum, philosophy, and pedagogy. She has participated on Manitoba Education Committees involving Middle Years Philosophy and Curriculum Implementation and is a published author of several educational articles. She has served as the president of the Manitoba Middle Years Association and is the recipient of the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence.
Colleen was excited to join the Maple Bear team in 2018 and has had the privilege of doing in-school training in Brazil and conducting Assessment Webinars. She is passionate about teaching, considers herself a lifelong learner and looks forward to continuing to help teachers and students learn and grow. She is also excited and humbled to build on the friendships she has been so fortunate to have made during her time in Brazil. When not training, Colleen enjoys walking her two Shelties, gardening, and spending time with family and friends.
Leah Obach
Leah Obach is an educator from rural Manitoba and the co-founder of KG Education. She has at the taught early years, middle years and high school levels. Leah currently works as a technology coach for her school division, working with K-12 students and teachers to support meaningful technology integration. She also enjoys working as a trainer for Maple Bear Global Schools. Leah is passionate about improving education through strong classroom practice, ongoing professional growth and collaboration with fellow educators.
Wade Oberg
I have 32 years experience in the Canadian School System with 25 of those years as an in-school administrator. I have a B.Sc. degree in mathematics and physics, a B.Ed. and a M.Ed. in education administration. I have taught in various school settings in Saskatchewan, Canada and currently, I am working as a Trainer and Quality Assurance Reviewer for Maple Bear Global Schools. My wife and I reside in British Columbia, Canada. We have raised 4 daughters who have made us proud and continue to do so as successful adults.
Justine OGrady
Justine has over 34 years of experience in education, as a science teacher and a school administrator (Vice Principal and Principal). She has a BSc and BEd from St. Francis Xavier University (Nova Scotia, Canada), and a MEd in Educational Leadership from Charles Sturt University (Australia). She has always been passionate about student success and well being, and working collaboratively with colleagues to support students in their learning. Justine joined Maple Bear GS in July of 2023 as the Science Lead and has enjoyed working with the Maple Bear team to renew the science curriculum, with a focus on best practices in curriculum design and delivery and assessment strategies. Justine lives in Burlington, Ontario, with her husband Mike and has two married children.
Jane Peck
Jane lives in Winnipeg with her husband. She is passionate about learning and is a strong advocate for inclusive education. Jane’s professional background spans 35 years - classroom teacher, primary to high school, French, music and drama, student services, literacy and numeracy support, resource, and counseling. Since retiring in 2015, she has been fortunate to continue her work in education, promoting best practices in inclusive education, literacy, and numeracy, providing direct support for classroom teachers, and creating individual programming for students with diverse needs.
Jane loves collaborating with educators to create authentic, meaningful, and compassionate environments, and finding creative ways to support all children’s leaning.
Jane joined Maple Bear in 2018 as an in-school trainer. Jane loves meeting fellow educators and is inspired by the passion and dedication of Maple Bear teachers and administration.
Joyleen Podgursky
Joyleen is a Canadian educator with a passion for learning. Over 30 years she has brought this passion and commitment as a classroom teacher, special education teacher, consultant, coordinator, and administrator for students from Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12. Joyleen built her expertise by earning her Master’s in Curriculum & Instruction and Certificate of Extended Studies in Inclusive Education. All while being the mother of two, she juggled instruction at the University of Regina, and waking in the wee hours of the morning to lead fitness classes in the community. Over her career, Joyleen has worked with hundreds of teachers as a consultant and as a learner. She has seen how the power of collaboration in action builds student success. Now that her children have grown, Joyleen is excited to be expanding her philosophy of collaboration outside Canadian borders with Maple Bear.
Janet Potter
Janet Potter is a retired teacher, resource teacher, mother and grandmother living in Winnipeg, Canada with her husband of 40 years. After working in the elementary school system for 35 years, she retired and has enjoyed working as a trainer and writer for Maple Bear Schools in Korea, Brazil and Mexico since 2014. She enjoys collaborating with teachers as they arduously endeavor to create their own wonderfully rich and meaningful learning environments where children can joyfully grow, acquire knowledge and excel. Her special interests are developing motivated readers, writers, and problem solvers, listeners, speakers and thinkers who can apply their talents in meaningful ways.
Cheryl Prokopanko
Cheryl Prokopanko has taught at early years, middle years, and senior years in Manitoba. She also has instructed preservice teachers in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and has provided professional learning opportunities for educators in Australia, China, and Brazil. Cheryl worked as coordinator in the Learning Support and Technology Unit at the Manitoba Department of Education where her specialty was Literacy with Information and Communication Technology across the Curriculum.
Most recently, Cheryl was Director of International Education for the province of Manitoba and in that capacity visited several Maple Bear schools. Cheryl has provided professional development for Maple Bear and most recently has written the Maple Bear Levels 6-9 Digital Literacy and Digital Citizenship curriculum.
Barb Pullan
Barb graduated with a BEd. from the University of British Columbia and has 33 years teaching experience. She has taught in remote communities in Manitoba and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Barb has experience teaching students in elementary grades with her primary expertise in Early Years and Kindergarten. She has mentored teachers in training throughout her career. Barb believes in developing classroom environments that promote play-based learning and instill literacy and numeracy in young learners. She has been recognized for creating school-wide programs that foster a positive school climate in which students work together and treat each other with kindness and respect.
Barb joined Maple Bear as a Trainer in 2019. She thoroughly enjoys working with the teachers, teaching assistants, coordinators and owners, supporting them to deliver the Maple Bear curriculum.
Barb lives with her husband in Kelowna, B.C. and has two adult children.
Jan Ramsay
Jan has enjoyed over thirty-five years of teaching and administration within the Canadian school system. Although she has taught at all levels, her focus for most of her career has been on early learning and primary education. After teaching at the primary level for several years, Jan moved into the role of Elementary Principal, which she enjoyed for eighteen years - but always kept her foot in the classroom, as this was where she experienced so much joy.
Jan is a passionate lifelong learner, and over the years she has presented workshops and worked with educators on topics ranging from reaching students with diverse learning challenges, the role of play and outdoor learning in early childhood education, and the integration of music and art to enhance literacy programs.
Jan lives in the small village of Naramata, British Columbia with her husband, Tony. She loves to hike, walk and explore the outdoors when she is not nose-deep in a good book!
Ken Reimer
Ken Reimer is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Winnipeg (Canada). Prior to this, he had a twenty-five year career in Canada’s public school system. This included positions as a mainstream, special education, and resource teacher, guidance counselor, and school administrator/principal in six different schools in two different school divisions. Ken Reimer holds a Ph.D. in Education (2014) from the University of Manitoba.
Ruth Robillard
Ruth Robillard moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia in the early 80’s from her hometown of Montreal, Quebec. She studied education at McGill University and completed Master Degrees from Acadia and Mount Saint Vincent Universities. Her 40-year teaching career includes experience as a Classroom and Resource teacher as well as a Literacy Consultant and Teacher Leader training grade 1 teachers in Reading Recovery. She just returned from living overseas for 3 years in Abu Dhabi, UAE where she combined her love of teaching with travel. As a Trainer with Maple Bear Global Schools, Ruth is able to passionately offer professional training and support to teachers, assisting them with current instructional strategies. In her free time, Ruth loves to be outdoors in nature, whether it’s hiking and biking in summer or snowshoeing and skating in winter.
Robyn Rosaasen-Milligan
Robyn had a wonderful career in teaching, working in Early Childhood and Elementary Education for most of her 28-year career. As well as valuing her experiences as an early childhood educator, early years classroom teacher and resource teacher, Robyn loved mentoring teacher candidates as they developed into confident professionals.
She believes a teacher’s role is to support their students’ explorations, discoveries, mistakes, growth, and journey in becoming life-long learners. Robyn enjoys creating learning activities that encourage children to wonder, pose questions, discover, and be excited about learning.
Robyn recognizes strong relationships form the foundation for the best teaching and learning experiences. She understands that facilitating teamwork and providing professional development for staff is essential to a positive, and progressive school climate.
Robyn lives in a charming, historic home in the heart of Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was thrilled to join Maple Bear in 2019 and participate in the Maple Bear Foundational Training Series in 2020. She feels privileged to be guiding teachers as they learn and adopt Canadian methodology and she embraces the new teaching, learning, and travel opportunities her role as a Maple Bear trainer provides.
Pamela Rudy
Pamela has 40 years of service in the Canadian education system. She has worked as a teacher and as an administrator both at the elementary and senior years levels. Pamela has a wide range of experience from Nursery to Grade 12, including resource, counselling, off-campus programs and working with students at risk. She also has experience working in multi-age classrooms. Pamela has delivered professional development on several topics including literacy, numeracy, learning strategies, differentiated instruction, behavioural management, character education and assessment.
Pamela joined Maple Bear three years ago allowing her to continue to do the work she loves -- training teachers and working with children.
Ghada Sadaka
Ghada believes that all children can learn and reach their full potential when given the opportunity, effective teaching and appropriate resources. She has taught English and French as a second language, Special Education, Reading , Writing and led an action research project for the school board in Ontario Canada on how to fully engage students in learning so they become critical thinkers and problem solvers in society. She became an administrator of English and French Immersion Elementary schools in Canada. She served as a system principal in Human Resource Services.
Ghada wrote several units and books for an Ontario publisher focusing on the Tribes teaching and Instructional Intelligence strategies.She presented at several conferences in Toronto.
Ghada has recently retired from her full career to spend more time with her family and grandchild in Toronto and traveling to new places. Ghada is excited to start her new career to continue to support educators and students by joining the Maple Bear faculty in Brazil.
Joe Sheik
Joe Sheik holds an MA in Canadian History from the University of Western Ontario and a B Ed from the University of Toronto. He holds certificates as a Primary, Junior and Intermediate specialist and dual specialist in History and Dramatic Arts. Before becoming a Principal, Joe has worked as a secondary teacher and department head, elementary teacher, teacher of gifted students and a School District Consultant in Curriculum and School Improvement. Joe is the recipient of the Award of Distinction for outstanding contributions to education in London, Ontario. Joe has had a very successful 22 year career as a Principal and Vice Principal of elementary Schools in Ontario, Canada. Joe taught history for two years in the faculty of History and worked for three years as an instructor at the Faculty of Education, both at Western University. Joe has published a number of history books, textbooks - his proudest a CIDA-sponsored work on teaching Canada its World Connections and Social Justice. Joe is past Director of UNESCO’s Time Project. He has lead workshops for teachers of all grade levels world wide both in person and online. Joe has presented at UNESCO conferences in the Netherlands, and Time Project Conferences in Greece, Taiwan, Croatia, Turkey and Canada. Joe is thrilled be part of the Maple Bear academic team in Canada and is currently one of the two project leads on the Trent project.
Charlotte Siemens
Charlotte Siemens has been with Maple Bear since 2018. Until that time, she was working for the Abbotsford School District in British Columbia, Canada. Charlotte has worked in both private and public schools. In the last few years, she has been more involved with early childhood education. She has taught internationally in Kurdistan, Iraq and spent a few years in rural Nicaragua.
Charlotte’s undergraduate degrees are from Manitoba: a Bachelor of Arts from
University of Manitoba, and a Bachelor of Education at the University of Winnipeg. During her time at UWinnipeg, she worked closely with the ESL professor and was an official marker of the CANTEST for the university. After she moved back to her home province, she obtained a Masters of Administration from the University of British Columbia.
She loves being around the energy of children, and seeing their academic, social and physical growth. In addition, it is a great joy for her to work with other educators and mentor new teachers. Charlotte has been a teacher as well as administrator at elementary, middle and high school. Her last position before retirement from the school district was at the district level as “Principal of Learning Services” supporting schools with students with Special Needs.
In her free time, she can be found hiking a mountain, riding a bike, or curled up with a good mystery. She lives close to Vancouver, BC.
Evelyn Sillers
Evelyn received a BED from the University of Regina in 1985, and lives in the small Saskatchewan town of Avonlea where she dedicated 31 years of her life to educating elementary students from Grades K to 8. During that time, she was able to give back to her profession by working with interns as a Co-op teacher. Upon retirement, she enjoyed working for the University of Regina as a Faculty Advisor to interns. To this day, she continues to sub-teach at all grade levels as she still enjoys connecting with students.
She has been enjoying the opportunity to work virtually with teachers since joining Maple Bear in 2019 and looks forward to in-person training resuming when travel restrictions lift. She is very happy to have found out about Maple Bear, and only wishes she could have known about this company sooner. Maple Bear is a first class company with first class educators at work.
Kelly Simpson
Kelly Simpson has taught since 1988 in three rural schools and finished his career in Melfort, Saskatchewan. He has been very involved in coaching ice hockey, baseball, lacrosse, volleyball, basketball, track and field, and archery. His teaching subjects varied in the rural schools but mainly Physical Education, and he specialized in the Middle Years in Melfort. After retiring, Kelly taught in China and got to experience a whole new culture.
His philosophy is to build confidence in students so they can work to achieve academically and socially. He is looking forward to connecting with other teachers to share his experiences and assist them in their needs.
Marc Sprac
Marc Sprack has worked in public education for over 30 years. He began his career shortly after completing his university studies teaching English as a Second language in Spain and France. This is where he first developed a love of teaching and on his return to Canada, he began working for the Toronto District School Board as a French language instructor. He later became an instructional leader with the Toronto District School Board supporting some of the most underserved school populations in the city. His passion for both equitable access to excellence and his keen interest in key instructional approaches in teaching and learning led him into the role of elementary school principal. He appreciated the privilege of working with students, community, and teachers to build strong learning environments that served to engage students in active and relevant learning. He was seconded to work for the Ontario Ministry of Education where he traveled throughout the province supporting system leaders in the develop and implementation of district and school learning goals. During this time, he had the benefit of learning with and from many skilled educators who focused on the development of high yield strategies to improve both language and numeracy skills.
He returned to the TDSB where he was promoted to the position of Supervisory Officer for the Toronto District School Board. As a Supervisory Officer he was responsible for the operations, improvement planning, budget and staffing of 25 schools in the downtown core of the city serving 11,000 students and families.
Marc takes pleasure in keeping active in the outdoors. He plays tennis, volleyball and enjoys hiking and taking long urban walks. He has a passion for travel and learning about new cultures, languages, and food. He has a one daughter who lives in Victoria, British Columbia and a much-loved beagle named Sydney.
Leanne Van Bergen
Leanne Van Bergen (B.Ed.) is thrilled to serve as a trainer with the Maple Bear faculty. With 31 years as a teacher, Leanne has held positions in K-12 schools in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, teaching all grades between 1-12, ranging from all core grade 6/7 courses to senior year math and history courses. Leanne’s experience as a Basic French teacher for grades 1-12, provides insight into additional language learning at all levels.
During the last 17 years in public schools, Leanne enjoyed her role as Team Leader and Learning Coach where she had the pleasure of mentoring teachers of all grade levels K-12 in research-based methodology in numeracy, literacy, and student engagement.
Leanne is currently also employed as a Practicum Advisor to teacher candidates for both the University of Winnipeg and the University of Manitoba. Leanne enjoys spending summers at Victoria Beach and somewhere warm for part of the winters.
Nicole Vinet
Nicole Vinet is a program writer with Maple Bear, and is currently working on the Year 2 Math support document. She participated in Central Training in Brazil for the first time in 2018 and enjoyed facilitating Professional Development on Math with enthusiastic Year One and Two teachers. She has been teaching for 25 years in Manitoba, Canada with students ranging from Preschool to Grade 8. She began her work with teachers as a literacy mentor, and this role gradually moved into Mathematics. She developed a passion for Numeracy which eventually led her to working as a Numeracy Coach, supporting teachers in 16 schools in her School Division. She is passionate about building capacity in teachers, and especially about building positive mathematical mindsets in both students and teachers.
Donna Ward
Prior to becoming a Maple Bear trainer in 2016, Donna enjoyed a career as an elementary teacher for 33 years in Carleton Place, Ontario. She is passionate about children, education, travel and adventure, so working as a trainer is a dream come true for her! Donna finds it extremely gratifying and rewarding that Maple Bear teachers and administrators are so deeply committed to providing quality education for their students. She is thrilled to be a part of the Maple Bear family!
Trish Ward
Trish Ward has been working as a writer and a trainer with Maple Bear since the Spring of 2014. Her experience has been exciting, challenging and, for someone whose whole adult life has been about students and education, enormously satisfying.
Before joining Maple Bear Trish was involved in schools and education in a variety of capacities. Her classroom experience included both English and French Immersion programs, Special Education, Adult Literacy and university post-graduate instructing. School support positions she enjoyed included Resource Teacher, Counsellor and divisional Early Childhood Consultant.
As the area of early childhood had always been a particular passion, it was indeed a joy for her to be able to establish, and become the manager of, the Department of Community Initiatives within the River East Transcona School Division in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Working with Maple Bear has allowed her to continue supporting teachers and parents during these precious early years, ensuring that they are always “a time for learning and a time for joy”!
Glen Watson
Glen is a retired Principal from the Toronto District School Board. He has a variety of experience in elementary schools, Special Education, French as a Second Language, and Outdoor Education. He believes in inclusive education and is an advocate for all students. He has a passion for Early Years Education, Literacy, and Numeracy.
Over the years Glen facilitated the implementation of many new school initiatives. Most recent were the pilot project for Ontario’s Full Day Kindergarten, and the International Baccalaureate authorization of his school.
Believing that education is a partnership, Glen has worked hard to develop relationships with all students, staff, parents, the community, and agencies that serve the community.
Other interests Glen enjoys include traveling, cooking and cottage living.
Shelley Wilson
Shelley Wilson has been teaching for over 32 years after receiving her degree and nomination for the gold medal through the University of Manitoba. The majority of her teaching was within RETSD in Winnipeg where leadership skills and an expertise in the elementary years developed. As a Maple Bear Teacher Trainer she encourages teachers to build a foundation for creative, differentiated and continual learning. Collaboration to assist with child-centered learning using a co-operative group focus that incorporates multiple intelligence strategies is vital. Shelley has a passion to develop people who are socially responsible, problem-solving and self-reflective individuals. As a trainer she provides skills to empower those in teaching to afford a foundation of learning to affect change that will benefit society while exploring their talents within a global community
Elaine Wilson
Elaine has been an educator in Manitoba for over 35 years.
Her career includes K- 9 classroom and physical education teacher, K-12 guidance counselor, high school resource, and K-8 school administrator. Elaine also worked as a Faculty Advisor for the University of Manitoba and taught the Educational Assistant Course at Red River Community College. A priority in her education journey was professional development in the areas of literacy, inclusion, behaviour intervention, and career education.
Elaine was thrilled to continue her love for lifelong learning and education when she joined the Maple Bear team as a trainer in 2018. Each training opportunity - both in person and virtually- has been most rewarding in building relationships, working collaboratively with the Maple Bear school teams in pursuing their professional growth goals, as well as supporting students in their learning and growing.
Elaine is excited about her recent role as Maple Bear career counselor as well as future training opportunities. She is currently providing support for high school counselors in the planning and delivery of their career education programs.