Biographies

Patrick J. Daly was acclaimed CCSTA President on June 4, 2021, after previously serving as Vice-President.

Patrick Daly has been a Catholic school trustee for 36 years and has served as Chair of the Hamilton-Wentworth CDSB since 1991.

At the provincial level, Patrick first served as the president of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association (OCSTA) in 1996. During that 2-year tenure Patrick provided leadership to obtain equity in education funding for all students in Ontario. Legislation achieving this milestone was ultimately upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Ten years later, in 2016, Patrick was once again elected to serve as OCSTA’s president and currently serves in that position where he continues to fulfill a role in the shaping of legislation and policies having impact on Catholic education.

Patrick is a recipient of both the CCSTA Higgins Award and the OCSTA Trustee Award of Merit.

Patrick and his wife Carol have four children Michael (wife Robyn), Kyle, Colleen and Monica and are parishioners at Cathedral of Christ The King in Hamilton.

Teresita Chiarella was named the CCSTA Vice President in June 2021, after representing Manitoba on the CCSTA Board of Directors.

Manitoba provides partial (50%) funding for Catholic Schools which are considered “independent schools”. Teresita has served on the Board of Directors of Christ the King School from 2004 to 2012 and was Board Chair for the last three years of her term.

She has been a member of the Manitoba Catholic Schools Board of Consultors since 2017, a consultative body to the Archbishop of Saint Boniface and the Archbishop of Winnipeg to assist them in fulfilling their responsibility under Canon law (Canons 796-805) for Catholic schools in the respective Archdiocese. She is also a member of the Catholic Education Council of the Archdiocese of St. Boniface since 2014.

Teresita worked in the field of Human Resources for many years until she completed her Master of Education Degree. She enjoyed many years teaching professional adults and currently works for the Manitoba Federation of Independent Schools, of which the Catholic Schools are members. In her role as Executive Director, she promotes Article 26 (3) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that states “Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.” This aligns with the Catholic teaching that “parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children.” Teresita believes strongly that Catholic education is a choice that parents have the right to exercise for their children.

Teresita, and her husband, Anthony, have one daughter, Allegra. They belong to St. Timothy Parish in Winnipeg.

Paula Scott was named Past President in 2021 after representing CCSTA as President, Vice President, and Saskatchewan on the CCSTA Board of Directors.

Paula Scott was a teacher in Lloydminster for 5 years, then Calgary for 5 years, before moving back to Lloydminster. Since then she’s been a trustee for 11 years with the Lloydminster Catholic School Division, as well as sitting on the Saskatchewan Catholic School Boards Association Board (SCSBA) of Directors. She’s been Vice-President and President of SCSBA and is currently the Past President.

“When I became a trustee, I really didn’t know a whole lot about being a trustee, and just exactly what that meant,” she explains. “But I was always passionate about Catholic education.”

Paula thoroughly enjoys learning about how many moving parts come together to create a functional Catholic education experience for children across the country. As someone who became Catholic after meeting her husband, having faith-based education options for her children is extremely important.

“I see the difference in our kids at school and elsewhere,” she says. “It’s not just religion class. It permeates everything that we do.”

Paula looks forward to using her new role to help keep Catholic education strong in Canada. She wants to make sure we have a strong voice across the nation. The CCSTA is lucky to have her!

Julian Hanlon is a graduate of the University of Ottawa and Queen’s University, with a Masters of Education (Administration). Prior to joining CCSTA as Executive Director, Mr. Hanlon served the Ottawa Catholic School Board for 36 years as Teacher, Vice-Principal, Principal, Supervisory Officer, Deputy Director and Director of Education. Mr. Hanlon also served as the Chair of CCSTA’s Endowment Fund Committee.

Mr. Hanlon has expertise in the following areas and has made numerous presentations on: decision making and problem solving; staff training; Human Resources; team building; strategic planning, crisis management, Supervision and Evaluation of staff and leadership development.

Mr. Hanlon has served on a number of Board and Community committees, including:

• Catholic Education Foundation of Ottawa (President)
• ONFE – Ottawa Network for Education (Board of Directors/Chair)
• The Ontario Directors’ Study Group (Co-Chair)
• ECCODE – English Catholic Council of Ontario Directors of Education (Chair Sept. 2014)

On a personal note, Mr. Hanlon is married to Claire. He has two daughters and two granddaughters. His recreational interests include golf, skiing, travelling and reading.

Michelle Collett – Executive Assistant

Before joining CCSTA, Michelle served as the Corporate Secretary for the Edmonton Catholic School Division. Previous to that, she served many years as Executive Assistant/Financial Officer with the Alberta Catholic School Trustees’ Association (ACSTA). Her role with ACSTA also involved organizing local, provincial, and national events and maintaining financial records. She brings a wealth of experience in providing administrative and governance support to her position with CCSTA.

Providing passionate support for Catholic education was a hallmark of the time Michelle spent with Edmonton Catholic Schools and ACSTA. She is humbled by the opportunity to continue this important advocacy work through service with CCSTA.

In her spare time, Michelle enjoys cooking, travelling, exercise, hiking in the mountains, reading, and hanging out with her husband, Ken, and their friends.