Biographies

On June 3, 2023, Teresita Chiarella was acclaimed as the CCSTA President after serving as Vice-President. Over the years, Teresita has been volunteering on various Catholic education boards and councils. Prior to her role as Vice-President, she represented Manitoba as a Director on the CCSTA Board. Teresita also served on the Christ the King School Board for eight years, and three years as Chair. As a member of the Manitoba Catholic Schools Board of Consultors, she, along with other members, assists both Archbishops of Saint Boniface and Winnipeg in fulfilling their responsibility for Catholic schools under Canon law. Until recently, Teresita was also a member of the Catholic Education Council of the Archdiocese of St. Boniface.

Teresita worked as a Human Resource Practitioner for many years and later completed her Master of Education Degree. She enjoyed teaching professional adults for years before becoming the Executive Director of the Manitoba Federation of Independent Schools (MFIS) for six years. As the Executive Director, she promoted Article 26 (3) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which recognizes that “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 strongly believes that Catholic education is a valuable choice that parents have the right to make for their children, and it is a choice that needs to be protected.

Teresita and her husband, Anthony, are active members of St. Timothy Parish in Winnipeg and participate in various roles and ministries. They have one daughter who currently resides in Montreal.

After having represented ACSTA on the CCSTA Board of Directors for two years, Harry Salm was acclaimed as Vice President at the 2023 Annual General Meeting. Harry was first elected as a Catholic School Trustee for Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools in 2007. Since then, he’s served on many different Board committees and represented the Board (school board?) on Provincial organizations as well, including Teacher Bargaining and Alberta School Boards Association. Harry served as president of the Alberta Catholic School Trustees’ Association from 2021-2023 and is presently serving as Past President. Prior to being elected as a Trustee, Harry was President of the Alberta Development Officers Association. Harry and his family settled in Strathmore, AB over 30 years ago and since then, he’s been actively involved in his parish through various ministries, including the Knights of Columbus. Most recently, Harry has assisted with two major fundraising campaigns supporting the building of a new church.

Patrick J. Daly was named CCSTA Past President in June ,2023 after previously serving as President for two years.

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.

Rose Burton Spohn is honoured to serve as CCSTA’s first female Executive Director. Rose began her career in Catholic education as a secondary English, French, and guidance teacher with the London District Catholic School Board. In 2005, she accepted a position as Education Officer with the Ministry of Education, where she helped launch and support the implementation of Ontario’s e-learning strategy. Rose continues to support online Catholic education through Catholic Virtual Ontario (CVO) and OCSTA. Prior to joining CCSTA, Rose served the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario for a decade, as Superintendent of Education and Director of Education. Rose is a proud graduate of Catholic elementary and secondary schools in Kitchener, Ontario. She holds a Doctor of Education (2012) and Master of Education (2005) from the University of Calgary, a Bachelor of Education (1991) from Western University, and an Honours Bachelor of Arts (1990) from the University of Waterloo (St. Jerome’s College). She is a current student at Vancouver’s Institute of Interior Design. Passionate advocates of Catholic education, Rose and her husband Michael are members of Mother of God Parish in Goulais River, Ontario, where they are actively involved in the music ministry. In their spare time, Rose and Mike enjoy travelling, reading, watching hockey, attending theatrical productions, and playing cards with their family and friends.

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.