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.

Patrick J. Daly was named CCSTA Past President inJune,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.

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.