Executive Team

Management Team

Client Success

Research

Creativity and Innovation

Sales and Marketing

Technology

Administration

Leadership and Literacy Consultants

Other Consultants

Dr. Doug Willms
President

Dr. J. Douglas Willms is the founder of The Learning Bar. He is a Member of the United States National Academy of Education, the Past-President of the International Academy of Education, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He recently held the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Literacy and Human Development for 14 years.

Dr. Willms has published over 200 research articles and monographs pertaining to youth literacy, children’s health, the accountability of schooling systems, and the assessment of national reforms. He developed the Educational Prosperity framework over the course of his career, which is used by jurisdictions in their capacity-building efforts and the development of educational policy. The model has been adopted by The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) for Development, an initiative aimed at building capacity for low- and middle-income countries to monitor progress towards nationally-set targets for improvement. Dr. Willms and his colleagues have developed the questionnaires and the analysis plan for this international study.

Allison Blanco
Managing Director

Allison is the Managing Director with responsibility for the growth and profitability of the Australian operation.  With a Master of Business Law from Southern Cross University, Lismore, in Business Administration from The University of Technology, Sydney and Risk and Governance qualifications from the Governance Institute of Australia, Allison has extensive experience in all aspects of project and operations management. 

Prior to joining The Learning Bar, Allison gained extensive experience during her 10 years at Mars, Incorporated as Chief of Staff and College Director for the Global Legal Function reporting to the General Counsel.  With excellence in operations, including business transformation and finance, Allison led the delivery of a number of global programs for the legal function in the area of finance and compliance.  Prior to that Allison was a senior intellectual property paralegal at the international law firm Baker McKenzie, managing a multimillion-dollar key account. Allison believes that expectations for success play a key role in children achieving their full potential and having the opportunity to thrive.

Fred Yeomans
Chief Technology Officer

Fred is the Chief Technology Officer of The Learning Bar. Bringing over thirty years of technology experience, ranging from satellite operations, military and aerospace, as well as both enterprise and internet software, on projects ranging from small to multi-billion-dollar, Fred applies a broad knowledge of software architecture, technology, and development processes to lead The Learning Bar’s technology team, and to drive a technology vision which solves real problems, and brings real value.

Ethan Young-Lai
Chief Product Officer

Ethan leads the Product Management and Client Success teams here at The Learning Bar. Their objective is to ensure that our products and services are continually evolving to better meet the needs of educators and that our customers receive the world-class service, training, and support required to achieve their goals. Ethan has over 15 years experience in building teams and processes that can help grow a business from start-up to industry leader. A proud father and project manager, Ethan’s commitment to The Learning Bar’s mission, vision, and values is why, after over a decade at The Learning Bar, he is still excited to come to work every single day.

Dr. Danielle Durepos
Chief Research Officer

Danielle leads a responsive research group, and is well experienced in providing a strong supporting role in provincial and state-level initiatives. Danielle and her research group are equipped to assist the Client Success team, often behind the scenes. Danielle frequently prepares responses to questions about the survey measures, underlying statistical methods, or other research techniques that periodically arise from various stakeholders. She provides information about any aspect of the data or findings, conducting statistical analyses, preparing reports based on the findings for meetings, or generally assisting where needed when questions arise.

Stephanie Guignion
Product Manager, EYE

Stephanie holds a BA in History from Bishop’s University and a B. Ed from St. Thomas University. She has completed several professional development courses over the years including project management and adult learning.

Stephanie Guignion brings her 10+ years of classroom teacher experience to The Learning Bar and uses this experience to support educators implementing the various solutions across the company. Her interests include resource development, process improvement & documentation, and early literacy.

In her spare time, she enjoys reading and gardening, and volunteers with several local community organizations.

Melissa Morgan
Director, Client Success

Melissa is our Director of Client Success. She has worked at The Learning Bar since 2015 and can always be counted on to bring her positive, adaptable, and collaborative working style to any project. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from St. Thomas University and continuously works to enhance her skills through professional development courses and mastering new challenges in a variety of roles here at The Learning Bar.

Today, she manages a large client portfolio that includes many of The Learning Bar’s top accounts all while overseeing the delivery and support of customers across our diverse product lines.

Stephanie Richardson
Product Director, Confident Learners

Stephanie is the Product Director, Confident Learners and has been on the Research team for over 6 years. She holds a Masters of Applied Health Services Research from the University of New Brunswick, and is a Project Management Professional (PMP). She finds it especially rewarding to support others to understand and interpret their data, and enjoys having conversations about how school context can help explain results. In her spare time, Stephanie enjoys trying new recipes and playing soccer.

Fiona Dyke
Senior Director, Client Success and Projects
Judy Van Tassel
Human Resources Director
With over 20 years of diverse human resources experience, Judy is passionate about her work and the continued evolution of the HR profession in her province. She is proud to bring that passion to The Learning Bar in her role as Human Resources Director. Judy currently serves as Past-Chair of the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources of New Brunswick (CPHRNB) Board (2019–2025) and as a Director on the CPHR Canada Board (2021–2025). She is honoured to contribute to the growth and development of the HR profession both provincially and nationally.
Judy holds the Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR) designation and is a SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP). She also holds a Business Administration Certificate and a Human Resource Management Certificate from the University of New Brunswick, along with a Certification in Emotional Intelligence from Western University. In addition, she is certified in EQ-i 2.0 and EQ assessments through the Emotional Intelligence Training Company (EITC).
Jonathan Ridgway
Literacy Product Manager

Jonathan is the Literacy Product Manager for The Learning Bar’s Australian Team. Jonathan’s role is to drive the adaptation and implementation of TLB’s literacy products to meet the unique needs of the Australian market.  Prior to working at the Learning Bar, Jonathan was a teacher and principal for 30 years, working in a diverse range of schools in terms of size and socio-economic status.  His school piloted the Tell Them From Me survey when it was first introduced in Australia.  Jonathan’s passion for ensuring students have a strong start when transitioning to school meant he was part of the first network of schools to implement the Early Years Evaluation in Australia.  Jonathan recognised the value of The Learning Bar’s products, and happily joined the company to help champion the products to other Australian schools. 

Lorna Cameron
Strategic Client Success Operations Specialist

Lorna is a member of the Client Success Team. Lorna and the team empower educators by providing them with the knowledge, skills, and strategies needed to collect, review, interpret, share and action their data in meaningful ways. Lorna’s passion is to inspire educators as they collaborate in school planning to activate the power of students’ voices by including students as participants in the school planning process and change-makers in their learning journey. Prior to joining The Learning Bar in 2017, Lorna was an educator and administrator for twenty years. She keeps a finger on the pulse of what is happening in the field of education by maintaining relationships with former colleagues and connecting with educators as part of her current role. Lorna has a BA with first-class honours in Psychology from St. Thomas University (1995) and a B.Ed. with a concentration in Home Economics from the University of New Brunswick (1997).

Lorna has presented two webinars for The Learning Bar. Watch them here!

Carlos Rodriguez
Client Success Manager

Carlos is the Account Success Manager for Early Year Evaluation (EYE) Latin America (2017-2019) and OurSCHOOL / EYE Canada from 2019 to present. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Foreign Language (English) / Education and a Portfolio Based Language Assessment (PBLA) Certified Instructor by the Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks. He currently holds the position of Customer Success Management Level 1 Certification. His teaching experience in Mexico and Canada is with individuals with different cultural background and he was part of the Training Team when EYE was introduced in Ecuador.

He has been a Volunteer as the Jr NBA program coach with Fundy Minor Basketball Association and a soccer coach with Soccer Chaleur. He is currently with Charlotte County United Soccer Club. 

“Every time I have time and the opportunity, I share/teach sport skills (basketball/soccer) with children. My best advise to them (including my 2 sons) is “Practice will make you better”. I like music, and mixing music. I do mobile DJing for private functions.

Riet Scheerlinck
Client Success Manager

Riet joined the Client Success Team in November 2021, supporting clients in achieving their educational goals. Every day she is building customer loyalty and fostering long-term customer relationships by ensuring that customers have a positive experience. Her day is good when she can make her clients happy by actively listening, pinpointing, and solving the issues they encounter. She strongly believes in The Learning Bar’s mission that quality education should be a right for all children. She has a Master’s in Language Arts, specializing in German and English, and a teaching degree from the University of Ghent, Belgium. At the University of Antwerp, she got a degree in International Politics, a field that very much interests her.

Riet lives in rural New Brunswick and combines working from home and in the office. She loves the outdoors, and in her free time, she is busy in her garden, experimenting in the kitchen, making maple syrup, doing yoga, reading, playing with her toddler, and volunteering in her community.

Josée Hebert
Client Success Manager

Josée worked for 20 years in Telecommunications, In progressive roles from sales rep to Manager of the Onboarding solution team. Josée has a background in building strong relationships with clients. She obtained a diploma in Teacher Aid from Stratford Career Institute recently. Josée takes pride in volunteering at her son’s school and being part of the Parent School Support Committee. She enjoys walks in nature, reading, and crocheting in her spare time.

Esther Amoah
Learning Specialist

Esther brings over a decade of experience in education to The Learning Bar. Prior to joining The Learning Bar as a Learning Specialist, she worked in various roles in education serving the needs of teachers and students. She has a background in literacy and reading education and practised as a reading specialist with the public school in Stafford, Virginia. She holds a master’s degree in Education and Human Development Curriculum and Instruction from The George Washington University in Washington D.C. Esther is passionate about books and reading and loves to transfer her passion for reading to students. What truly keeps her motivated is that every child can learn.

Ellie Parsons
Implementation Analyst
Gabrielle Gravesande
Program Manager
As a Program Manager, Gabrielle is responsible for ensuring the continued success of clients who use The Learning Bar’s Educational Prosperity suite of products. She works to ensure that clients achieve their intended outcomes in supporting their students’ learning journeys.
While attaining her BSc in Psychology from Queen’s University, she became interested in the field of education and its intersection with child development. This led to her work with students in a variety of capacities, and later, her attainment of a MEd in Developmental Psychology & Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. Her continued interest in these fields and their correlation with the Educational Prosperity framework is what drives her work at The Learning Bar.
Classifying herself as an avid reader and lifelong learner, Gabrielle is passionate about supporting student success and is motivated by the opportunity to help students thrive!
Sarah McCormick
Client Experience Associate
Ericka Sutherland
Instructional Literacy Mentor

Ericka Sutherland is a learning consultant in the Confident Learners program at The Learning Bar. Ericka completed master’s degrees in Literacy and Curriculum Studies from Mount St. Vincent University in Halifax, NS, and a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, NS, with a focus on professional learning communities and teacher professional development.

Ericka taught with the Halifax Regional Centre for Education for 31 years as an early elementary classroom teacher, Literacy Coach, Literacy Consultant and a Reading and Writing interventionist. Regardless of whatever roles she took on, her heart was always in the early elementary classroom with students at the beginning of their literacy journeys. She believes that a strong, early start to literacy learning creates a solid foundation for all future learning and social-emotional well-being.

Most recently, Ericka has taught in the master’s of Education program at Mount St. Vincent University developing and delivering courses on Literacy Learning and Teaching and Reading Popular Culture. Throughout her studies and career, Ericka has pursued her passion for student literacy success through quality teacher training in the areas of literacy curriculum and instruction and collaborative professional learning.

Ericka lives in Nova Scotia with her husband and two grown children. Ericka firmly believes that through building collaborative educational relationships between all educational partners, students, families, teachers, school and district staff, every child can thrive and succeed.

Marjorie LaFrance
Bilingual Client Experience Associate
Chloe Wasson
Client Success Implementation Analyst

Chloe works within the Australian Client Success Team to support the Implementation Analysts to deliver the Tell Them From Me and Early Years Evaluation products.

Jennifer Morgen
Research Assistant

Jennifer Morgen is a Research Assistant at The Learning Bar and works primarily on data and report deliverables. Jennifer has a BA with first-class honours in psychology and has over 10 years of teaching experience as a lab instructor at the university level. Her studies and teaching were focused on neuropsychology, research methods, and statistics. She also has 10 years of research experience working in an addiction research lab. She is proud to be part of a company that focuses on data-driven change and research-based tool development. She believes in The Learning Bar’s commitment to helping users at all levels of data literacy leverage their data to make meaningful change in the lives of students.

Ben Allinson
Research Assistant

Benjamin is a Research Assistant at The Learning Bar and works primarily on data and report deliverables for the OurSCHOOL and Early Years Evaluation product lines. Ben has a BSc with first-class honours in psychology and his studies focused on cognitive psychology. In addition to his research experience, he has over 10 years of technology support experience and is a certified Scrum Master.

Joel Henderson
Research Associate

Joel Henderson is a Research Associate at The Learning Bar. As a member of the research team, he works closely with school districts across Canada to support their needs, with a particular focus on assisting school leaders as they understand and explore their Tell Them From Me data. Joel holds a master’s degree in education and his expertise extends to the areas of instructional design, e-learning, and curriculum development.

Meghan Hadley
Content Manager
Meghan Bell
Research Assistant
Dr. Alma López-Garcia
Product Manager and Psychometrician

Alma holds a master’s degree in Educational Research from the University of Aguascalientes, Mexico; a Diploma of Advanced Studies, obtained at the University of Madrid, Spain; and a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies, from the University of New Brunswick, Canada. She has 18 years of experience in educational evaluation, which includes evaluation projects in Mexico, Uruguay, Ecuador, and Canada. She has specialized in the development of evaluations, validity studies, and recently in the evaluation of the foundational skills for learning to read. Alma is an optimistic person, and believes that evaluation is a key piece in constructing a better education system.

Christine Hole
Director of Education Partnerships

Christine completed her dual honours degree in Psychology and Criminology at Saint Mary’s University, and holds a Master’s Degree in Social Personality Psychology from the University of Manitoba. Prior to attending graduate school, Christine taught elementary school children in South Korea, ages 4 – 13, for two years, focusing on English as an additional language. This amazing experience served to strengthen her respect and admiration for teachers and solidified her passion for improving the life chances for all children. Christine has also been fortunate enough to work with children with special needs, in addition to a number of Speech-language pathologists (SLP’s), Occupational therapists (OT’s), Physical therapists (PT’s) and Speech pathologists (SP’s), while working with the Halifax Regional School Board and the Calgary Board of Education.

Clayton Crane
Sr. Multimedia Developer & Web Team Lead

Clayton Crane’s diverse background includes production experience with audio and video editing, animation, and database programming as well as extensive experience in web and new media application development, User Interface (UI) and graphic design.

He has mastered many professional tools of the trade in his 20+ years in the e-learning sector and brings a broad range of skills to every project.

Melissa Foote
Senior Graphic Designer

For over 19 years, Melissa has been turning companies’ important visions into vibrant and engaging design. A decade of printing industry experience has provided her with a deep perspective in creative problem solving, print production, and project management. As part of The Learning Bar’s marketing team, she collaborates with multiple departments to create meaningful high quality design assets, strategic marketing collateral, and on-going brand development.

When she is not pushing pixels, you’ll find her with her camera, or on her next travel adventure.

Travis Bonnell
Manager, Sales Operation

Travis works at The Learning Bar as the Manager, Sales Operation and works with several departments across the organization. He has worked with The Learning Bar for over 5 years and has been involved in sales for nearly a decade. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of New Brunswick.

Colin Gillies
Marketing Coordinator

Colin has worked for The Learning Bar since 2021. He contributes to the advancement of the marketing agenda and lead generation campaigns, and is responsible for the development of social media campaigns. In his free time, Colin enjoys spending time with his cats or hanging out at the family camp.

Stephen Wood
Senior Developer
Deepa Nambiar
Product Delivery Specialist

Deepa is a Product Delivery Specialist at the Learning Bar. She is part of the delivery team providing technical support and guidance to The Learning Bar’s employees and clients. Deepa is an all-round product expert, responsible for delivering reports and services that meet client expectations. She has a strong working knowledge of the OurSCHOOL product and is well experienced with responding to problems instantly, managing and delivering products and services.

She also has considerable experience working with various departments within the company to help identify and develop process improvements to better serve TLB clients. Deepa is passionate about The Learning bar’s vision and mission of equality, diversity, and inclusion.

Adam Gavin
Senior Developer
Phoebe Nguyen
Intermediate Developer
Phoebe Nguyen is a talented and dedicated Junior Developer at The Learning Bar. With a passion for technology and a drive to innovate, Phoebe brings a unique blend of skills and expertise to her role.
Phoebe holds degrees in Economics, Business Analysis, and IT: Programmer Analyst. This diverse educational background has equipped her with a solid foundation in both business and technology, allowing her to excel in her role as a programmer analyst. In her role, she works on developing and maintaining software applications that support OurSCHOOL product.
Phoebe is always eager to take on new challenges and expand her skills. She works closely with other members of the development team and other departments to ensure that the software applications are efficient, user-friendly, and meet the needs of the organization.
Ben Stilwell
Junior Developer

Ben Stilwell works at The Learning Bar as a Web Application Developer for the Early Years Evaluation team. Ben brings over 15 years of IT and Development experience. When not at his desk staring at code, Ben enjoys spending time experimenting and creating in his kitchen, or out trying to keep up with his dog, Koa.

Grigory Libin
Junior Developer
Erin Pond
Intermediate Developer

Erin is a Junior Developer with The Learning Bar and is responsible for contributing to the achievement of our company’s vision by participating in the research and development of The Learning Bar’s products. Erin has always been interested in technology, teaching herself to code and enrolling in Computer Science electives while studying Psychology. Eventually she made the decision to change educational paths and completed her diploma in Information Technology Programmer Analyst from New Brunswick Community College in June 2021. As a mother, Erin was drawn to The Learning Bar and the meaningful opportunity to help children thrive through her work as a developer. In her spare time Erin enjoys reading, video games and spending time with her partner, son and two rescue cats.

Nishanth Chillarige
Staff Software Engineer

Nishanth Chillarige is the staff software engineer of the learning bar, responsible for leading and mentoring a team of developers as they execute the technological product development activities, make design decisions to build scalable and maintainable software solutions, drive technical initiatives, and ensure our products adhere to industry best standards.

 

Nishanth attained a Master’s in organizational management, which adds to his profound technical experience. Nishanth worked with large Multinational companies as a Technical lead and a Senior Research Engineer in Research and Development Centre’s in various industries, such as Automotive and Industrial automation. A deep understanding of software development principles and broad technical knowledge enabled him to provide robust software solutions for products that manage industrial time-series data and derive data analytics.

 

Nishanth takes pride in his contribution to constantly strengthening industries and aspires to design their work environments updated with present-day technologies that serve humanity.

Nidhin Joseph
Intermediate Developer
Megan Pitcher
Finance Officer
Hayley Yarnold
Finance and Administration Officer

Hayley is the Finance and Adminstration Officer for the Australian business. Working closely with the Managing Director, Hayley is responsible for the management of all aspects of Finance and Operations in the Australia business.  She has worked at The Learning Bar since Feburary 2021. Hayley holds a certificate in Accounting and Bookkeeping.

Kay Laird
Accounting Technician
Kaitlyn Gallant
Administrative/HR Assistant

Kaitlyn Gallant is a recent graduate student from the University of New Brunswick with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resource. While obtaining her degree she found an interest in psychology of childhood development and education. Her hobbies include reading, relaxing on the beach, exploring, and spending time with family and friends.

Dr. Norma St. Croix
Senior Literacy Mentor
Karen Power
Leadership Development Consultant

Karen is a consultant and former teacher, principal, superintendent, and senior advisor for professional learning and leadership. She has won multiple awards and authored books related to her work which focuses on leadership coaching in schools and districts, building collaborative practices through Professional Learning Community (PLC) implementation, district strategic planning, and developing effective instruction, assessment and evidence-based decisions for long-term sustainability.

Karen is now working as a consultant with The Learning Bar to support leadership development within schools and districts.

Neil Debassige
Indigenous Education Consultant

Neil is a former principal and a member of the M’Chigeeng First Nations, located on Manitoulin Island on Lake Huron. Neil has held principal positions at Kashechewan, Mikwemikong and M’Chigeeng First Nations.

He was awarded the prestigious Meritorious Service Medal by Governor General for service supporting Indigenous Education and is now working as a consultant at The Learning Bar.  

Neil has presented a webinar for The Learning Bar. Watch it here!

Connie Freeman
Instructional Literacy Consultant

Connie Freeman is the Senior Instructional Literacy Consultant at The Learning Bar. She has a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Education and over a decade of experience in the classroom. Connie’s philosophy of education is grounded in a fundamental belief in the importance of equitable education for all and the critical role literacy plays in ensuring success for all students. As a literacy support specialist, Connie has experience supporting students and teachers in the classroom, as well as building professional learning communities in schools.

A proud mother of two, Connie is an environmental advocate and a nature enthusiast. In her free time, she can be found raising and releasing Monarch butterflies and volunteering with her therapy dog, Bear. Connie makes her home on beautiful Mnidoo Mnising/Manitoulin Island, in the heart of Northern Ontario.

Connie has presented a webinar for The Learning Bar. Watch it here!

Dr. Lori Bryden
Instructional Literacy Consultant

Dr. Lori Bryden is an instructional literacy consultant with The Learning Bar. As a former teacher, coordinator of special education, and principal of 37 years, Lori believes in the power of education!

Lori holds a Doctorate in Education in Curriculum and Special Education; a Masters’ of Education in Curriculum and Instructional Technology from Acadia University; a Bachelor of Education from Queen’s University; and a Bachelor of Arts from McMaster University. In addition to her principle qualifications, Lori has also earned her Supervisory Officer’s Qualifications.

Lori’s areas of research include the science of reading, teacher questioning, inclusion, equity and trauma-informed leadership. In addition to her work at The Learning Bar, Lori is an Assistant Professor for students in the Professional Masters’ Degree Program. Her work includes supervising capstone projects and instructing literacy courses. Lori is also a course instructor and course writer with the Catholic Principals’ Council of Ontario. Lori enjoys writing and reviewing curriculum for school districts, universities, and other professional educational organizations throughout Canada.

Lori strongly believes that all children can achieve at a high level when provided with appropriate support. She is passionate about assisting school teams to create the best learning environments for their students.

Lori enjoys spending time with her husband, daughter and their many rescue animals at their homes in Ontario and New Brunswick.

Brenda Gabriel
Leadership Development Consultant
Brenda Gabriel has joined The Learning Bar Team as a consultant to support administrators at the school, district and authority level. She has had many roles in Leadership during her 42-year career in education. Her experience as a Superintendent, Literacy/Leadership Consultant, school-based administrator at the elementary, middle and secondary and classroom teacher has all contributed to her celebrated career.
Brenda is passionate about supporting learning and leadership in all schools. Brenda has worked as an Education Consultant, supporting school boards, schools, teachers and youth, not only in her home province of Saskatchewan, as well as, across Canada. In 2016, she began her work with First Nations Schools in northern Saskatchewan as a Literacy Consultant and shortly after that assumed a Superintendent position. Building Leaders and Readers in First Nations communities has certainly been one of the major highlights of her career.
In her free time, you can find Brenda spending time with her family, travelling, hiking, fishing and visiting friends.
Wendy Holierhoek
Instructional Literacy Consultant

Wendy Holierhoek is an Instructional Literacy Consultant with The Learning Bar, bringing over 34 years of experience in education. Throughout her extensive career, she has served in a variety of impactful roles including Principal, Vice Principal, Board Special Education Administrator, Special Education Resource Teacher, and Classroom Teacher. Her leadership across these roles has been defined by a commitment to inclusive education and evidence-based practice.

Wendy’s foundation is firmly rooted in Special Education, holding a Specialist Additional Qualification (AQ) in the field. She is widely recognized for her ability to build strong, collaborative teams and for her thoughtful approach to supporting both students and educators. Her work is deeply informed by the belief that all students can learn, and this core conviction aligns closely with the Science of Reading—a framework she integrates into her literacy work to drive equitable outcomes in classrooms.

In her current role, Wendy works with educators, school leaders, and districts to implement research-based literacy practices, analyze student data, and create environments where every learner can thrive. She believes firmly in The Learning Bar’s Confident Learners Program and has seen firsthand the meaningful impact it has on both classroom instruction and student learning.

Wendy is a lifelong learner, frequently engaged in professional development and knowledge-sharing with others in the field. Her career has been guided by a clear vision: to ensure that every child, regardless of background or ability, has access to high-quality instruction and the opportunity to succeed.

Chris Piro
Instructional Literacy Consultant

Chris Piro has recently retired from the Director of Student Services role at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Schools. She brings extensive experience in inclusive education, both as a teacher and school administrator. With a deep commitment to fostering student success, wellness, and engagement, Chris has dedicated her career to identifying and removing barriers for learners of all backgrounds and abilities.

Chris holds a Master’s degree in Administration and a Bachelor of Education with a major in Inclusive Education. Her commitment to lifelong learning is evident through her continued professional development—she is a certified trainer in VTRA Level I, SIVA, and Psychological Safety.

In retirement, she continues to advocate for inclusive practices and remains passionate about supporting educators and school systems in creating welcoming, responsive learning environments for all.

Tania Sterling
Leadership Development Consultant

Tania Sterling, Ed.D., is a Leadership Coach with The Learning Bar, bringing over three decades of expertise in educational leadership, equity-focused facilitation, and strategic school improvement.

She holds a Doctor of Education from Walden University, a Master of Education from OISE/UT, and multiple specialist and leadership certifications. As an educational consultant and former Superintendent of Education, Tania has led transformative initiatives across Ontario, including Indigenous education partnerships, digital learning strategies, and leadership development frameworks. She has taught graduate-level courses at Niagara University and contributed to provincial policy reform and reconciliation-focused training.

Passionate about equity, student voice, and community engagement, Tania mentors emerging leaders and facilitates professional learning to foster inclusive, high-impact educational environments.

Her volunteer work with Youth Without Shelter reflects her commitment to empowering marginalized youth through education and advocacy.

Kerry Zinkiewich
Instructional Literacy Consultant

Kerry Zinkiewich is an Instructional Literacy Consultant with The Learning Bar. Kerry is a dedicated educator with over three decades of experience in the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board. Over her 33-year career, Kerry served in a variety of roles including primary, junior, and intermediate classroom teacher, literacy consultant, and ultimately, Principal of a Kindergarten to Grade 8 school.

Kerry’s passion for literacy and teacher development extends beyond the K-8 classroom. She continues to contribute to the field of education as an instructor in Reading Additional Qualification courses at Trent University where she supports educators in deepening their understanding of literacy instruction and pedagogy.

Throughout her career, Kerry has been a strong advocate for literacy, believing that a solid foundation in reading and writing is essential for lifelong learning and student well-being. She believes that it is through literacy that we can work towards a more equitable society- one in which every child has the opportunity to thrive, regardless of background or circumstance.
Kerry lives in Peterborough, Ontario and enjoys being outside on the water, reading and playing board games with her family.