TORONTO, March 13, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rene Jansen in de Wal has been elected President of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) at OECTA’s Annual General Meeting in Toronto. Rene will begin his two-year term on July 1, 2023,

Rene has been a member of OECTA’s Provincial Executive since 2017 and currently serves as First Vice-President of the Association. A high school teacher and member of OECTA’s Toronto Secondary Unit, Rene has been teaching for more than 30 years. Throughout his career, Rene has maintained a passion for education and advocacy. As he explains, “Every class is a new challenge. I look for something special in every student and person I meet. In everyone there is something special, and something to learn from.”

Joining President-elect Jansen in de Wal, OECTA’s newly elected Provincial Executive members are:

Past President – Barb Dobrowolski, Eastern

First Vice-President – Chris Cowley, Brant Haldimand Norfolk

Second Vice-President – Anthony Rocchio, Sudbury Elementary

Third Vice-President – Diana Corazza, York

Treasurer – Michel Derikx, Hamilton-Wentworth

Councillors – Dean Demers, Kenora, and Melissa Garrett, Waterloo

OTF Table Officer – Andrew Robertson, Dufferin-Peel Secondary

Additionally, the following five members were elected to the positions of Governor with the Ontario Teachers’ Federation (OTF):

Julie Altomare-Di Nunzio, Toronto Elementary

Rick Belisle, Nipissing Secondary

Paul Kiely, Hamilton-Wentworth

Tracey Pecarski, Renfrew

Andrew Robertson, Dufferin-Peel Secondary 

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OECTA represents the 45,000 professionals who teach all grades in publicly funded English Catholic schools in Ontario.