President

Ms. Jennifer Tesoro is no stranger to the halls of St. Mary's Academy—she is a proud super-sixer who graduated with honours in 1996. She then earned both her Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education degrees at the University of Manitoba, and then received her Master's degree in Educational Leadership & Administration in Adult Learning and Global Change from the University of British Columbia.A passionate and lifelong learner, today Ms. Tesoro is back at the University of Manitoba where she is undertaking her Doctorate in Peace and Conflict Studies.

Ms. Tesoro's career dossier includes work with the International Baccalaureate Organization, the Council of International Schools, Cambridge International Education and various national education systems. She enjoys working within communities at the grassroots level to foster sustainable partnerships between and across sectors and promote youth leadership education and social action initiatives on the local and global world stage. Her international education career afforded her a breadth of organizational leadership contexts, ranging from for-profit educational powerhouses in Europe and the Middle East, to non-profit educational reform projects in Southeast and Central Asia.

Faith has been foundational to Ms. Tesoro throughout her life and she has had longstanding involvement with the church and her Catholic faith community. As a member of St. Edward the Confessor parish, she has served as a lector, a choir member, a Catechism teacher and a choir director. Abroad, she continued her community outreach, serving organizations such as Amnesty International (Caritas), the Losev Foundation for children affected by leukemia, and Bomonti Fransiz Fakirhanesi elders home run by Les Petites Soeurs de Pauvres.

"St. Mary’s Academy instilled in me a reverence for faith, a passion for learning and a desire to be of service to others. After 25 years, I have come back home," says Ms. Tesoro. "I believe that learning is the common denominator—the action that brings us together and challenges us to new heights. I believe the learning landscape is where my global perspective will have the most impact and will best lend itself in my Presidency as we are a school community filled with diverse voices, and we live in a city and country of great diversity."

"I am eager to connect with our families, students, and community," she adds. "Let us engage as many voices as possible to envision a future committed to sustainable service action projects, clean energy initiatives, and creative interdisciplinary problem-solving skills within our professional learning communities."

Please join the Academy in prayer for Ms. Tesoro to proceed with the sureness of God's guidance, love and peace, and may God shine His favour upon all who study and work at the Academy.

If you would like to personally reach out to Ms. Tesoro, please email her at president@smamb.ca.