Our Team

Alicia joined OPSBA in April 2023. She is Anishinaabe-Kwe from Saugeen First Nation. Her 15+ years of experience in Indigenous education has been gathered from professional occupations in public education, First Nations education, elementary, secondary and post-secondary teaching and learning, curriculum writing, education policy, and leadership. She holds a BA/BEd from the Native Teacher Education Program at Lakehead University, and a Master of Education from OISE/University of Toronto. Additionally, Alicia also continues to be an active volunteer on a number of committees and non-profit boards of directors.  Overall, her focus has been on supporting efforts that contribute to Indigenous student success and therefore, contribute to building strong, healthy communities.  In her work with OPSBA, Alicia supports the Indigenous Trustees’ Council (ITC) as the ITC Liaison.

Kendra leads the professional development portfolio at OPSBA where she designs programs and events that support Ontario’s trustees in their governance roles. She has spent a decade consulting for the Ontario Education Services Corporation (OESC), where she partnered with the Ministry of Education to provide governance training and resources for trustees across Ontario’s four school systems. Her contributions included leading the Trustee Professional Development Program, the Ontario Municipal & School Board Elections website and creating election resources that have raised public awareness of the trustee role across the last three election cycles. Before her work in education, Kendra managed public relations and events at United for Literacy/Frontier College. She began her career in the private sector, where she played a key role in launching Porter Airlines, contributing her expertise to the marketing and communications team. Kendra holds a Master of Arts in Professional Communication from Royal Roads University and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from York University.

A veteran communicator and former journalist, T.J. has been with OPSBA specializing in public and media relations, digital communications, and policy development and advocacy since 2012. Prior to joining OPSBA, T.J. led the Toronto DSB’s first social media strategy, and was involved in government relations and event coordination at the provincial and federal level, while contributing to website content management, media relations, and issues management within the board’s communications department. A graduate of Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Centennial College’s Corporate Communications and Public Relations program, T.J. spent time working as a community newspaper journalist and editor in the Niagara Region before launching his communications career at the Town of Richmond Hill. He is a passionate advocate for an equitable and well-funded public education system accessible to all children and youth.

Andrew Gold has been OPSBA’s Director of Labour Relations since 2022. Andrew brings more than 30 years of experience in the public education sector, starting in the Toronto DSB (TDSB), where he served most recently as the Associate Director, Learning, Leadership and Development. Andrew led bargaining at the TDSB for more than a decade and was a member of OPSBA’s Labour Relations Council providing advice on provincial labour relations matters and also participated in central bargaining in the 2019-2022 and 2022 rounds of bargaining. Andrew has been the lead spokesperson in bargaining with OSSTF Teachers and OSSTF Education Workers and also been a member of the bargaining teams at all other central bargaining tables. Andrew has extensive leadership experience in labour relations, professional learning, effective governance, stakeholder relations, and equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives.

Erin’s extensive experience in the sector, knowledge of education program and policy, and school board operations make her a valuable member of the OPSBA team. Erin brings both academic and administrative experience to this role. She began her career teaching English, special education and continuing education followed by a variety of leadership roles including secondary principal, superintendent of education in both the elementary and secondary panels, and most recently, Director of Education until 2023. In these roles, Erin gained extensive experience working with school board trustees, staff, and unions and federations at both the provincial and local school board levels. In addition to her professional experience, Erin has been a member of several boards in her local community including Windsor Pride and Hotel Dieu Healthcare and she has also been a member of The Learning Partnership, a national organization.  Erin is also a Certified Executive Coach.  

Jennifer is OPSBA’s Director of Policy. Her work focuses on a wide range of policy development and governance issues, supporting both trustees and school boards. She provides regular analysis and updates to the membership with regards to key legislation and regulations that impact education, and is involved in much of the Association’s other advocacy work. Before joining OPSBA, she had senior communications positions with the Toronto DSB, Sun Life Financial, Bell Canada and has PR agency experience. She attended the University of Guelph and Humber College.

A veteran educator and strong advocate for an inclusive public education system, Michelle has been with OPSBA since 2023 as Liaison to the Black Trustees’ Caucus offering consultation regarding stakeholder engagement, programs, policy development and advocacy. Prior experience in the sector includes roles as Principal in both the Toronto DSB and Hamilton-Wentworth DSB (HWDSB), focused on school improvement initiatives and building collaborative relationships with stakeholders. Through various experiences in Canada, the USA, and Australia, Michelle gained experience with leadership and adult learning models. Michelle has held roles on the Hamilton Wentworth Principals’ Council as Chair, Ontario Principal Council (OPC) Counselor and OPC Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion representative, working with administrators, human resource departments and labour unions. Before working for OPSBA, Michelle was System Principal of Equity for HWDSB and currently works in consulting on EDI across Ontario, and sits on the Board of Directors for Theatre Aquarius and the Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Hamilton.

With over 20 years spent in the non-profit sector – specifically in education and child care – Vanessa works with the Association’s senior management team to support OPSBA's mission through a focus on fiscal responsibility, including in its role as the Employer Bargaining Agent for school boards in Ontario. Her diverse previous experience includes fiscal management of the School Council Insurance program, Police Record Check services for the Ontario Education Services Corporation and various Ministry of Education-funded projects.

Alison provides leadership in all facets of central bargaining and acts as bargaining unit liaison and spokesperson for education worker bargaining tables. Prior to joining OPSBA in 2021, she practiced labour law and held progressively senior labour relations roles at the provincial government. She is a graduate of Trent University, York University and Osgoode Hall Law School.