About Us

John Waterhouse

Director

john.waterhouse@aplc.ca

Download Profile   

John Waterhouse is passionate about continuous professional learning and building the capacity of all those who serve the educational needs of students. John’s professional career includes having a being a teacher and department head for 5 years, vice principal and principal for 21 years, Deputy Superintendent responsible for Human Resources and Professional Learning for 8 years and is currently in his 3rd year as Executive Director of the Edmonton Regional Learning Consortium.

John also served in many professional leadership roles including Vice President of the ATA and President of CASS. John has served on various provincial education committees including the Advisory Committee and Working Group for the development of the Teaching Quality Standard, The Leadership Quality Standard and the System Leadership Quality Standard. John has a breadth of depth and experience and expertise with a focus on supporting professional learning at all levels.

Irene Gibbons

Program Coordinator

irene.gibbons@aplc.ca

Irene’s professional career began as a Licensed Practical Nurse. It was with her 7 years working in the Education Department with the Good Samaritan Society that she found her passion for learning. Irene went on to obtain her Diploma in Business Management at NAIT. Irene worked for Sturgeon Public Schools for 7 years as a school Finance Clerk. Currently Irene is serving her first term as Trustee for Sturgeon Public School Division. Irene has always had a calling for learning and is thrilled to share her passion at the Edmonton Regional Learning Consortium.

Tricia Mason

Program Coordinator

tricia.mason@aplc.ca

Tricia Mason joined The Consortium in the fall of 2023. After being a stay at home mom of 3 to 10 years, Tricia became an Educational Assistant for 7 years. Then Tricia transitioned into the automotive and health care industries. Tricia is excited to work in education again and helping you grow as an educator through professional development.

Margaret Savage

Finance Coordinator

edmonton.accounting@aplc.ca

Margaret has over 20 years of experience in business management, human resources, marketing and analysis. In June 2008, Margaret joined the Consortium team in the role of Financial Coordinator.

Always up for a challenge, Margaret enjoys the ever changing demands of the The Consortium office and the need to support educators in the province. A task orientated worker, Margaret enjoys providing sound customer service to both participants and employees of the Consortium.

April Prescott

Designer of Professional Learning

april.prescott@aplc.ca

April Prescott is a Certified Canadian Counsellor whose work focuses on children and youth in care across Northern Alberta. Previously, she was the Inclusive Education Coordinator for Aboriginal Head Start in Edmonton for 7 years, a teacher in a PUF program for 10 years, and 5 years as an Educational Assistant across K-12. April also provides educational consultation with on-reserve schools in remote locations in Alberta. Her areas of expertise within the APLC are early learning, mental health, and inclusion. When not working, she enjoys training her dog, Holly, playing Dungeons and Dragons, or volunteering with the Edmonton Rugby Union.

Betty Morris

Designer of Professional Learning

betty.morris@aplc.ca

I have been a math educator for over 40 years. After teaching for a number of years in the classroom, I then became the district math consultant for Edmonton Catholic Schools. I became the gr. 6 and 9  math PAT exam manager and then worked with new initiatives for Alberta Education. I also served as a sessional instructor at Concordia University in Edmonton and as an Education Lead for an international education organization, helping ministries, schools, and teachers mainly in Africa.

My interest in supporting teachers and students in their understanding of mathematics and instilling in them the confidence and passion for mathematics, continues as I  provide professional learning to districts and schools, supporting both teachers and students. A priority is helping all stakeholders to understand and work with the new math curriculum.

Chris Piro

Designer of Professional Learning

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.

Irene Heffel

Designer of Professional Learning

irene.heffel@aplc.ca

Download Profile   

Irene Heffel is a literacy consultant and educator with over 35 years of experience at all levels. She has worked with both elementary and secondary teachers to implement best practices in curriculum, assessment and Backward Design.

Kathy Salmon

Designer of Professional Learning

Dr. Kathy Salmon, began Aspire Education Consulting in 2023 upon her retirement as a school principal from the Calgary Board of Education where she served for 23 years. Her roles included principal at 4 schools, assistant principal at 3 schools, System Assistant Principal Corporate Partnerships, ESL specialist, ESL Learning Leader and teacher. She was also seconded twice to Alberta Education as an ESL Curriculum Manager where she was a co-writer of the EAL proficiency Benchmarks 1.0 and 2.0 and produced many resources on the Supporting English Language Learners Website. In her consultancy work she has supported the Canadian International School (CIS )Phnom Penh, Cambodia, The International School Macao; Britannia International School Guang Zhou, China; CIS Guang Zhou, China; CIS Foshan, China; Canadian Rockies School Division; Grasslands School Division; Christ the Redeemer School Division; and the Alberta Professional Learning Consortia. She has a hands-on approach to supporting school leadership in creating the human architecture and protocols to support effective learning environments for diverse learners. She supports teachers with EAL, literacy, and embedding oracy into content area learning. Her doctoral dissertation was titled Effective Teaching Practices for English as an Additional Language Learners in Alberta, Canada.

Kelly Gibbs

Designer of Professional Learning

kelly.gibbs@aplc.ca

Download Profile   

Kelly’s joy has been found in supporting staff in the use of research-based instructional strategies that make literacy teaching and learning systematic and intentional. A Teacher, Consultant, Reading Specialist and University Sessional Instructor, Kelly’s background is in supporting teachers and all staff members as they build their understanding of students with all types of learning challenges, including those with learning disabilities, how they learn and how they achieve. She has built her knowledge of  UDL through her work at the University of Manitoba.

“A ship in the harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships were built for.” -Anonymous

Lynn Farrugia

Designer of Professional Learning

Lynn Farrugia is a retired educator with over 35 years of experience teaching Kindergarten to Adult Education with the majority of her years with elementary school aged students. She recently served as the Program Coordinator and as a consultant of English as an Additional Language for the Edmonton Public School Board for twelve years. Her passion for working with English as an Additional Language (EAL) Learners began with her time at an inner city school where well over 80% of her students spoke a language other than English and most of those students were newcomers to Canada.  One year she was the only person in the classroom who spoke only one language!  In fact there were nine different languages spoken in that class.

Lynn is one of the Principal writers of: Working with Karen Immigrant Students: Teacher Resources and was a contributor to Promoting Success with Arab Immigrant Students: Teacher Resources both published by the Alberta Teachers’ Association and the Canadian Multicultural Education Foundation. She is also a proud Board Member of the Intercultural Child and Family Centre.

When Lynn is not advocating for the needs of EAL Learners she can be found reading or cuddling with her rescue beagle Elliott!

Other areas of experience and interest include: culturally relevant practices, early childhood education and multicultural/diverse children’s literature.

Paul Marlett

Designer of Professional Learning

Paul is a purebred teacher and a maverick in education who focuses on the “art of teaching”. Having taught for over 2 decades in the classroom and gym, from grades 1 to 12 in all subject matters and 10 years with the Blended Homeschooling program, he brings unique insights and innovative pedagogy to students. He is happiest outdoors and when sharing stories. Paul has been awarded local, provincial and national awards for his work in PE and has presented teachers’ convention sessions across the province for over 20 years.

Ted Zarowny

Designer of Professional Learning

ted.zarowny@aplc.ca

Ted’s educational journey took him through three provinces. He began his career as classroom teacher in Saskatchewan, and spent many years in British Columbia on the North Coast and interior as a teacher and principal. He returned to the prairies and a principalship in the Capital region where he currently remains.

Ted’s passions include instructional pedagogy such as learning for transfer, conceptual learning and the instruction of thinking skills. Trained in Control Theory and Restitution-Self Discipline, a restorative justice approach, Ted has extensive experience with approaches and techniques that address classroom management and student behaviour. He also has extensive experience working with gifted students while being the principal of a school for gifted learners for fifteen years. Ted is excited to share his skillset with others to help them refine practices and mindsets that enrich the learning experiences of students.

Ulana Soletsky

Designer of Professional Learning

ulana.soletsky@aplc.ca

Download Profile    Follow @soletsky

Ulana Soletsky has been facilitating professional learning sessions in mathematics and numeracy for the Edmonton office of the Consortium since 2006. Prior to this, she dedicated 26 years to teaching mathematics at the Junior High level before transitioning to roles as a math and numeracy consultant for Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools and The Consortium. An educator since 1979, Ulana has engaged with students from Kindergarten through grade 9 and has also acted as a First Steps in Math Facilitator for Pearson Publishers, concentrating on the Number, Operation Sense, and Measurement strands. Additionally, she has collaborated with Pearson Publishers to provide professional development for the new math resource “Mathology” and the “Math Progressions K-9,” of which she was an active reviewer during its development. Currently, Ulana is involved in overseeing the creation of the Math Assessment for grades 1 to 9 in partnership with Elk Island Catholic Schools. As a math educator, her objective has always been to ensure that all students comprehend and value the mathematics they study; that they can read, write, explore, and communicate mathematical concepts with assurance; and that they can apply mathematics in their daily lives. Her primary focus lies in supporting the new curriculum, planning for staff development, and enhancing school improvement initiatives. She advocates for a cooperative, student-centered classroom as the most effective environment for learning.