Doctor of Education
(honoris causa) DEd
Ms. Anne Danielle Gingras has been active in the education field for more than 25 years and currently teaches music and religion at École Secondaire Catholique Algonquin in North Bay. She completed her Bachelor in Arts (Honours) with a specialization in Music from the University of Ottawa, and received a Bachelor of Education from Université Laurentienne in 1993. She also holds a specialist qualification in Special Education and numerous supplemental qualifications in the field of autism from various institutions. In 2016, to honour her inner intuitive capacities, she completed a doctoral diploma in Applied Metaphysics and also became a Holding Space practitioner, facilitator and life coach, accompanying many individuals through their more difficult life paths. She is also an active Reiki Master and a small business owner.
Ms. Gingras was instrumental in the development and the implementation of Snoezelen rooms locally. During her career, she taught many subjects such as language arts and also served four years as Autism Consultant at Conseil Scolaire Catholique Franco-Nord. She was also the Autism Resource Teacher and one of the key founders of ‘Carrefour TSA’, the first Francophone resource center within a provincial high school setting geared to accompany students on the autism spectrum on their life journey. She has served on the Board of Directors of Autism Ontario and is the current Vice-President of the Board of Directors for Community Living West Nipissing. An altruist at heart, Anne has composed numerous musical compositions which she has dedicated to important social causes in her community such at the Remember Adam – Stop for the school bus and families afflicted with autism and Huntington disease. Diagnosed herself with autism at the age of 41 years old, she continues to be a model for professional women on the spectrum and regularly speaks to local, provincial and national media, about autism awareness. Although she stresses many elements of importance while discussing matters in education, Anne’s primary focus is, and has always been, that of the needs and capacities of each individual student.
Anne lives in Sturgeon Falls with her husband and is the mother of two incredible young men. Last year, she published her first book entitled ‘The Old Man on the Bench’, and is presently completing several other writing projects. In her spare time, she volunteers with several local organizations, manages several social media sites and blogs about her many interests and travels to Paris.