ABOUT us
Manitoba Reggio Inspired Coalition of Educators was founded in 2009.
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Our Executive is a dedicated group of Early Years teachers, Early Childhood educators and parents who work together to plan networking events for Manitoba educators interested in growing in a Reggio-Inspired way.
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OUR MISSION STATEMENT
We believe that the learning environment is co-constructed through the insights, wonderings, reflections, questions, experiences and understandings of both children and adults in community.The Manitoba Reggio Inspired Coalition of Educators' mission is to extend invitations and design opportunities to further explore the philosophy and supporting practices of the Reggio Emilia experience within a Manitoba context.
our committee
PAT FURMAN
Co-Chair
Pat is the Executive Director of Inspired by Wonder Inc. formerly known as Robertson Early Enrichment Program. She has been a committee member for MB RICE over the last six years. She was a recipient of the 2016-2017 Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Early Childhood Education as well as a recipient of the Winnipeg Centre MP 150th Anniversary Medal for Volunteerism. She has worked in the early childhood field for over 20 years and as a Child Development Counsellor for ten years. Recently she attended an in-depth study tour in Reggio Emilia, Italy and in 2018 she attended NAREA summer conference in Boston, Massachusetts. She has her Bachelor of Arts degree and her Advanced Diploma in Early Childhood Management. Her passion has always been working with children with additional support needs and having a high image of children.
ALANA CHERNECKI
Co-Chair
Alana is a former school teacher and university instructor, and now consults for school boards, child care organizations and homeschooling families. Alana earned her Masters of Education in Arts Education and has led workshops at both the local and national level. She has helped write curriculum for the province of Manitoba in Dance, Visual Art and Literacy with ICT, and most recently, launched an Early Years curriculum with roots in a Reggio-inspired and arts-based pedagogy, based on her work and research with children in her own Kindergarten enrichment program, Brillante Beginnings. Alana advocates passionately for arts education and believes all children are brilliant and creative humans. Her work is dedicated to artful teaching and joyful learning for all.
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BRIGITTE INSULL
Secretary
Bio coming soon.
SUE NAROZNIAK
Past Chair
Sue is a founding member and served for 10 years as Chair and Co-Chair of the Manitoba Reggio Inspired Coalition of Educators. Sue was the first Manitoban to study at the Loris Malaguzzi Centre in Reggio Emilia, Italy and completed training in both the International Study Tour and The Role of the Teacher, Pedagogista and Atelierista. Sue has attended Reggio-based conferences in Ontario, B.C. and the U.S.A. and has been deeply involved in supporting Professional Development of Reggio-inspired work within Manitoba. Sue is the Program Coordinator for the Full Time Early Childhood Education Program at Red River College and can be found working on various yoga challenges when not spending time with her husband and teen-aged daughter.​
MICHELLE VESEY
Treasurer
Michelle Vesey is an Early Childhood Educator III. She has been working in the childcare field since the mid-90s during which time she has held a variety of front line ECE positions as well as administrative roles. She has worked in infant, preschool, nursery school and school-age program settings. In 2013, Michelle was the recipient of the Prix de reconnaissance en direction for her work as a French childcare centre director. Always interested in learning, Michelle has
attended conferences about the Reggio Emilia approach across Canada. She looks forward to one day attending a study tour in Italy. Currently, Michelle is an instructor in Early Childhood
Education program at Université de Saint-Boniface and has been a member of the Manitoba Reggio Inspired Coalition of Educators since 2014.
VERONICA GREEN
Member-At-Large
Veronica Green is an Early Childhood Educator and Consultant with 7 years of experience in the early years sector working with children from infancy to school age. Veronica earned a Bachelor of Physical Education and Diploma in Early Childhood Education and connects these two educational backgrounds in her practice by valuing the need for movement and play for children’s development. As an Assistant Director for a YMCA early years program she supported her fellow Educators through planning, curating a learning environment and building relationships with the children & parents. While operating an accredited dayhome in Alberta, Ronnie’s Preschool, she embraced the Reggio Emilia Approach and developed a strong reflective practice that is founded on connecting theory to practice. During this time Veronica learned about her son’s sensory needs and developed an inclusive practice and passion for advocating for differently wired children. Now Veronica consults with Educators through online resources including her newsletter, All Things Early Years, that is read by Educators from all over the world. Her knowledge on theory, loose parts and sensory processing has lead to many opportunities to share her practice with Educators through professional development training online and here locally in Winnipeg at daycares, schools. When Veronica is not collecting loose parts she is playing with her son getting messy and soaking up as much family time as possible.