Lisa Peña-Sabanal is a Ryerson Alumnae who has been teaching within the School of Child and Youth Care (CYC) since 2007. After attaining her Child and Youth Worker Diploma at George Brown College, her ongoing commitment to serving young people and their families motivated her to complete her B.A. from the School of CYC at Ryerson University, a B.Ed. from York University qualifying her as a Certified Teacher in both the elementary and secondary sectors as well as returning to Ryerson University to complete her M.A. in Early Childhood Studies. Her continued interest in the importance of sustaining overall health and well-being resulted in her pursuing certifications in Mindfulness Meditation from University of Toronto, her Personal Training Certification from CanFitPro and a Level 1 Precision Nutrition Certification.
Currently, Lisa is working on completing her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy at the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. Lisa's proposed area of research aims to offer meaningful contributions in educational research to improve best teaching practice by creating a platform where the experiences of Asian-Canadian post-secondary students will be highlighted. This research will also serve to educate teaching professionals and academics alike about the importance of addressing the privilege they hold, thereby validating the narratives of young Asian students within our Canadian context.
In addition to these academic achievements, Lisa also holds a breadth of professional experience of over 25 years of frontline practice working with diverse populations of young people and their families in all sectors of the field (community, education, hospitals, recreation, shelters and youth justice). Although she has been teaching part-time in the post-secondary sectors at GBC, Seneca College, Humber-Guelph College and Ryerson University for quite some time, she has also been employed as a Certified Teacher in various GTA school boards both in elementary and secondary settings. Lisa's teaching has not only limited to CYC-based curriculum, in fact, she is also involved in cross-curriculum teaching opportunities in the Social Service Worker, Dual Credit and School within a College (SWAC) Programs. Her high degree of commitment to the field of CYC has allowed her to be actively involved in curriculum and training development opportunities within these post-secondary programs, as well as be employed as a frontline CYC practitioner in the area of mental health, specifically at Sick Kids and North York General Hospitals.