Biography
Ana-Marija Petrunic is the Chair of the School of English as a Second Language at George Brown College. Accountable for providing academic and administrative leadership to faculty, staff and students in the School of ESL, she also provides leadership to the School’s academic planning process, curriculum planning, development and delivery. As part of her role, Ana-Marija ensures that the programs are aligned to meet student and sector needs as well as the College’s strategic priorities.
Prior to joining George Brown College in 2018, Ana-Marija was the Manager of Teaching and Learning for the English Language Program in Continuing Education at the University of Calgary. She continues to teach in the Teaching Second Languages Certificate and Human Resources Certificate programs at the University of Calgary.
Ana-Marija's graduate work was in Educational Contexts - Comparative and International Education at the University of Calgary where she focused on the role of identity theory among educators in post-conflict Kosovo and its effect on the democratization of education as it relates to minority group rights. This research led to a two-year position with the Educator Development Program (a CIDA-funded initiative) in which she divided her time between Kosovo and Serbia working in the areas of in-service teacher training, youth and gender development and professional development of regional school administration offices.
She is continuing her academic path with doctoral studies in the School of Management at the University of Bath. Specializing in Higher Education Management, her doctoral research focuses on how the professional lived experiences of women in management positions in higher education institutions affect their self-perception of leadership development, namely the act of performing gendered leadership.
