Company Profile

Canadian International Services was founded in 1995. Its main focus is developing and delivering high quality education and training programs to both young people and professional educators from outside Canada.

Canadian International Services specializes in tailored, custom-designed programs that are responsive to the specific educational goals and interests of clients. All programs and projects offered by Canadian International Services are staffed by well-qualified and experienced educators who are specialists in various fields, such as English as a Second Language (ESL), curriculum development, and school leadership. This makes for carefully run and successful programs that are well-respected both in Canada and overseas.

Canadian International Services has both an east and west presence in Canada, with operational bases in the Niagara region of Ontario and in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Calgary, Alberta.

Bios

Colleen Malone
Director

After supporting the programs of Canadian International Services for several years, Colleen Malone took on the Director role in December 2016. She continues to benefit from the vast experience and knowledge of Dennis Malone, founding Director and current senior advisor.

Colleen brings twenty years of experience to Canadian International Services: working for and with children internationally and here in Canada, program management and organizational skills, and training and facilitation expertise. She has a global outlook, developed through extensive international work and travel.

Colleen lived for several years in Sri Lanka and Washington, DC. She enhanced her management and conflict resolution skills working for the Canadian International Development Agency, CARE, and several small non-governmental organizations. Colleen also ran her own consulting practice in Ottawa, Canada, which included developing and delivering curricula related to peacebuilding skills development for adults.

Colleen has extensive humanitarian response experience gained by working for Save the Children since 2005 in various capacities. This experience broadened Colleen’s skill sets in project management under tight timelines and in stressful working environments. She specialized in supporting Save the Children Country Offices around the world in humanitarian operations, particularly those operating in difficult environments (such as South Sudan), and provided training and guidance to these offices.

Colleen also provided strategic support to large emergency responses such as the Haiti earthquake (2010) and Japan earthquake and tsunami (2011), and medium responses such as typhoon Ketsana (2009) in the Philippines and drought in Kenya (2005-6), and provided support to several small responses in Latin America and the Caribbean. Most recently Colleen has worked with Indigenous communities in Canada on strengthening emergency preparedness.

Colleen completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto, in the Peace and Conflict Studies program, and her Master’s degree in conflict transformation at Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia, USA. She is also an alumnus of Ridley College, where Canadian International Services’ Niagara program is based.

Colleen lives in beautiful Calgary, Alberta.

Dennis Malone
Founding Director and Special Advisor

Canadian International Services was established by Dennis Malone in 1995. He has more than forty years of experience in education as a teacher, administrator, and consultant. He has Masters degrees in both English and Education Administration and has worked in the field of international education for twenty-five years. Dennis has traveled extensively, representing Canadian International Services across Asia and the Middle East.

Over the years Dennis has formed close working relationships with school boards, colleges, and universities in Canada, and many government agencies and private companies throughout Asia. He prides himself on the level of trust he enjoys with many long standing clients, based on high levels of service delivery and quality programs. This commitment to quality, integrity, and service is behind everything that Canadian International Services does.

Dennis remains closely involved with the programming of Canadian International Services as a senior advisor to the current Director, Colleen Malone.

Mary Bocchinfuso
Homestay Manager

An integral part of our programs are the families who open their homes and hearts to host a student. The selection process is managed by the dynamic team of Mary and Chris Bocchinfuso, homestay managers. Their coordination and implementation of a successful program is based on 20+ years of extensive experience with international programs and students, including many years as a host family themselves.

Mary has been a vital part of Canadian International Services since 1995. She is retired from social service work in the community and enjoys the challenge of meeting, interviewing, and securing families before the students arrive and managing and supporting them during their stay. Mary is high energy and professional, and her genuine care for homestay families and the students is evident in all her interactions.

Chris Bocchinfuso
Homestay Manager

Chris works in the educational sector with domestic and international post-secondary students, assisting them in their research assignments. He started with Canadian International Services in 2008 as an administrative assistant, joining Mary as a homestay manager in 2015. He enjoys interviewing and meeting new host families each year. Chris acts as a liaison, trouble-shooter, and an organizer extraordinaire.

Our Teachers

Carolyn Jonovich, B.A, M.S Ed, OCT
Teacher

Carolyn has been a teacher with the District School Board of Niagara since 2007 and joined the CIS team in 2018. She has obtained her Master of Science in Education and has Specialist Qualifications in Reading, Math and Kindergarten. Carolyn is qualified to teach in Primary, Junior and Intermediate grades and has had hands on experience in all three divisions.

As an (ESL) Itinerant, she has gained valuable experience collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to create and implement highly differentiated programs for students new to Canada. In her current role as a Learning Resource Teacher she specializes in building teacher capacity to modify and accommodate curriculum to support students at risk. Carolyn has recently completed the Principal’s Qualification Program.

Julie Edmands, B.A., B.Ed
Teacher

Julie has been a full-time elementary teacher with the District School Board of Niagara (DSBN) since 2003 and has worked with CIS since 2013. Her professional experience spans over 20 years where she has been an instructional coach, a Professional Developer, a Junior Division Team Leader, Associate Teacher and Mentor, and participated in the Board’s Leadership Program.

Julie is qualified to teach in Primary and Junior grades and has experience in both divisions and all grade levels. In her ongoing pursuit of professional knowledge and skills, and desire to be a lifelong learner, she has acquired her English as a Second Language (ESL) Specialist credentials, Math Specialist certification, Reading Specialist certification and several Special Education courses.

As an ESL specialist, Julie has worked with many students from several different countries, cultures and language backgrounds to enhance their individual learning of the English language through reading and writing comprehension and oral communication.

Julie applies her ESL expertise and her teaching experiences to the CIS summer programs, where she is dedicated to developing, guiding and supporting students’ conversation and comprehension skills in English. She believes in supporting students’ knowledge to empower them to reach their full potential.

Mike Snow, B.A., M.A., B.Ed., OCT
Teacher

Mike has been a teacher with the District School of Niagara since 2009 and has worked with CIS since 2018. He is currently teaching in Niagara Falls and has extensive experience teaching English to students who are new to Canada. Mike has completed a Master’s degree in history and loves learning about different cultures around the world. He has travelled to Japan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, Peru, and several countries in Europe. He also works with Niagara College as a homestay parent for international students completing studies in Canada.

Lori Pearson, B.A., B.Ed.
Teacher

Lori has taught in Ontario for over 30 years, and joined CIS in summer 2018. Teaching everything from Kindergarten to Grade 8, her subject experience includes Literacy, Math, History, Geography, and Physical Education. During the course of her career, Lori has had the opportunity to teach English as a Second Language in the regular classroom setting. This has included students from China, Russia, Serbia, Korea, Japan and Syria, as well as Mexican Mennonites. Priding herself in excellent classroom management, Lori has a great rapport with her students and expects their very best.

“I really enjoy the experiences gained in working within the CIS program. The students we teach expand our understandings of our own pedagogy, in working with a cultural background so distinct from our own."

Ron Kitcher
Teacher

“The program offers students an unforgettable opportunity to see a different part of the world, while developing their English language skills, as they experience Canadian culture through classroom activities, excursions, and interactions with their homestay families.”

Jeremy Thorpe
Teacher

"It is very rewarding for me, as an educator, to witness the growth in the students’ language skills over a short intensive period of time. The base of vocabulary they arrive to Canada with serves as a good testament to their English training in their own school system."

Ron Kitcher
Teacher

"I think the activities that are embedded within the program provide the students a solid means of showing much of the Canadian lifestyle, in terms of day-to-day recreation, but also other features that require the use of larger spaces, that are not as prevalent in their home country. These, in combination with the homestay experiences and dietary differences from home, provide the students with a truly well rounded experience."

Ron Kitcher
Teacher