Alysia Pyndiura

BIO

Alysia Pyndiura is a teacher and early childhood educator from Toronto, Ontario. She currently teaches for the Toronto Catholic District School Board but has also worked for the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study and Svytlychka Ukrainian Cooperative Nursery School of Toronto. Alysia holds a Bachelor of Kinesiology and a Master of Arts, both from the University of Toronto. She has been an active member of the Ukrainian community both locally and nationally. For more than a decade, Alysia has been a volunteer at Plast Toronto in various capacities, notably serving as a counsellor for both children and youth at weekly meetings and at numerous summer camps. In her capacity as Camp Program Director and Camp Director at several overnight camps, she developed engaging camp programs, fostering a safe learning and exploratory environment. She believes in inspiring children to feel comfortable with exploring new situations, and developing teamwork, cooperation and leadership skills. Alysia was involved in developing and implementing strategies for Plast’s scouting program through the Structure and Strategy Committee, and also served on the Mentorship Program Committee to develop an effective mentorship program. She has also served at the Plast Canada national level since 2020 on the Board of Directors, serving as Co-Director of Children’s Programs. Alysia co-created a nation-wide virtual children’s summer program in place of in-person overnight camps which were cancelled due to COVID. The program emphasized the importance of outdoor education, play and exploration. In addition, she organized numerous leadership sessions for counsellors in training, aged 16 to 18. In her professional capacity she is involved with SUSK Connect, where she connects with and provides career advice to Ukrainian Canadian students across Canada. In her spare time, Alysia volunteers for Ukrainian Canadian Parachute assisting displaced people from Ukraine.