Kristiina Montero is the Vice President, Academic and Dean of Renison University College and Professor in Social Development Studies and Culture and Language Studies. Before beginning a career in academia, Kristiina was an FSL and ESL teacher in Ontario and Québec. Kristiina has over 20 years of experience in teacher education, and before joining Renison University College in 2022, Kristiina held academic and leadership positions at Syracuse University and Wilfrid Laurier University. Her research examines the impact of culturally sustaining early literacy instructional practices on the language and literacy development of adolescent English language learners with limited prior schooling and explores the use of decolonizing pedagogies in educational contexts. Kristiina is passionate about pedagogy—the art and science of teaching. Her university teaching has been recognized with numerous awards. Kristiina also currently serves as the Secretary for the Strong Start to Reading Board of Directors.
Kristiina holds a BA from the University of Waterloo, a Bachelor of Education from Brock University, a Master of Education from Northern Illinois University, and a PhD in Reading Education from the University of Georgia.
