About Grace McCallum

Grace McCallum has led international and independent schools in China, Germany and Brazil as Director / Head of School in her 18 years abroad. While she and her husband, Chris, and their two daughters, Lila and Avery, have thrived travelling the world and developing as global citizens, they are proud Canadians at heart, with deep connections to their family and friends in New Brunswick.

 

Grace finds joy in mentoring aspiring leaders. Having often found herself as the sole female leader at the table, she is dedicated to ensuring that girls aspiring to leadership have the support and mentorship they need. She serves on the Women in Leadership Committee of the American International Schools in the Americas (AMISA) to design mentorship opportunities for female leaders in Latin America and abroad. She is passionate about educating girls in STEM, leadership and entrepreneurship to empower them with the skills and confidence to drive positive change, shape industries and create innovative solutions for a more equitable future for all. 

 

She leverages her strengths as a relationship-builder and strategic thinker committed to driving transformational change in the schools she leads. She has successfully led forward-thinking building projects and master planning, community-driven strategic planning and innovative student programming. Intercultural competency is an anchor in her leadership as diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging are core personal values.

 

A career-long IB educator, Grace values an inquiry-based approach to education where students have authentic agency. She is passionate about moving beyond differentiation to create personalized pathways for each student to achieve individualized success.

 

Grace serves as vice president on the executive board of the American Association of Schools in Brazil (AASB) and as a board member on the EU-based board for Pioneering Schools. She is a New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) accreditation team visitor and has in-depth experience with IB and CIS accreditation.

 

She holds a B.A from St. Thomas University, and a B.Ed and M.Ed in Educational Leadership and Administration from the University of New Brunswick. She is a contributing author of the book, What Should Canada's Teachers Know? Teacher Capacities: Knowledge, Beliefs, and Skills and has written articles for publications such as School Rubric.

 

Grace is an experienced public speaker and has spoken at the 2019 Association of German International Schools (AGIS) Conference in Germany, the 2020 Association for the Advancement of International Education (AAIE) Conference in New York City, the 2021 Women's Ed Conference in Germany as the Keynote Speaker, the 2022 AMISA Conference in Sao Paulo, and the 2023 AAIE Conference in Washington D.C. Her speaking topics have included women in leadership, innovative schools, DEI and the importance of female mentorship for aspiring leaders.