ISP: CENTRAL

Marianne Yong-Macdonald

Group Head of Teacher Professional Learning & Development

Marianne was born and raised in Malaysia and immigrated to Canada with her family in 1989. Her passion for learning and positively impacting other learners motivated her to attain her Doctor of Education in Organizational Change and Leadership from the University of Southern California in 2017. She also holds a Master’s degree in International School Leadership. 

Marianne began as a public high school science teacher in Ontario before embarking on an exciting journey in international school leadership and education in 2001. Before joining ISP in January of 2021, she held a variety of teaching and leadership roles, including Director of Learning and Founding Head of School. Her understanding of the significance of school leadership and professional learning compelled her to develop Middle Leadership for Learning cultures and sustainable teacher development models in schools. Marianne is an experienced program developer and workshop leader. She has also led a successful schoolwide CIS-NEASC accreditation process and has been on visiting accreditation committees to other international schools.

Through Marianne’s diverse experience in well-established Pre-K to 12 international schools such as the United World College of South East Asia, International School of Manila, Shekou International School, and Anglo-American School of Sofia, she has learned the value of collaboration, trust and relationship building in engaging and empowering learners.

Marianne enjoys spending time with her family hiking, playing sports, card games and highly competitive games of Scrabble. She loves to travel, and her favourite family vacations are often excursions to remote places worldwide.