Due to severe flooding in July, Barnett House will remain closed until early 2027.
The ATA Library is still open and providing resources to members.
Staff are working from home and continue to serve members online and by phone.
The Southern Alberta Regional Office (SARO) in Calgary is unaffected and conducts business per usual.
Dennis Theobald is first and foremost a teacher.
A product of Alberta’s public schools, Theobald began his career as a teacher before moving to Alberta Education and then to the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) in 2001. Now, after 25 years with the ATA—including eight years as executive secretary and chief executive officer—Theobald is retiring.
Theobald earned bachelor of arts and bachelor of education degrees at the University of Alberta (U of A) before taking his first teaching assignment at the Saddle Lake First Nation Reserve. He later moved to Tofield School, where he taught social studies until 1996. Theobald was then seconded to Alberta Education, where he worked in various settings, including the student evaluation branch, the system evaluation branch, the assistant deputy minister’s office and the system improvement and reporting division.
Gordon Thomas, who preceded Theobald as executive secretary, says the combination of classroom experience and knowledge of education policy and administration at the provincial level made Theobald a valuable addition to the Association.
“Dennis was able to bring experiences that are rich and this all benefitted the organization and the profession,” Thomas said. “And we’ve been especially fortunate in Dennis choosing to want to make his contributions to the profession because he could have made his contributions in many other ways and done just as well and made just as much of a contribution.”
In 2001, Theobald became an executive staff officer with the ATA. His responsibilities focused on political engagement and strategy, public relations, publicity and government relations. He later became coordinator of communications in 2008, associate executive secretary in 2011 and, finally, executive secretary in 2018. During his time at the ATA, he also completed his MBA at the U of A, further strengthening his capacity to lead.
Theobald joined the ATA at a time when political engagement was becoming an increasingly important part of the organization’s work. His experience with the provincial government and his political acumen proved particularly valuable in helping build coalitions across public education leading up to and following the 2002 strike.
“What was key in Dennis’s selection [for leadership] was the increasing role of the politics in education decision making and the importance of communications and political analysis in the actions of the Association, and he was the cream of the crop in those functions,” said Thomas.
That political work became a hallmark of Theobald’s career with the ATA. For 25 years, he remained steadfastly focused on advocating directly to the government on behalf of the ATA’s members and the students of Alberta.
Theobald’s tenure as executive secretary has also been marked by some of the most difficult periods in the profession’s and the organization’s history: legislative and policy changes, a global pandemic, an unprecedented provincewide teachers’ strike and, most recently, a flood at the ATA’s Barnett House.
He has been able to lead effectively through such challenging times thanks to his ability to assess complicated situations and communicate with different audiences, Thomas said.
“Dennis has done remarkably well in the most difficult of circumstances to keep the organization united, afloat, able to conduct its remaining business, and able to take forward the positions of members and to represent the views of the profession.”
Through it all, Theobald has stayed committed to building an organizational culture and capacity to ensure that the Association can serve and represent its members.
“In contrast to my earlier years with the Association when we were working with ministers of education including Gene Zwozdesky, Dave Hancock and Thomas Lukaszak, who had positive and constructive visions for education,” Theobald recalled, “most of my eight-year tenure as executive secretary has been marked by continuing attacks on the status of the teaching profession and on teachers.”
While others credit Theobald’s strong leadership for the Association’s ability to weather a myriad of challenges, Theobald attributes that successful navigation to his colleagues.
“All of this work has only been possible through the collaborative efforts of extraordinarily talented and dedicated staff colleagues, elected representatives and member teachers,” Theobald said.
Reflecting on the challenges and changes he has seen over his career, Theobald looks to public education as a source of hope for a society facing political divisiveness and artificial intelligence. For him, teachers are key to unlocking that hope.
“I hope that teachers will actively seize the moment to lead the creation of a consensus around the critical role of universal public education and professional teachers in leading students to learn how to learn, to learn to be, to learn how to live together, and to learn how to be productive in a rapidly evolving economy,” he said.
With Theobald’s tenure as executive secretary now ending, what has endured—and will endure—is his passion for public education and the classrooms where he taught and learned so much.
“I have never forgotten that I came from the classroom, and my greatest source of satisfaction has always been teaching,” Theobald said, “Opening the minds of students and, occasionally, colleagues to new perspectives and knowledge, and ultimately learning more from them than they from me.”
Humility, humanity and a historical referenceJason Schilling and Greg Jeffery, who each served as president during Theobald’s tenure, share what they will remember about working with Theobald and his contribution to the profession. “I have seen Dennis in action standing up for teachers, students and public education in meetings with MLAs and other government staff. Not every member gets to see those moments, but they do happen, and with this government, they have happened a lot. Aside from all his work, Dennis is also one of the smartest people I know. Of course, I will remember the work we did, but I will also remember the humanity and empathy he showed members, staff and myself. There were many hard days over the last few years, and Dennis’s humility and humanity helped them be just a little bit better.” —ATA president Jason Schilling “Dennis was originally hired to work in communications, and this skill has always shone through, with him bringing a more collaborative approach to communications within the organization. I will remember that even after all the time he spent with the ministry of education and the Association, Dennis never lost his connection to the classroom. It seemed like whenever he had a question to respond to or information to supply, he always had an historical reference to support his statement. He was always a social studies teacher first!” —ATA past president Greg Jeffery |
Theobald became known for his turns of phrase. Here are a few quotable quips from his time writing for the ATA News.
“Well, I’m not the sort of person to gloat and say to my friends in government “I told you so” so… OK, who am I kidding?” (September 2021)
“The government likes to call charters “schools of choice.” Fine. But in the lineup for limited public resources, they should take their place behind public, separate and francophone “schools of necessity.” (May 2023)
“Finally, I’ll leave you with a useful piece of advice that I myself have taken to heart when dealing with these provocations: “Never wrestle with a pig — you’ll both get filthy, and the pig likes it.” (August 2024)
“The strength of this Association derives from the commitment of each individual teacher. … In the final analysis, our success, your success, depends upon your willingness to become involved and act in support of your interests and public education.” (August 2018)
“Finally, there is the possibility of creative noncompliance. Having taught Grade 8 students, I became familiar with this strategy. It’s not about disobeying, but rather obeying in a creative, technical, limited or unhelpful way.” (May 2026)
