Nancy Deni, who previously served two terms as trustee with the Sudbury Catholic District School Board, has been appointed to replace a trustee who stepped down last fall, just weeks into his second term.
Deni will represent Zone 5, which encompasses Wards 9 and 10 in the City of Greater Sudbury, along with the municipalities of Killarney and French River and more than a dozen unorganized townships.
She was appointed trustee by the board following a formal application process.
Deni previously served two terms as a board trustee for Sudbury Catholic from 2014 to 2022.
She had represented Zone 4 as trustee during those years, but did not run for re-election last year. Zone 4 is now represented by another trustee, Stefano Presenza.
“I am honoured to serve on the Board of Trustees,” said Deni, in a press release issued by the Sudbury Catholic board. “I am very grateful to once again represent the community at the board table. As a parent within the system, I take this appointment very seriously and I look forward to working alongside my fellow trustees as we support the excellent work taking place in our Catholic schools.”
“On behalf of the board of trustees, we wish to thank all applicants who applied to fill the vacancy,” said Sudbury Catholic board chair Michael Bellmore.
“We are pleased to welcome Nancy back as the representative for Zone 5! Nancy is an experienced and respected leader and strong advocate for Catholic education as well as a genuine community leader. Her background in finance and the investment sector will be a tremendous asset when developing budgets and setting fiscal policy. She is ready to step in and continue the work of supporting our school communities and ensure that Sudbury Catholic students are provided with a quality education that allows our students to grow in body, mind, and spirit.”
A biography provided by the school board said Deni is a graduate of Laurentian University with an Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree (1994). Upon graduation, Deni spent several years in the investment industry in Toronto and Sudbury, having worked for BMO Nesbitt Burns and Goodman & Company. Throughout her investment career she continued to upgrade her education and attained her Canadian Investment Manager designation.
Deni is currently a manager at Freelandt Caldwell Reilly LLP. She has previously assisted as the treasurer and executive board member of Nickel City Aquatics and served on the Ward 8 Community Action Network.
Deni was previously a eucharistic minister and committed volunteer for St. Andrew’s Church. She was amongst the first cohort of trustees to complete the University Certificate Course for Catholic Trustees.
The trustee who stepped down from Zone 5, ultimately making way for Deni’s return to the school board, is Alex Cimino.
Cimino was first acclaimed as trustee in 2018, at the age of 18 (after having previously served as student trustee with the board), and won another four-year term in the 2022 school board election, beating out challenger Claire Morrison.
However, Cimino stepped down in November, just weeks into his second term as trustee. Social media posts indicate he’s studying to become a teacher at Nipissing University, and was a student teacher as of last fall at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School.
Provincial rules state that the employees of any school board are not allowed to hold office as a school board trustee. These rules would have become an issue for Cimino if he secured paid employment with any school board during his four-year term.
“I regret to inform that I will be vacating my seat as a Trustee for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board,” said Cimino’s November resignation letter.
“Due to unforeseen circumstances with both my current studies in education and my role as a Trustee, I cannot fulfill the role to its fullest capacity.”
In December, Sudbury Catholic board chair Michael Bellmore said the board had a choice between holding a byelection to replace Cimino, which would have been expensive, or appointing a candidate.
The board could have appointed a new trustee outright, but decided to instead go through an application process.
Last month, Bellmore told Sudbury.com that four applicants had put forward their names to replace Cimino.
Although she was the runner-up to Cimino in Zone 5 in last fall’s election, Claire Morrison told Sudbury.com in January that she was not putting her name forward for the board’s application process to replace the trustee.
Morrison said this is because the board didn’t appoint her outright after Cimino resigned, even though they had that option.
“They had an opportunity, they could have appointed me,” she said. “So, you know, to me, the writing’s on the wall. I’m not the one they want.”
Heidi Ulrichsen is Sudbury.com’s associate content editor. She also covers education and the arts scene.
