Shad UPEI
Program Directors
Charlene VanLeeuwen, PhD
Coordinator of the Teaching and Learning Center
When Shad first came to UPEI Charlene (she/her) got involved and was hooked! The next year she returned as Program Co-Director.
Charlene is Coordinator of the Teaching and Learning Center at UPEI. Teaching and learning is intertwined in much of what Charlene does, it’s one of her passions. She completed her Bachelor of Applied Science at the University of Guelph, and later degrees from the University of Ottawa and the University of Prince Edward Island. She completed her post doctoral fellowship at Royal Roads University while also teaching courses at UPEI, working at two island universities on the east and west coasts And her educational journey continues with Shad each summer.
Outside of work, Charlene is an avid reader of mystery novels. As a volunteer she spends LOTS of time on the pool deck officiating swim meets. She’s also a board member with a PEI-based
organization that works with farming communities in Kenya, where the majority of farmers are women. She shares a love of gardening with her husband, where they happily divide up the gardens so Charlene gets the flowers and he has the veggies.
Hannah Elizabeth Bell, MBA
Independent Business Consultant
Hannah (she/her) is so excited to be back at her alumni campus for Shad UPEI. With a diverse background in business, entrepreneurship, nonprofits and social justice, Hannah has used her life experiences to make a difference in the community. She holds an MBA in Innovative Management from UPEI, as well as diplomas in computer science, data engineering, and climate leadership. She has lived and worked in Canada, England, Belgium, Burkina Faso and Mali, including two years as a field educator with Doctors Without Borders. Currently Hannah works as an independent business owner and consultant providing strategic planning, operational and process reviews, data analytics, and custom training and facilitation in good governance and values based business practices.
Hannah served as an elected Member of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island from 2017 to 2023 in the Official Opposition, holding a number of roles including House Leader, Finance Critic, Social Development and Housing Critic, and Critic for Climate Action. In 2022 Hannah was a member of the Canadian delegation to COP27 – the United Nations Conference on Climate Change – held in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt.
Hannah currently lives and works in PEI with her daughter Ava, her mother Judith, as well as three dogs and two cats. Along with lots of dog walking and gardening, she volunteers with a number of local organizations including PEI Coalition for Women in Leadership and the Rotary Literacy Foundation.
