Pino Buffone is the Director of Education for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, effective August 1, 2023.
Since 1994, Pino has been a talented educator, serving first as a teacher in the Western Quebec School Board (1994-1998) and as a teacher, vice-principal, principal and superintendent in the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (1998 to 2017). In 2017, Pino joined the Renfrew County District School Board (RCDSB) as the Director of Education. The OCDSB is fortunate to welcome Pino back beginning August 1, 2023.
As Director of Education for the Renfrew County District, he was accountable to the Board of Trustees, and through Statute, to the Minister of Education for the organization and operation of the district. Key areas of responsibility included: student welfare; educational leadership; fiscal responsibility; organizational management; strategic planning; personnel management; policy/procedures; Director/Board relations; communications and community relations; student, staff and district recognition/public relations; and, system leadership. With this experience, PIno is well positioned for the complex role of OCDSB Director of Education - the largest school district in eastern Ontario.
In addition to his work with school districts in Eastern Canada, Pino has worked on secondment at the Education Quality and Accountability Office – an arm’s-length agency of the Government of Ontario responsible for provincial, national and international large-scale assessments – as an Education Officer, and subsequently, as Coordinator of English-language Assessments (1999-2003).
He is currently a member of the Royal Society of Canada’s Children and Schools COVID-19 Working Group (2020 to present) and an Education Partner with the Education Research Development & Innovation (ERDI) Institute (2018 to present). He is also a facilitator of the Supervisory Officers’ Qualification Program (SOQP) of the Eastern Ontario Staff Development Network (2017-2022) and a member of the Modernization in Measurement Advisory Panel of the Education Quality and Accountability Office (2016 to present).
Pino has served as President of the United Nations Association in Canada – National Capital Region Branch (2007-2012), as well as Part-Time Academic Staff, Faculty of Education – University of Ottawa, for the Teacher Education Program & Native Teacher Education Program (2006-2008).