Born and raised near Toronto, Canada, Annette completed her Honours Bachelor of Arts Degree in Linguistics, Polish Studies (Literature and History) and French/English Translation in 2006 at the University of Toronto with a term in Québec at the Université Laval. She spent one year studying abroad at the Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3 in France, and, upon graduation, moved to France for two years where she worked as an English language teaching assistant at the collège level. Annette then returned to Toronto to complete her second degree in Secondary and Primary Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, with teaching qualifications in the languages and social sciences. In 2010, Annette moved definitively to Europe and began her teaching career in Paris working for the Education Nationale as a Secondary School English Teacher at Lycée Henri Bergson, where she prepared secondary students for the English Baccalaureate exams. She also developed and led several stages intensifs d’anglais for English language learners at Lycée Henri IV, Lycée Voltaire, and Lycée Turgot. In 2014, Annette moved to Switzerland to begin teaching at Verbier International School.

Annette has performed in, directed, produced and stage managed numerous school and community plays and musicals in Southern Ontario including Grease, Jesus Christ Superstar, Chess, The Music Man, Lysistrata, Bye Bye, Birdie!, Oklahoma, The Who’s Tommy in Concert, Into the Woods, and Henry V. She also worked closely with the artistic director of DramaWay Toronto leading groups of children with special education needs in various forms of dramatic expression including improvisation, miming, vocal projection, dance, script development and drama games. Since starting at VIS, she has produced and directed 10 school productions ranging from student-written shows to Broadway reviews and Shakespeare plays. She is an avid reader – especially of 19th and 20th century classics and of historical nonfiction.