Jeannie Lea

LEA, SARAH JEAN "JEANNIE," teacher, craftsperson, and educational administrator; b. 16 October 1950 in Moncton, daughter of Maurice D. Robidoux and Dorothy E. Fraser; m. 21 April 1973 James A. Lea, and they had two children, Andrew and Sarah; Presbyterian. Lea, a Liberal, was elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1993 for 6th Queens. Lea served as Minister without Portfolio and Minister Responsible for Government Reform and the Status of Women from 1993 to 1994 and, from 1994 to 1996, was Minister without Portfolio and Minister Responsible for Higher Education, Adult Training and Literacy and the Status of Women. She chaired the Community Consultative Committee and the Cabinet Committee on Social Policy Reform. "Jeannie" Lea received her early education in Moncton area schools, and received a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Biology from Mount Allison. Following university Lea attended Holland College in Charlottetown, where she earned a diploma in weaving in 1975. From 1973 to 1976, she worked as a substitute teacher in Charlottetown and as a craftsperson. In 1987 Lea was elected to the Unit Three School Board and served in that position continuously until 1992, when she was elected chair of the Unit Three School Board. In 1997 Lea became Liaison Officer with the Centre for International Education at the University of Prince Edward Island, and was a director of the Canadian Bureau of International Education. In 2002 she became a consultant in strategic planning and research. Lea is a member of a number of associations and boards. She is a director of the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation, a member of the National Statistics Council, a member of the Advisory Board of the Institute of Island Studies, and a member of the Eastern School Board Education Foundation. Lea has served as a director of the Canadian School Boards Association, as president of the Prince Edward Island School Boards Association, as a member of the Prince Edward Island Industrial Relations Committee, as a member of the Human Resource Development Committee, and as a member of the Provincial Task Force on Education. She has been president of the Prince Edward Island Spinners and Weavers Guild and secretary of the Prince Edward Island Crafts Council. She has been president of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of PEI and served as a director on the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. Jeannie Lea and her husband reside in Charlottetown. James Lea is the son of Dr. R. Gordon Lea and Mary Armstrong of Charlottetown, and grandson of Premier Walter Maxfield Lea*.