Ma. Rita J. Atienza is the Director of the Ateneo Teacher Center and a faculty member of the Gokongwei Brothers School of Education and Learning Design (GBSEALD) at Ateneo de Manila University. She is an experienced teacher trainer and curriculum consultant with a strong background in the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm, Project-Based Learning, Whole Person Education, Understanding by Design, and curriculum development and instructional design. She is also currently Curriculum and Instruction Design Consultant to Xavier School San Juan and Assumption College San Lorenzo. 

Ms. Atienza designed the Whole Person Education Academy certificate course for the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia, which has been run by the Ateneo Teacher Center from 2017 to the present for participants from universities across Asia. She has co-authored the book Learning by Refraction: A Practitioner’s Guide to 21 st Century Ignatian Pedagogy with Fr. Johnny Go, SJ. Together, they have been involved in training Jesuit educators in Europe, Australia, Asia, Latin America, and North America on Refractive Learning.

Ms Atienza holds an MA in Education from the Ateneo de Manila University and is currently completing her Ed. D. in Catholic Education Leadership at the University of San Francisco.