Angela Grey

Angela Grey was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii to immigrant parents, as the eighth of ten children. Her love of Catholic education is attributed to her mother and the sisters and priests who raised her as a child in Hawaii at Maryknoll Grade School. She moved to Southern California with her husband and children in 2006. She attended Catholic schools from Kindergarten through eighth grade in Honolulu. Angela received her B.Ed in Elementary Education and an M.Ed in Educational Administration from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She has earned her Multiple Subject Teaching Credential from both UH Manoa and from Azusa Pacific University, and has a clear credential both in Hawaii and CA. After working as a K-3 PE Teacher and Athletic Director for one year, Angela went on to become Miss Hawaii 2000 and Miss America 2001 after a dare from her students. This took her on a whirlwind national speaking tour of the United States, traveling 20,000 miles a month, as the first Asian and only Filipina Miss America with a platform of "Character in the Classroom: Teaching Values, Valuing Teachers". 

Angela went back to teaching in Catholic schools in 2008. She worked in a first grade classroom at St. Anthony Claret School in Anaheim. After the school closed down due to low student enrollment, Angela was hired as the third grade teacher at Our Lady Queen of Angels in Newport Beach from 2009-2012. After giving birth to her 4th child, Angela took some time off to raise her children before she was recruited to become a junior high English Teacher and Vice Principal at St. Anthony of Padua School in Gardena in 2014.

Angela then took over as Principal of the school just one year later, and is now in her sixth year as Principal and seventh year at St. Anthony of Padua School in Gardena. Angela has been able to grow the school financially and improve the physical plant, all the while improving student learning and successfully focusing on Catholic Identity. Her five children have all attended her current school and Angela takes pride in what God has done for St. Anthony of Padua School in the past few years. The school has consistently been voted Best Private School and Favorite Private School in the South Bay, and this past year was voted Best Catholic School. Angela and her faculty and staff recently wrote a Self Study that earned them the maximum six-year accreditation for their school's WASC/WCEA Accreditation visit, for which they are very proud.

Angela attributes her leadership style to her coaches, as she played basketball, volleyball, and ran cross country in high school. Angela currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and high school sweetheart, Tinifuloa, and five children (four boys and one girl): Isaiah, Micah, Jonah, Keilah, and Mauloa. She is blessed to be able to serve as a mentor this year and is thankful to the Smet Foundation for creating Onward Leaders for aspiring Catholic School principals.