NCCAH Academic Lead ~ Dr. Margo Greenwood
Dr. Margo Greenwood, NCCAH Academic Leader, is an Indigenous scholar of Cree ancestry with more than 20 years' experience in the field of early childhood education. Professionally and personally, children have been the focus of her life. She has worked as a front line caregiver of early childhood services, designed early childhood curriculum, programs, and evaluations, and taught early childhood education courses at both the college and university levels. As a mother of three, she is personally committed to the continued well-being of children and youth in Canada.

While Margo's focus has been on all children, she is recognized provincially, nationally and internationally for her work on Aboriginal children. She has served with over 20 national and provincial federations, committees and assemblies, and has undertaken work with UNICEF, the United Nations, and the Canadian Reference Group to the World Health Organization Commission on Health Determinants. In recognition of her years of work in early childhood, Margo Greenwood was the recipient of the Queen's Jubilee medal in 2002.

Currently, Margo is an Associate Professor in both the Education and First Nations Studies programs at the University of Northern British Columbia. Her current research interests include the structural impetus for the development and subsequent implementation of early childhood development programs and services in Canada and with the Kohanga reo in New Zealand; and cross-cultural communication and children's transition from preschool to the formal education system.

In addition to her teaching and service commitments, Margo also directs a number of research institutes, including the National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health; the Centre of Excellence for Children and Adolescents with Special Needs, UNBC Task Force on Substance Abuse; and Aboriginal ActNow BC, a B.C. government-funded collaborative health promotion initiative.