The Early Childhood Education Department has been fortunate to have had Laura Oyama on their team for the past 31 years. Laura came to Humber in 1986 as an Infant Therapist working with high risk families and children. Her knowledge and skills, combined with her credentials and experience as a child care supervisor, teacher, and professor clearly identified her immediately as an asset. During her tenure with Humber, Laura has been visionary in her contributions to the department, students, children, families, and the larger early childhood community. Laura’s steadfast commitment to excellence in infant and toddler care, and her unwavering dedication to responsive inclusive practice, social justice, development, and leadership continues to impact many in a very powerful way.  Laura has been a sought after expert for contributions to magazines such as Today’s Parent, and has been instrumental in assisting Humber’s childcare centres in building their community of practice to continue to reflect excellence.

In 2013, Laura was part of Students Crossing Borders in Jamaica, working collaboratively and responsively with new parents and infants/toddlers in the Riverton Parent-Child Centre, one of Jamaica's poorest communities. During this trip, she also presented at a conference providing professional development for more than 250 early childhood educators in Kingston, Jamaica. In 2014, Laura helped organize a teaching exchange program, sharing insight and leadership on play-based and responsive inclusive practice for early childhood educators traveling from Jamaica. Laura has been and continues to be a leader in the early childhood profession, offering mentoring, knowledge, and support to external and internal colleagues and partners. Her knowledge, experience, and passion will be greatly missed.

Jason Powell
Dean, School of Health Sciences