Nadine Gagné was born in Vancouver, BC and is from the Métis Nation (Cree/French Iroquois/English ancestry). 

She is an Aboriginal Infant Development Consultant/Supervisor with Kla-How-Eya Aboriginal Centre’s ECE department which she has been employed in for the last 5 years. As well, she is the AIDP Regional Advisor for the Fraser and is responsible for supporting all AIDP programs from Twassen to Chilliwack/Seabird Island. Nadine has worked as a frontline worker within the Aboriginal community of Surrey for the past 12 years focusing on cultural/family support and early childhood education/infant development. Her passion includes supporting high risk children that have developmental delays, as well as working with Aboriginal foster children. She has been chosen as one of twelve national Aboriginal youth role model for Canada for 2005/06 through the National Aboriginal Role Model Program. She has posters and trading cards that have been circulated across Canada.

As a role model she has traveled to different Aboriginal communities to speak to the youth about achieving their goals. In November/05 Nadine received the BC Aboriginal Childcare Award for her contributions to Aboriginal children in BC and has been nominated for various other awards. Through volunteer work, Nadine has created and maintains “Children of the Rainbow Drum Group, which is a First Nations drum group for children aged 1-13 years. Currently there are 40 children in the group who perform in the community regularly. They have been performing for almost three years and have performed at more than 160 different events. Nadine sees a need to develop more Aboriginal cultural resources geared towards infants, toddlers and young children. She writes Aboriginal children’s songs that incorporate the Cree language and will be releasing her first Aboriginal children’s CD in November 2007. She would also like to turn some of her children’s songs into board books for Aboriginal toddlers and preschoolers.

In her spare time she enjoys playing guitar and harmonica and spending time with her family. She is also enrolled part-time in the Infant Development Program at the University of British Columbia.