Raffi Foundation for Child Honouring is located on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Coast Salish people, specifically the Hul’qumi’num and SENĆOŦEN speaking peoples. Salt Spring Island includes the territories of the Quw’utsun Tribes, Penelakut Tribe, Lyackson, Halalt, Tsawwassen, Tsawout, Tsartlip, Tseycum, Pauquachin, and Malahat First Nations. We also acknowledge that our work reaches across many other First Nation territories, Metis Homelands and Inuit Nunangat. We are committed to doing the personal and organizational work to address historic and ongoing injustices, and to prioritize mindful relationship-building, curiosity, and meaningful action.
Families Canada is the national association of family support centres. Our members are community-level organizations who provide hubs of free services, programs, and resources to primarily low-income and disadvantaged families in communities across Canada. Through our 500+ members, we impact the lives of approximately 500,000 families per year. For nearly 50 years, we have helped our members meet the evolving and complex needs of families
Cities across Canada are recognizing Child Honouring, the movement founded by Raffi Cavoukian that calls for children’s needs to be at the heart of decision-making.
Toronto, Vancouver, and Victoria have proclaimed July 8 as Child Honouring Day, marking an important milestone for the movement and coinciding with Raffi’s birthday.
The recognition comes during a significant year for Child Honouring, as 2026 marks 50 years since Raffi released Singable Songs for the Very Young. It also comes as the Foundation continues its advocacy for stronger protections for children, including a minimum age for social media.
Right now, a child in Canada is being bullied online. Another is at risk of online sexual exploitation. Others are lying awake at 2am, scrolling through content designed by algorithms to keep them hooked.
It’s time for Canada to join countries like Norway, France, UK and Australia that are advancing or implementing age minimums and regulations.
Join the Raffi Foundation for Child Honouring in calling on federal and provincial governments to protect our kids.
Laurel is a dedicated advocate for children, sustainability, and community well-being. As the former Member of Parliament for Victoria, she worked tirelessly on issues of climate action, housing, and gender-based violence, bringing compassion and courage to national leadership.
With a background in nonprofit leadership, policymaking, and movement building, Laurel is committed to creating systemic change while nurturing the next generation of leaders. Her work has spanned grassroots organizing, post-secondary teaching, working with the United Nations, and legislative negotiations, but always guided by the vision of a more equitable and sustainable future.
Laurel brings her passion for advocacy and education into her role as Executive Director, helping to advance the Foundation’s mission of building a child-honouring society.
At home on the West Coast, Laurel finds joy in pottery and exploring the outdoors with her two young daughters and her partner. She believes that creativity, play, and connection, along with strategy and policy, are all essential to leadership and to making the world a better place.
For over five years, Lindsay has worked with compassion in charitable stewardship, building bridges between people and causes with genuine heart. Her journey began long before her professional career, rooted in a lifetime of volunteer experience, and is now guided by the belief that the most meaningful connections come from shared human stories and experiences.
A graduate of Laurentian University and Cambrian College, Lindsay is always on a path of growth, seeking new knowledge and embracing opportunities to learn. Outside of her work, she finds joy onstage, performing with a local theatre group and concert band, where creativity and community shine. Living in Sudbury, Ontario, Lindsay is also an avid photographer, constantly drawn to the beauty of the world, finding quiet wonder in nature and the simple moments that make life so extraordinary.
Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Miriam is a psychologist working at the crossroads of developmental and clinical psychology. She bridges the world of psychoanalytic thinking and clinical practice with contemporary research in child development.
Her current projects include studies exploring attachment and body representations across a range of individuals including mother-child dyads and individuals with physical disabilities, studies of children in foster care and adoption and child and adolescent global mental health.
Savannah grew up in Vancouver, BC, where she spent most of her time playing music with her family and exploring the outdoors. She is now in her final year of the Bachelor of Music program at the University of Victoria.
Throughout her degree she taught music to children of all ages and was commissioned by Vancouver-based children’s media company, Tiny Souls, to write and record two children’s songs based around themes of spreading joy and love. Savannah has a strong passion for community-building and arts-based learning, and strives to implement creativity, reflection, and social connection in her music, work, and teaching.
Savannah grew up in Vancouver, BC, where she spent most of her time playing music with her family and exploring the outdoors. She is now in her final year of the Bachelor of Music program at the University of Victoria.
Throughout her degree she taught music to children of all ages and was commissioned by Vancouver-based children’s media company, Tiny Souls, to write and record two children’s songs based around themes of spreading joy and love. Savannah has a strong passion for community-building and arts-based learning, and strives to implement creativity, reflection, and social connection in her music, work, and teaching.
Britt Wray, PhD is an author and the Director of CIRCLE at Stanford Psychiatry, a research and action initiative focused on Community-minded Interventions for Resilience, Climate Leadership and Emotional wellbeing in the Stanford School of Medicine. Britt is the author of two books; her latest Generation Dread: Finding Purpose in an Age of Climate Anxiety, is an impassioned generational perspective on how to stay sane amid climate disruption and was a finalist for the 2022 Governor General’s Award. She is the recipient of the 2023 Canadian Eco-Hero Award and top award winner of the National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications, given by The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Britt holds a PhD in science communication from the University of Copenhagen and completed her postdoctoral training in Planetary Health from Stanford Global Health. She also holds a Climate Psychology Certificate from the California Institute of Integral Studies in California. As a science communicator, she has hosted several podcasts, radio and TV programs with the BBC, NPR, CBC, has spoken at TED and the World Economic Forum, and is a Chicago Council on Global Affairs Next Generation Climate Changemaker. Britt is also the creator of Gen Dread, a newsletter about staying sane in the climate crisis.
Joel Solomon is President of Renewal Partners and Chairman of Renewal Funds. He is a founding member of Social Venture Network (SVN), Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), the Tides Canada Foundation, and is board chair of Hollyhock. He is author of The Clean Money Revolution.
Stuart Shanker, Ph.D., is a Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Psychology, internationally celebrated speaker, thinker, and writer. Dr. Stuart Shanker is one of the world’s leading authorities on self-regulation. He is the Science Director of the Self Regulation Institute and CEO of The MEHRIT Centre, Ltd. He has authored many books including, “Calm, Alert and Learning: Classroom Strategies for Self-Regulation (2012)”, and his latest book is Self-Reg: How to Help Your Child (and You) Break the Stress Cycle and Successfully Engage With Life (2016).
Rekha S. Rajan, Ed.D.has been an educator for over 20 years. She holds a Doctorate and Masters in Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, in NYC and a Masters in Early Childhood Education from Roosevelt University in Chicago, IL.
Rekha is the author of a six books for teachers and parents on how bring the arts, music and musical theater into children’s education. As a nationally recognized educator, her work has been featured with NPR, the National Head Start Association, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the California Alliance for Arts Education, and the National Endowment for the Arts. She is a curriculum advisor to multiple states and agencies including the California Department of Education, the Illinois Department of Education and is the editor forGeneral Music Today, a journal of the National Association for Music Education.
Her debut children’s book, a STEM-rich nonfiction for Scholastic entitledAMAZING LANDMARKS(2022) emphasizes reading aloud through critical thinking, Q&A and reflection. Rekha continues to conduct groundbreaking research on arts education, integrating the arts into schools, and strategies for supporting parents and families with arts-engagement at home. She is also an award-winning professional opera singer and musical theater performer.
Dr. Rajan lives in Northern California with her husband, three kids, two dogs, and two birds in a house full of books.
Carolyn Pogue is the author of books for all ages, including: After the Beginning, an ecological tale, Seasons of Peace, a teachers’ guide, A World of Faith: Introducing Spiritual Traditions to Teens, Letters to Mira, on the death of a mother, and Patriarchy on Trial, for readers theatre. Carolyn, a grandmother, lives in Treaty 7 Territory, Canada where she uses art, videography and writing to work for peace and justice for all beings. www.carolynpogue.ca
Bruce Lanphear, MD, MPH, a Professor at Simon Fraser University, lives in a cohousing community on Bowen Island in the Salish Sea. Bruce led influential studies used by federal agencies around the world to set standards for harmful levels of lead in air, paint, water, and house dust. His research compelled agencies to acknowledge that no amount of lead is safe for children. He has conducted hundreds of studies to identify toxic chemicals and reduce environmental hazards to protect children from toxic chemicals and air pollution. Bruce and his brother, Bob, co-founded Little Things Matter to share scientific research on toxic chemicals with parents. They produce videos showing how our health is inextricably linked with environment influences to protect children from disease.
Roslyn Kunin, C.M., Ph.D., LL.D., is President of Roslyn Kunin and Associated Inc., an international economic consultancy.
Fran Korten is currently active with local and state groups focused actions to reduce carbon emissions. Starting in 1998, she served for 19 years as executive director of YES! Magazine. Previously she was a grantmaker for 20 years with the Ford Foundation’s offices in Manila, Jakarta, and New York. She taught at Harvard University and holds a Ph.D. in social psychology from Stanford University. She lives on Bainbridge Island with her husband, David Korten. She has two daughters, a son-in-law and two grandchildren.
David C. Korten, Ph.D, is co-chair of the New Economy Working Group, president of Living Economy Forum, co-founder and board chair of YES! Magazine, and Associate Fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies. He is author of The Post-Corporate World: Life after Capitalism (1999); The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community (2006); Agenda for a New Economy: From Phantom Wealth to Real Wealth (2009, 2010), and Change the Story, Change the Future: A Living Economy for a Living Earth (2015).
Emily R Hawken, Ph.D, is a neuroscientist, and is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at Canadian Frailty Network (CFN), Queen’s University, Providence Care Mental Health Services in Kingston, Ontario.
Dr. Judith G. Hall, O.C., M.D., F.R.C.P.(C.), is a clinical geneticist and pediatrician. She also participated in founding the Council of Canadian Academies, Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and Genome Canada. Dr. Hall has been honoured with more than 50 awards including the Order of Canada and Fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada. Dr. Hall was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in 2015.
Budd L. Hall, Ph.D.,is a Professor of Community Development in the School of Public Administration at the University of Victoria and is Secretary of the Global Alliance on Community-Engaged Research. Dr. Hall was the founding Director of the University of Victoria Office of Community-Based Research and is a Senior Fellow, Centre for Global Studies.
Fritjof Capra, Ph.D., physicist, systems theorist and author, is cofounder and former chair of the board of directors, and currently serving on the board of directors for the Center for Ecoliteracy, which promotes ecology and systems thinking in primary and secondary education. His latest book is The Systems View of Life.
Sandy McPherson gratefully resides on the unceded land of the Quw'utsun' First Peoples. A former nurse and health care administrator, Sandy is also an avid cyclist, permaculturalist, local lender, food security supporter, and community resilience builder. She is a strong advocate and was recognized in 2019 with a BC Achievement Community Award as a steadfast community leader.
Formerly an elementary teacher and consultant for inner-city Toronto schools, Bert has been involved with Raffi and his music since 1976. His work includes communications, marketing, contracts, and creative development.
A renowned singer known by his first name alone, Raffi was a pioneer in quality recordings for children on his independent label, Troubadour. For millions of fans, Raffi's music was the soundtrack of their childhoods, and they took his signature song "Baby Beluga" to heart. These "beluga grads" now share his award-winning music with their own children. Raffi has been described by the Washington Post and the Toronto Star as "the most popular children's entertainer in the English-speaking world" and "Canada's all-time children's champion." Raffi is a music producer, author, entrepreneur, and ecology advocate.
In 2010, he founded the Raffi Foundation for Child Honouring—an integrated philosophy that views honouring children as the best way to create sustainable, peacemaking cultures. Raffi has received the Order of Canada, the Order of BC, the U.N. Earth Achievement Award, and five honorary degrees.
In a career spanning five decades, Raffi has refused all commercial endorsement offers and has never taken part in advertising to children. He is a passionate supporter of a commercial-free childhood and, in 2006, was awarded the Fred Rogers Integrity Award for this work.
Kari is a passionate advocate for sustainable living, environmental awareness, and community building initiatives. With a background in Environmental Studies and a Bachelor of Education with an Outdoor and Experiential Education focus, Kari dedicates herself to finding innovative solutions for a greener future.
Kari has worked at two school boards as an Outdoor Education Specialist, teaching and creating hands-on, outdoor experiential programs for students. Previous to this, she worked as a Children's Program Coordinator with Ontario Provincial Parks.
Whether she's creating programs that invite a sense of wonder or connecting people to nature, Kari's curiosity and commitment shine through, inspiring others to join the journey towards a more eco-conscious world. Committed to a peaceful and sustainable place for all of us, Kari is eager to share her passion and skills in the role of Education Coordinator.
David started his career in theatre by touring with Imago Theatre, an internationally renowned theatre company based in his hometown of Portland, Oregon. Later, he moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba where, in collaboration with the city, he created and implemented an arts and recreation program for underserved communities. He also organized artist talks and exhibitions for an artist from Sierra Leone at the prestigious Canadian Museum for Human Rights and various other organizations that catered to new Canadians.
David worked as a program assistant in the Faculty of Science at the University of Manitoba for a program called STEAM. This program aimed to bridge the gap between art and science. As a beluga grad, David is proud to offer his skills to a foundation dedicated to nurturing young people. Surrounded by nature, he finds joy spending time in his cabin with his partner, dogs, and cats, and taking peaceful walks through the trees.