Heather Watts
Principal & Partner at First Peoples Group
PhD Candidate, Social Justice Education, OISE

Heather Watts (Mohawk, Six Nations of the Grand River Territory) is an educator, storyteller, and policy strategist whose work bridges Indigenous knowledge systems, education, and institutional transformation. As Principal & Partner at First Peoples Group, she leads national initiatives in reconciliation action planning, cultural competency training, and Indigenous engagement — bringing over 15 years of experience across classrooms, boardrooms, and community spaces. 

Heather’s path into this work began in the classroom — first as an elementary teacher in New York, then as Education Manager in her home community of Six Nations. That grounding in community has shaped everything since: her research, her policy work, and her ongoing commitment to learning grounded in Indigenous worldviews. She is currently a Professor in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Humber Polytechnic, where she brings that same orientation to the next generation of students. 

Her academic formation reflects both rigour and range. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Inclusive Education from Syracuse University, a Master of Education in Literacy Coaching from Columbia University, and a second Master of Education in Education Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is now completing her Ph.D. in Social Justice Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto — all of her graduate studies pursued as a student parent, with the lived understanding of what it actually takes to stay in higher education when the system wasn’t designed with you in mind. 

That understanding extends beyond her own experience. As a published author on reconciliation, Indigenous identity, and anti-Indigenous racism, an alumna of the Action Canada Fellowship with the Public Policy Forum, and a member of the Indigenous Leadership Circle, Heather works at the intersection of scholarship and systemic change. She serves on the Accreditation Panel for the Ontario College of Teachers, and on the Board of Directors for EcoSchools Canada, as well as Work in Culture. 

At the heart of everything is a deep commitment to storytelling, relationship-building, and creating space for Indigenous voices to lead — not just participate in — the transformation of our institutions.