Leah Whitehead

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT LEAH WHITEHEAD

Leah connects with families nationwide, offering hope, education, and support. Her heart-led mission is to create lasting, positive change in healthcare, workplaces and in people’s homes making each space more compassionate and responsive to the needs of others.With a background in Journalism and Communications, Leah gets fired up in taking the seemingly complicated and making it accessible to all people. As a curious journalist, research was always an area of interest that she expanded on in her role at the IWK NICU, participating in many research projects and initiatives. Her collaborative work has been featured in prestigious journals like Archives of Disease in Childhood, Journal of Family Nursing, and Journal of Neonatal Nursing. Using her lived experience as a woman who interacted with the healthcare system and as a parent who has had children in the neonatal intensive care unit, the pediatric intensive care unit and the pediatric medical unit, she is passionate about healthcare, advocacy and knowledge translation in the world of medicine. Over the course of 11 years, Leah co-founded and built a comprehensive peer support program the IWK NICU from the ground up, creating a robust and sustainable model that bridges the gap between families and healthcare providers. Through this work, she has empowered families, advocated for family-centered care, and played a key role in improving the NICU experience for countless families.A passionate mentor and coach, Leah advises healthcare professionals and families on language, peer support, and true partnership, helping to foster compassionate, collaborative care environments. Together with her husband, she co-owns a First Aid, Safety, and Psychological Safety Training business, where they help organizations create safe and supportive spaces for physical and emotional well-being. Leaning on her background in broadcast journalism, she is one of the hosts of Preemie Chats, an educational YouTube series produced by Canadian Premature Babies Foundation (CPBF). She works alongside CPBF to communicate their cause of empowering families and creating a brighter future for all preemies.