About

Jo Chrona is a speaker, education consultant, Indigenous education advocate, and author of Wayi Wah! Indigenous Pedagogies: An Act for Reconciliation and Anti-Racist Education (2022). She is Ts’msyen (a member of the Kitsumkalum First Nation) through her mother, and has European ancestry through her father. Jo is Ganhada (Raven) of Waap (House) K’oom. 

Jo’s professional experience includes over 25 years teaching in both K-12 (secondary grades) and post-secondary education, working as a Faculty Associate in Simon Fraser University’s (SFU) Teacher Education Program, an Advisor with the British Columbia (BC) Ministry of Education, and a Policy Analyst then Curriculum Manager, for the First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC) in British Columbia. 

Over the past two decades, she also been actively involved in the areas of curriculum development and resource writing, professional learning through inquiry networks, literacy development, and Indigenous education. Jo was also involved in various aspects of educational transformation in the BC’s K-12 system, including the development of Indigenous education policies, as well as managed and contributed to the creation of authentic Indigenous teacher resources.

Jo have a Bachelor of Arts in English and Women’s Studies from SFU, a Diploma in Education (Guidance Studies) and Master’s Degree in Educational Technology from the University of British Columbia (UBC), and also completed UBC’s Transformative Educational Leadership Program (TELP). She also maintains her BC Teacher Certification.

Jo is passionate about helping create systemic change in education systems to support inclusive, high-quality, responsive, and strength-based education experiences for all learners. In between consulting and providing professional learning sessions that focus on the intersections of Indigenous and anti-racist education, how Indigenous-informed pedagogies create stronger educational experiences for all, and how high-expectations relationships can help move us forward, she is currently examining the connections between the First Peoples Principles of Learning and authentic assessment.

Jo currently lives on Salt Spring Island, traditional territories of the W̱SÁNEĆ (Tsawout) and Quw’utsun.

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and …

the words i use to describe myself become my story…so i choose thoughtfully…for the stories we tell about ourselves also shape our lives

i am a daughter, sister, friend, traveller, educator, philosopher, adventurer, and spouse. i am of ts’msyen and european heritage, and am a two-spirited woman continually challenging myself. i’m learning how to live fully in life, and forever struggling to live it on my terms.

my joy in life is founds in painting, writing, travel, reading, irreverence, laughter, the ocean, fresh air, adventure, curiosity, living with intention, animals, learning, thoughtful people, words, transformation, connecting with place, spirituality, touch, living authentically, honouring, creativity, baking, stories, and exploring the spaces in between our words

and a really good coffee on a quiet morning.