Lynne Lafave

Dr. Lynne Lafave is a Professor in the Department of Health and Physical Education at Mount Royal University. Her academic work focuses on improving nutrition and physical activity environments in early childhood settings through evidence-based research and community engagement. She developed the CHEERS tool for evaluating child care environments and led the Garden2Plate initiative to enhance food literacy among disadvantaged preschoolers.

• PhD in Nutritional Sciences, University of Manitoba
• Bachelor of Human Ecology, University of Manitoba

Her research priorities include healthy eating behaviors, physical literacy promotion, and organizational change strategies in early education. Key projects involve collaboration with Alberta Health Services and provincial ministries to create scalable public health interventions. Dr. Lafave has presented at international conferences on topics ranging from pandemic impacts on child care to professional development for early childhood educators.

Dr. Lafave’s work emphasizes community partnerships, having served on provincial advisory committees for dietary guidelines and contributed to educational resources for teachers. Her 2019 Mount Royal University Community Engagement Award recognizes this impactful community-focused scholarship.

• Awards: 2019 Mount Royal University Community Engagement Award
• Labs/Teams: CHEERS Research Collaboration Network