From Athlete to Advocate: Special Olympics PEI's Emily Craig Takes Her Leadership National

Written by Callum Denault, Special Olympics Canada Employee and Athlete

Special Olympics PEI athlete Emily Craig has joined the Canadian Athlete Leadership Council (CALC) — a national group of Athlete Representatives who advise Special Olympics Canada on programs and priorities across the country. A basketball player at heart, Emily also serves as the Athlete Representative on Special Olympics PEI’s Board of Directors, which made her eligible to join the CALC. Grateful for all the support and training provided by her local Special Olympics Chapter, the athlete leader said she is excited about helping people with intellectual and developmental disabilities on a national level.

Emily first joined Special Olympics in 2001, when she was 12 years old and signed up for a local swimming program after a resource teacher told her parents about the organization. She knows many people who didn’t discover Special Olympics until much later, and she’s determined to help change that. She says it is “sad in a way” that she still hears about many young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who don’t learn about Special Olympics until they are older, when programs start as early as 2 years old. “As an athlete leader, I want to help make sure more kids learn about it sooner,” she said.

After enjoying 15 years as a swimmer, Emily developed a strong desire to play basketball. At the time, Special Olympics PEI’s closest basketball program was in Charlottetown, which meant long drives from their home in Summerside. Even though Emily felt being part of her team was well worth the commute, when she had an opportunity to advocate for a new program during a Community Connections meeting with Special Olympics PEI’s Executive Director Charity Sheehan, Emily spoke up. “It was something that I thought I should do because there were athletes I knew who would want to play basketball in Summerside, and I would have felt bad if I didn’t say anything,” she said.

The staff at Special Olympics PEI agreed, and asked Emily to find five or more athletes living in Summerside who wanted to play basketball in order to ensure momentum for a new program , and she succeeded. Today, Emily now proudly plays basketball at a local program close to home!

Emily is open about having Williams Syndrome , and while the diagnosis has brought some serious health challenges — including a heart condition called supravalvular aortic stenosis, which makes one of her arteries narrower than it should be — she refuses to let anything hold her back. She feels participation in Special Olympics has only made her stronger. In 2013, Emily was hospitalized with a heart infection but made a full recovery, and she continues to play basketball while staying mindful of her limits.

While she once didn’t consider herself a public-speaker, Special Olympics PEI’s Executive Director, Charity Sheehan, saw potential after seeing Emily speak at an LETR Truck Convoy fundraiser, and asked her if she was interested in joining Special Olympics PEI’s Athlete Leadership Academy.

As an Athlete Leader, Emily had the opportunity to be the Athlete Speaker at Special Olympics PEI’s signature fundraising event, the Enriching Lives Gala.

Over the years, Emily has become a recognizable leader within her community. She has spoken at many events, including the send-off celebrations for PEI athletes who flew off to the 2023 and 2025 Special Olympics World Games, in Berlin and Turin respectively and Special Olympics PEI’s  Annual Awards in 2023. She was also a virtual guest speaker at a  couple of classes for Holland College’s Sport and Leisure Management program, sharing her perspective as an athlete with a disability and answering questions from students and the professor.

As the Athlete Representative on Special Olympics PEI’s Board of Directors, Emily has the same voting rights and freedom to share her opinion as every other member.  The intent of the role of Athlete Representative on the Board is to have a strong athlete voice and to help gain more athlete voices during special projects.

Now, through her new role on the Canadian Athlete Leadership Council, Emily will bring her perspective and experience to a national audience. The Canadian Athlete Leadership Council (CALC) is made up entirely of Athlete Representatives like Emily who are currently serving on the Boards for their local Chapters. Meeting every 3 months either in-person or virtually, each CALC member shares updates from their local Chapters, provides feedback on new policies and program development, and helps shape the future of Athlete Leadership in Canada. Emily says she’s already found her voice among her peers.

Emily recently attended her first in-person CALC meetings. Along with a variety of other topics, Emily spoke on the importance of women’s health topics.

“I did bring a lot in terms of women’s health,” Emily said, regarding the discussion and development of Healthy Athletes programs run in her province. Special Olympics PEI recently provided data for a study on female athletes who struggle to afford properly-fitting bras, and they have investigated other aspects of health as well, such as sleep and nutrition.

Moving forward in her leadership roles, Emily will continue her journey with the support of her peers and a couple of mentors. Ellen Murphy, Special Olympics PEI’s Sport Coordinator, is one such mentor. Ellen provides support and guidance to Emily for both the CALC and Special Olympics PEI’s Board of Directors meetings,. Ellen has given Emily a lot of encouragement during their time together, working alongside her in developing new projects to promote Athlete Leadership within PEI, and also helping support the logistics of travel.

“I believe as an athlete,” Emily said, “especially as a leader, a major goal for me is to have more athletes, especially young athletes, involved in Special Olympics in PEI. It is a great program, and not enough people know about it.”

Please join us in wishing Emily well as she embarks on her new role as an athlete leader on the national stage!