Meet the Chef de Mission and Assistant Chef de Mission for Special Olympics Team Canada 2027
Written By: Callum Denault, Special Olympics Canada Athlete and Staff Member
With the Special Olympics World Games Santiago 2027 fast approaching, Chef de Mission Kelly Edwards is preparing to guide the nation’s athletes, volunteer coaches, and mission staff as they compete on the world stage. Colleen Bowdon-Luda, the Assistant Chef de Mission will team up with Kelly to facilitate communications between the Chef and the many members of the team from across Canada residing coast to coast to coast.
Both Kelly and Colleen have known each other for a long time within Special Olympics, which will contribute to their leadership and dedication to support Special Olympics Team Canada (SOTC).
It’s the gut feeling of someone you’re going to essentially be living with for the next three months, I can trust Colleen to do what’s best for the team at all times.
I’ve known Kelly for an incredibly long time, and I’m excited to be working with her! I think we can make a good team, and it’s a great role for the two of us together!
While neither woman themselves has an intellectual disability, they both devoted decades of their lives to the Special Olympics movement because of how it addressed issues they experienced in their personal lives. Colleen recalled growing up in a small town alongside a close friend whose daughter was born with Down Syndrome.
Their community did not have any inclusive sport opportunities, which Colleen described as “feeling very unfair.” First joining Special Olympics Manitoba as a volunteer in 2001, she started working for the Provincial Chapter office in 2005 and is still their Director of Sports over 20 years later. Colleen spent much of her job developing Special Olympics Manitoba programs in various town across the province and said more of her job nowadays is focusing on helping new coaches as they start their lifelong journeys as volunteers.
Kelly, on the other hand, became involved with Special Olympics through her parents who volunteered at the 1986 Special Olympics Canada Summer Games held in Calgary. Kelly’s parents involved both of their daughters as part of the unique event, and even after the Games ended, the inclusive environment of Special Olympics left a lasting impression with Kelly.
When I was sixteen years old, I had cancer and lost half my jaw. It was a really weird time because—back then—we didn’t really have the awareness and support we do now, and we didn’t openly talk about cancer. I felt really different, and when I saw Special Olympics, I saw it was okay that I was a little different. [Special Olympics] is something I fundamentally don’t want to let go of because it’s a part of who I am.
In her day job, Kelly works for a company that builds modular homes, as well as supporting the Canadian defence industry and energy sector. Her role is helping with the various timed clocks and online resources that employees in Kelly’s company use to track their hours, among other important things. Kelly said she loves listening to the stories of other employees like her from across Canada, and learning what issues they have with her system so that she can design solutions for those problems. It is a philosophy she brings into her role as Special Olympics Team Canada’s Chef de Mission.
“I want to hear if someone doesn’t agree with me,” Kelly said about constructive criticism,
I’ve learned in my career that we have to be open to listening to other’s opinions. […] People need to know they’re heard and have been seen. Maybe we’re not supporting everyone, and I have to be told that I missed something.
Both Colleen and Kelly attended the Special Olympics Canada Summer Games in Medicine Hat, Alberta, as the Chef de Mission for their respective provinces. Kelly was Alberta’s Chef, and Colleen was Chef for Team Manitoba.
My goal is to enjoy the Games, cheer on the other athletes, and have as few challenges as possible. But when those challenges do come up, we’ll make sure to solve them as quickly as possible so the Games will be enjoyable for the whole team.
As part of the Games in Medicine Hat, Colleen and Kelly joined daily morning Chef meetings. These meetings are so the Chefs and Special Olympics chapter staff can meet with the local organizing committee for regular updates on how the events are planned to unfold, as well as hold regular debriefings. Arguably, the experience of being Chefs for their respective teams combined with both Kelly and Colleen’s many adventures as Mission Staff for Team Canada at past Special Olympics World Games will give Canada’s athletes their best chance at succeeding in Santiago next year.
According to Kelly, Team Canada is not just made up of the athletes and coaches who will travel to Chile, but also their family and training coaches who will remain in Canada.
“They’re just as important,” she said, “we’ll involve them in meeting schedules and be transparent with everyone.”