Margaret McCombs holds an undergraduate degree in elementary and special education, a Master's degree in Christian counseling, and a PhD in education. She is the founder of the International Community School in Orlando, Florida, where she pioneered the development of an innovative model of education that effectively combines private schooling with home education, based on a philosophy that actively engages parents in the academic process and promotes communitarian ideals of partnership, collaboration, contribution and service learning. She is passionate about the building of strong families, the unity of the Church, and the creation and sustaining of vibrant Christian community as a true reflection of the Body of Christ.

Dr. McCombs was born and raised in West Africa as the daughter of American missionaries, and came to the United States at the age of 16. Following college, she had a 13-year career in publishing, marketing and advertising before returning to the field of education. She has been a classroom teacher, preschool director and a K-12 school administrator, and has helped start a number of community schools in the U.S., and one in Tokyo, Japan. She currently serves as a consultant to schools both nationally and internationally, and is also on staff as the Minister of Education for Northland Church in Longwood, Florida, with a 10,000-member congregation. She is the mother of four grown sons and one teenage daughter, and lives with her husband and family in Lake Mary, Florida.