Dr. Janelle Brady, PhD (she/her) is an award-winning Black studies scholar, author, and activist-researcher. Dr. Brady is an Assistant Professor in the School of Early Childhood Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University, where she curates and teaches courses on equity, Black childhoods, and social justice pedagogies. Her research focuses on Black mothering, Blackness in early childhood studies, and Black feminisms.

Dr. Brady’s scholarship has been published in Bloomsbury Publishing, Springer, the Journal of Canadian Scholars, SAGE Publications, Demeter Press, and University of Toronto Press. She is the recipient of several awards, including the 2025 Provost’s Award for Teaching Excellence and the 2022 Viola Desmond Faculty Award—both from Toronto Metropolitan University—as well as the 2021 Emerging Leader Award and the 2019 International Day for the End of Racial Discrimination Award from the University of Toronto.  Her expertise has been featured in various media outlets such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), CityNews, Global News Canada, CP24, and CTV News.

She is also the co-founder and director of the Downsview Advocate, a community-based newspaper in Toronto’s north end. Dr. Brady has served as President of the Ontario NDP since 2022 and as a member of the Provincial Executive for several years prior.