Feminist, social activist, broadcaster, public speaker, author.
Known as a champion of the rights of women, minorities and working class, Judy has been working for equality since the 1970s. She worked as the Canadian Hearing Society’s Special Projects Director from late 1970s to early 1990s and elected in 1993 as president of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women the largest feminist lobby group in Canada advocating for women’s rights.
Judy was a leading figure in the choice movement of the 1980s, including becoming the spokesperson for the Ontario Coalition for Abortion Clinics supporting Henry Morgentaler when he opened his Toronto clinic.
From 1994-2000, Judy hosted several CBC TV programs and authored four books on variety of political topics calling for change: Imagine Democracy (2000), Ten Thousand Roses: The Making of a Feminist Revolution (2004), Transforming Power: From the Personal to the Political (2009), Occupy This! (2012).
One of her most important achievements was creating and publishing rabble.ca in 2001 - an early online news source and social media platform.
In more recent years, Judy has become a voice on topic of mental health and depression. In 2018, she wrote and released her memoir, Heroes in my Head, discussing her struggles with depression and dissociative identity disorder that heightened during her work in the 1980s.
Judy is currently teaching at Toronto Metropolitan University and project advisor for Canadian Women’s Chamber of Commerce.
Host Debra Davis talks to Judy about her inspiration, her formidable career as an activist and the varied topics she has advocated.
This episode is produced by The Women’s History Project with thanks to the Canadian Women’s Foundation.
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