Brenda Elias

Upon completing her Bachelor of Applied Science, University of Guelph, Brenda was awarded a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Graduate Research Fellowship. She obtained her Master of Science degree with specialty in housing and gerontology and has a Specialist Certificate in Aging, Graduate School of Social Work, University of Michigan.

In 2009 she completed her PhD in Adult Education and Community Development at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto. Her thesis was on rural homelessness and subsequently she served as Project Coordinator for the Mental Health Commission of Canada on their Homelessness Research Initiative.

In 2012, Brenda was a member of the Advisory Committee on the Law as it Affects Older Adults, with the Law Commission of Ontario and is a faculty member of the Chang School of Continuing Education at Ryerson University in the NonProfit and Voluntary Sector Management Program and also teaches Foundations of Social Gerontology at the University of GuelphHumber degree program in Family and Community Social Sciences.

As an Ontario Public Servant for over 20 years Brenda has held many executive positions including 6 years as Director, Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and Director of Economic Development and Communications for the Ontario Women’s Directorate and more recently has provided consulting services on Leadership and Change to several national and provincial nonprofit Boards.

She is currently Research Director conducting a 5-year longitudinal study on healthy aging for Reena a nonprofit agency providing supportive housing to those individuals with intellectual challenges. Brenda is also the Program Coordinator for the Multidisciplinary Gerontology Certificate at Humber College.