Judy White
Judy White was born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago. After completing a Bachelor of Arts at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica, she was awarded a scholarship from the Government of France to pursue social work studies at the Institut de Travail Social et de Recherches Sociales in Montrouge, France. She later completed a diploma in French language studies at the University of Bordeaux, as well as a diploma in social work administration from Université Lille 2 Droit et Santé.
In 1987, she settled in Canada, where she continued to advance her education, completing both a Bachelor of Social Work and a Master of Social Work at the University of Regina. She later earned her PhD in Social Work from the University of Manitoba in 2007.
Alongside her academic training, Judy worked in the field as a social worker with the Government of Saskatoon and subsequently Family Service Saskatoon, gaining direct practice experience in community and family support services. In 1999, she joined the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Regina as an associate professor, marking the beginning of a long academic career.
From 2013 to 2015, she served as Acting Dean of the Faculty of Social Work, and in June 2015 she began a five-year term as the Dean. She held this leadership position until her retirement in 2019.
In addition to her academic career, Judy was appointed to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission in 2005 in recognition of her extensive experience in academia, social work, and community engagement. In this role, she contributed to the development of key policy initiatives, including the rights of trans people and a racial terminology project review initiative.
She also held several leadership and governance roles across community and research organizations. These included serving on the Board of Governors for the Prairie Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Integration, as well as taking on presidential roles with both the International Women of Saskatoon and the Regina chapter of the Congress of Black Women. In addition, she served as the Saskatchewan representative to the Vanier Institute.
Judy served as president of the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW-ICREF) from 2007 to 2013. During her tenure, she was a vocal critic of federal funding cuts to women’s organizations under the Harper government, arguing that “cutting off funding for women’s organizations ‘is an interesting way of silencing them. I think it is very short-sighted on the part of government.”
In response to funding constraints, Judy emphasized the importance of strengthening organizational capacity building and rebuilding membership through renewed engagement with community networks. She also highlighted the ongoing challenges of maintaining communication with members in a changing organizational landscape, while recognizing the growing importance of new technologies and the internet-based platforms in supporting connection, collaboration and partnerships with allied organizations, including unions.
As an academic researcher and social worker, Judy’s work was informed by participatory action research, which in turn shaped her leadership at CRIAW-ICREF and her support for the Feminist Northern Network (FemNorthNet). Launched in 2010, FemNorthNet brought together academic and community-based researchers alongside community representatives working across Northern Canada, with the aim of producing research that was grounded in lived experience and community collaboration.
Through extensive community engagement, the network examined the impacts of economic restructuring on northern communities, with a focus on diverse women. Its work was grounded in an intersectional analysis of these changes across geography, identity, and lived experience. Though the project is now concluded, its research outputs and tools continue to be used in feminist policy and community advocacy contexts.
Upon her retirement, the Faculty of Social Work established the Dr. Judy White Equity and Inclusion Award. Since retiring, Judy has continued her advocacy work with organizations, such as the People Bridge Advocacy, and has remained active in scholarly publishing on topics such as food insecurity, social justice, and immigrant healthcare.
References
Brennan, Richard J. “We Won’t Shut Up, Women Tell PM Advocacy Groups Accuse Harper of Targeting Anyone Who Disagrees with Him on Abortion.” Toronto Star, May 05, 2010. https://ezproxy.lib.torontomu.ca/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/we-wont-shut-up-women-tell-pm-advocacy-groups/docview/250283737/se-2.
Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women, dir. 35th Anniversary Video Series – Judy White. Canada: n.p., 2011. https://www.criaw-icref.ca/multimedia/35th-anniversary-video-series-judy-white/.
Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women.“FemNorthNet.” Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women. Accessed May, 2026. https://www.criaw-icref.ca/our-work/research-projects/femnorthnet/.
Government of Saskatchewan. “New Appointment Made to Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission.” Government of Saskatchewan. Last modified February 7, 2005. https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/news-and-media/2005/february/07/new-appointment-made-to-saskatchewan-human-rights-commission.
Saskatchewan African Canadian Heritage Museum. “Firsts : Judy White.” Saskatchewan African Canadian Heritage Museum. Accessed May, 2026. https://sachm.org/virtual-museum/category/judy-white.
Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission. “Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission: Annual Report, 2004-2005.” Accessed May 2026. https://saskatchewanhumanrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/SHR_Annual_Report_Final_sm.pdf
Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission. “Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission: Annual Report, 2007-2008.” Accessed May 2026. https://saskhrc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2007_2008_Annual_Report.pdf
Saskatchewan Population Health and Evaluation Research Unit. “Saskatchewan Population
Health and Evaluation Research Unit Annual Review: 2017-2018.” Accessed May 2026. https://spheru.ca/documents/annual-review/2017-2018%20SPHERU%20Annual%20Review.pdf.
Saskatchewan Social Worker. “CASW National Distinguished Service Award Recipient : Dr. Judy White, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.” June 2009. https://sasw.in1touch.org/uploaded/web/Newsletter/SW-June09web.pdf.
White, Judy. 2019. “From the desk of the Dean of Social Work.” Saskatchewan Association of Social Workers (Regina), June 7, 2019. https://www.sasw.ca/document/4786/SASW%20June%202019%20e-edition.pdf.