Chanel Grenaway

Equity and Anti-racism facilitator and consultant, non-profit sector leader

Chanel Grenaway has over 15 years of experience in building the organizational capacity of non-profit organizations across Canada.  Chanel holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto with a specialist in Peace, Conflict and Justice Studies.  She is passionate about gender equity and gender-based analysis and is on a mission to amplify the voices of under-represented individuals and contribute to equality in every regard and across every sector.

From advising organizations on people-centred decision-making and program planning to helping leaders apply an intersectional gender-based analysis into all stages of their work, her approach is deeply rooted in designing equitable systems and creating opportunities that enable marginalized groups to realize their full potential.

As the former Director of Economic Development Programs at the Canadian Women’s Foundation, she successfully led poverty reduction work, which consisted of national multi-year granting strategies that supported women’s financial equality and independence through entrepreneurship, social enterprise, employment training and access to trades and technology pre-apprenticeships. At the Foundation, Chanel also worked closely with grantees delivering programs, monitoring results, and documenting learnings. This led to implementing strategies to address the broader systemic barriers faced by women and families living in poverty.  Chanel was also pivotal in the establishment of a new national leadership institute for emerging women leaders in the charitable sector. The institute was focused on optimizing the leadership capacity of female leaders across Canada.  As an integral part of the team, Chanel provided oversight on participant selection, project grants, program monitoring, and the development of an alumni strategy.

Currently, as a consultant, she facilitates conversations and conducts participatory research across diverse sectors to enhance project outcomes and their impact.  She has a proven ability to analyze trends, synthesize information, evaluate, and provide valuable recommendations to enhance results.  Recent clients include the City of Toronto, United Way Greater Toronto, the Ontario Nonprofit Network, and the Centre for Social Innovation.