Julia Janes

Dr. Julia Janes is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Her work focuses on participatory action research, critical race theory, and decolonizing methodologies. She holds a PhD from York University and degrees from the University of Toronto. Her research addresses social exclusion, housing insecurity, and the intersections of environmental and social justice. Key projects include SSHRC-funded studies on community-university research alliances and trafficking of older persons. She collaborates with Drs. McDonald and Timoshkina on aging-related issues and has published extensively on participatory research governance, media discourses, and youth development.

Education: PhD (York University), MSW and BA (University of Toronto). Research emphasizes marginalized communities, including formerly homeless older adults and racialized youth. Awards include SSHRC funding for doctoral and collaborative research. Teaching interests include critical gerontology, anti-colonial theories, and mixed-methods approaches for social change. Active in decolonizing education initiatives and community-based advocacy.

Recent publications analyze media representations of urban youth, racial erasure in academia, and power dynamics in participatory research. Her work bridges activist scholarship with institutional critique, challenging neoliberalism and colonial legacies. Current projects focus on disrupting settler colonial frameworks and supporting Indigenous resurgence through research and pedagogy.