Dr. Jewelles Smith is a globally sought-after disability human rights educator, researcher, and public speaker with over 20 years of experience in justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI). Smith holds an interdisciplinary PhD in Critical Disability and Gender Studies from the University of British Columbia (2021); completed a six-week Women’s Human Rights Monitoring Certificate at the Women’s Human Rights Institute, University of Toronto (2012); and is a trained International Disability Human Rights Monitor, Disability Rights Promotion International Human Rights Monitoring Certification, York University (2009). As a disabled woman, her expertise incorporates comprehensive experiential and professional wisdom.

In 2022, Dr. Smith launched Procne Navigation in response to the growing demand for comprehensive cross-disability education and anti-ableism training, research, and subject matter expertise. Guided by the mantra “When You Know Better You Do Better,” Smith brings a trauma-informed, intersectional lens to her work, collaborating with organizations to deliver tailored workshops, build curriculum, and provide support as a researcher and subject matter expert.

Dr. Smith has worked as a researcher, collaborator, and advisor on numerous projects with the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights, including the SSHRC-funded Right to Housing for Tenants with Disabilities project. Smith has acted as a researcher, collaborator, and advisor for many other organizations. Recent projects include Surrey Poverty Reduction Improving Access to Income Supports for People with Disabilities, and Monitoring the Right to Adequate Housing for People with Disabilities, A Scan in the Canadian Context.