Brenda Lenahan

Brenda Lenahan is mom to a young son with health complexity and disability who has inspired her involvement in policy advocacy, research, and her home-based business selling adaptive outdoor recreation equipment. She founded BC Complex Kids Society, a family-led, grassroots organization, in an effort to bring forward a collective family voice in her work for systemic change for children and youth raising children with health complexity.

Brenda works on various research projects and initiatives in hopes that one day the research can inform needed policy changes. She is a member of the National Advisory Council on Early Learning & Child Care and advocates for disability inclusive and rights-based access to child care across Canada. 

This year she was honoured to have the opportunity to join other Canadian disability rights defenders in Geneva, Switzerland to participate in the review of Canada’s progress on implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Brenda has an optimistic heart and hopeful vision of an equitable future for her son and all persons with disabilities in Canada.