Dr. Ann E. Lopez is a Jamaican-born professor of Educational Leadership and Policy at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education, University of Toronto. She is the Director of the Centre for Leadership, and Diversity, and Special Advisor to the Dean on School and Community Partnerships. Her academic career at the University of Toronto also includes Provostial Advisor Access Programs, and Academic Director Initial Teacher Education. Ann is an author, speaker, and researcher who advocates for embedding equitable practices and policies in all aspects education and schooling. Dr. Lopez’s teaching and research explores school leadership praxis across contexts. Her scholarship is undergirded by anti-racist, anti-colonial, decolonial methods and approaches that examine the impact of coloniality on school leadership theorizing and practice in Global North and Global South contexts. Dr. Lopez’s aim as a critical scholar and educator is to bring together all those committed to creating teaching and learning spaces where all students can thrive. Dr. Lopez is the author of several books and journal articles and shares her work local and globally. She is co-Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of School Leadership and Co-Series Editor, Studies in Educational Administration. Ann has been recognized for her contributions to education. In 2020 she received the OISE Award for Distinguished Contributions to Teaching, in 2022 the University of Toronto Award of Excellence and Jus Memorial Human Rights Prize – Influential Leader, and in 2024 the OISE Award for Excellence in Educational Leadership and OISE Alum Mentor of the Year Award and the Canadian Association for the Study of Educational Administration (CASEA/ACEAS) Distinguished Service Award.
