KMbeing

Michael Johnny is one of Canada’s top and most respected university-based Knowledge Brokers. He is also Manager of the Knowledge Mobilization (KMb) Unit at York University. As a Knowledge Broker, Michael works as a bridge between researchers at York University and research stakeholders. Michael facilitates university outreach collaboration and knowledge mobilization within the community of York Region and Toronto. He helps create partnerships designed to support research to better inform public policy or professional practice. His background in literacy working at Toronto’s AlphaPlus Centre for the Deaf, Native, Francophone, and Anglophone communities has provided an excellent foundation for effective communication and bridging required to work with the diverse sectors of researchers and community stakeholders.

Michael’s work also extends beyond the university and York/Toronto region across Canada working with ResearchImpact – Canada’s Knowledge Mobilization network. Michael helped build the Knowledge Mobilization Unit at York and the inclusion of six other Canadian universities (and growing) as part of the ResearchImpact network.

Also under Michael’s guidance at the KMb Unit, future policy-makers are trained by giving graduate students and post-doctoral fellows valuable experience working with a variety of stakeholders. The KMb Unit equips research trainees and their research collaborators with broader skill sets which they can then take into positions in the public, private, and voluntary sectors.

Apart from one of Michael’s hobbies mentioned in this KMbeing blog, some of his other passions (besides knowledge mobilization) include golf, cooking and red wine. See Michael’s description in his own words here.

Michael Johnny is one of the most genuinely friendly, kind and considerate people I know, and  I’m please to present him as part of my series Featuring a Knowledge Mobilizer.