Dr. Shawn Newman - Director of Research and Program Design

Dr. Shawn Newman is an accomplished researcher and educator, holding a PhD in Cultural Studies from Queen’s University. Among his published works are Reconciliation in Canadian cultural production, issues in cultural tourism, and impact assessment in Canada’s cultural sector.

As an educator, he has taught in the Department of Gender Studies and Department of Film and Media at Queen’s University, the Department of Dance at York University, and the School of Performance at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson). He has also been the Managing Editor of PUBLIC: Art | Culture | Ideas and the Executive Director of Public Access. Most recently he was Senior Manager, Research & Impact at Toronto Arts Council and Toronto Arts Foundation where he developed large-scale, multi-partner research initiatives and oversaw the redevelopment of the organizations’ program evaluation processes.

Dr. Newman specializes in values-driven project design, curricular alignment, educational development, and knowledge mobilization. He is deeply commitment to collaboration, co-design, and research analyses anchored in intersectional feminism and anti-oppression. Prior to his academic and administrative work, Dr. Newman had an international career as a dancer and choreographer, described as “[one] of Toronto’s finest dancers” (Toronto Life).