Jane Farrow is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
and broadcaster and community organizer. Her written works include ''Wanted Words'', ''Wanted Words 2'', and (with Ira Basen,
David Wallechinsky
David Wallechinsky (born David Wallace, February 5, 1948) is an American populist historian and television commentator, the president of the International Society of Olympic Historians (ISOH) and the founder and editor-in-chief of AllGov.com and ...
and
Amy Wallace
Amy Wallace (July 3, 1955 – August 10, 2013) was an American writer. She was the daughter of writers Irving Wallace and Sylvia Wallace and the sister of writer and populist historian David Wallechinsky. She was co-author of the bestselling ...
) the ''Canadian Book of Lists''. She worked for
CBC Radio
CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...
from 1998 to 2007, producing segments for programs such as ''
This Morning'' and ''
The Sunday Edition
''The Sunday Edition'' is a television programme broadcast on the ITV (TV network), ITV Network in the United Kingdom focusing on political interview and discussion, produced by ITV Productions. The show was hosted by Andrew Rawnsley and Andrea ...
'', including the popular word-game segment ''Wanted Words'' (from which the books of the same name were derived). Farrow hosted and co-created other short series and shows including ''
Workology'' (all about the modern workplace, cube farmers and clockwatchers) and the
etymological
Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words and ...
program ''
And Sometimes Y'', ''Home'' (about people's obsession with domesticity) and ''The Omnivore'' (about people's complex relationship to food and eating). She and her producers won a Silver Medal at the New York Radio Awards for "The Brain and Language", an episode of ‘And Sometimes Y’ on
CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent of Ca ...
in 2009.
Urban activism and work life
In the 1990s Farrow worked as a program director, manager and DJ in campus/community radio in Halifax (CKDU Program Director) and Toronto (CUIT Station Manager) while also acting as the Vice President of the
National Campus and Community Radio Association
The National Campus and Community Radio Association/L'Association nationale des radios étudiantes et communautaires (NCRA/ANREC) is a non-profit organization of campus radio and community radio stations in Canada.
It represents the interests of t ...
(NCRA). While living in Vancouver she organized a conference for the
National Association of Women and the Law in 1994. Returning to Toronto, she made several indie
Super 8 film
Super 8 mm film is a motion-picture film format released in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement over the older "Double" or "Regular" 8 mm home movie format.
The film is nominally 8 mm wide, the same as older formatted 8& ...
s, becoming the Operations Director and Program Coordinator for the
Inside Out Film and Video Festival
Inside may refer to:
* Insider, a member of any group of people of limited number and generally restricted access
Film
* ''Inside'' (1996 film), an American television film directed by Arthur Penn and starring Eric Stoltz
* ''Inside'' (2002 f ...
, where she helped open the door for many LGBT film and video makers.
While a resident of Ward 18 in the Queen West Triangle, Farrow helped form and later chaired the residents' association Active 18. This coalition of citizens, residents and business-owners came together in 2005 and continues to advocate for good urban design and positive local development that genuinely contributes to and engages with local community and the city.
Farrow was the first Executive Director of
Jane's Walk, the now international movement of free, locally led walking tours inspired by urbanist
Jane Jacobs
Jane Jacobs (''née'' Butzner; 4 May 1916 – 25 April 2006) was an American-Canadian journalist, author, theorist, and activist who influenced urban studies, sociology, and economics. Her book '' The Death and Life of Great American Cities ...
. The walks invite people to explore their cities, share stories and connect with neighbours. Working under the direction and guidance of Professor Paul Hess of the University of Toronto's Department of Geography and Planning, Jane co-wrote North America's first studies of the walkability of inner-suburban high rise neighbourhoods. This research explores segments of Toronto's most densely populated but geographically isolated neighbourhoods and points to simple and inexpensive solutions for improving connectivity and accessibility. Alongside this research, the authors developed a research model and resource toolkit that can be used by communities and individual to assess their own neighbourhoods.
After five years with Jane's Walk, Farrow moved to City Hall to become executive assistant to
Toronto City Council
Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The current term began on November 15, 2022.
Structure
The cur ...
lor
Mary-Margaret McMahon
Mary-Margaret McMahon (born July 6, 1966) is a Canadian politician. She was elected MPP for the Ontario Liberal Party in Beaches—East York in the June 2022 provincial election. Previously, McMahon served on the Toronto City Council from 2010 to ...
of Ward 32 Beaches-East York. While there, she helped forge the centrist coalition that reversed Rob Ford's proposed budget cuts to the tune of $19 million, ultimately breaking the mayor's majority hold in council and restoring funding for ice rinks, pools, community grants, homeless shelters, leaf collection and the TTC.
In 2013 she worked with the
Stephen Lewis Foundation The Stephen Lewis Foundation is a non-governmental organization that assists mostly AIDS- and HIV-related grassroots projects in Africa.
History
The foundation was started by Stephen Lewis, a veteran Canadian politician and former Canadian ambassa ...
, travelling to Uganda and Tanzania. Later that year she became Policy and Campaigns Advisor to Park People, a Toronto-based non-profit helping mobilize people to work together to make local parks the best they can be.
Since 2013 Farrow has worked as an independent facilitator and community consultant, specializing in engaging neighbourhoods in dialogues about what they want in terms of urban design, planning and public spaces.
In 2014, she declared her candidacy to be Toronto City Councillor for Ward 30
Toronto-Danforth, challenging undeclared incumbent
Paula Fletcher
Paula Fletcher (born 1951) is a Canadian politician who has served on Toronto City Council since 2003. She currently represents Ward 14 Toronto—Danforth.
Fletcher is regarded as an advocate for affordable housing, environmentally sustainable ...
in the
October 27 municipal election.
Personal life
Farrow is
openly lesbian
A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
.
[ .] She will be receiving a Lifetime Achievement Inspire Award in May 2014 in recognition of her contributions to LGBT visibility and the community. In 2010, she rejected the position of "Honoured Dyke" to protest the Toronto Pride Committee's banning of
Queers Against Israeli Apartheid. This move was not intended as an endorsement of the group but a defence of free speech and the group's right to be present at Pride, an event Farrow felt should not be depoliticized.
Awards
* 2014 - Inspire Awards – Lifetime Achievement Award
* 2013 - Spacing Magazine – 10 People We Love
"When Jane Farrow is present, good things happen. Her warmth, energy, insight and respect for people mean that she can tell it like it is, in her signature radio-honed voice, and get people off their rear ends to do good work – all while generating an atmosphere of enthusiasm and mutual support." Spacing Magazine, Dec. 2013
* 2010 - Vital People – Recognized by the Toronto Community Foundation as a leader and change-maker.
* 2009 - Silver Medal, New York Radio Awards, "The Brain and Language", episode of ‘And Sometimes Y’ on CBC Radio One.
* 2009 - Active Transportation Champion – On behalf of Jane's Walk, from the Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation.
''Accolades for Jane's Walk''
* 2013 - Canadian Urban Institute – 2013 City Soul Award
Jane's Walk was presented with the CUI's City Soul award for facilitating and promoting volunteer-led walks that help people understand and learn about their neighborhoods, and that foster urban literacy and civic engagement.
Toronto city council election results
2014 Toronto election, Ward 30 Toronto—Danforth
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrow, Jane
CBC Radio hosts
Canadian lesbian writers
Living people
Canadian lexicographers
LGBT broadcasters from Canada
1961 births
Women lexicographers
Canadian women radio hosts