ABOUT

Photo of Tracy in her electric wheelchair, on a busy city street

Biography

Tracy Odell was born in Ottawa, Ontario but has lived in Toronto from the age of 7 where she lived in a small, residential institution for children with physical disabilities. By the age of 12, she was President of the hospital's first student council, so-named to defy the medical model which equates disability with illness. She signed herself out when she turned 18 and community-based attendant services were being piloted. She is married, lives in Scarborough, is the mother of two and a first-time grandmother.

Education

Tracy attended school at the hospital until grade 8, after which she attended a local regular high school. She earned her B.A. and B.Ed. in English and Special Education and an M.A. degree in Critical Disability Studies from York University. She is the recipient of the John Lord Award for Participatory Action Research conducted as part of her Masters work, and has received awards from community organizations for her work to advance independent living in Ontario.

Employment

Tracy worked at Frontier College, as a literacy coordinator and trainer, where she was one of the founders of Project Work – a program that supports people with developmental disabilities to do real jobs for real pay.

Tracy worked for the Ontario Public Service for 30 years in adult literacy, special education policy and accessibility. She retired in 2018. In all her roles, Tracy brought a lifetime of working with community organizations and the province to improve the lives of persons with a variety of types of disabilities.

Community Service

Because attendant services were Tracy's key to freedom from a lifetime sentence to living in an institution, She supported and often served on boards of directors for community-based attendant service providers in Toronto: Morrison Residence, Access Apartments for independent Living and Tobias House, where she was a founding member.

Tracy served as a board member for organizations providing affordable housing: Aldebrain Attendant Care Services of Toronto and Church of the Master Housing Corporation.

Tracy currently volunteers with Citizens With Disabilities – Ontario (CWDO) In a leadership role and is an active member of Knob Hill United Church. She is a firm believer of raising awareness to increase the need for accessibility and for education to show people how often, how simple accessibility is to achieve.

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