Judy Joseph-Black’s story is one of breaking barriers and building bridges.

A resident of Gabriola Island, BC, Judy’s passion for sport ignited as a child on the soccer pitch, a pivotal moment sparked by a parent's determination to provide equal opportunities by starting a girl’s team. This early experience laid the foundation for a career spanning four decades, marked by diverse roles in sport administration and a firm desire to champion inclusion for all.

“I truly believe that sport is for everybody, and it's a universal right of everybody to be able to participate. And so my big focus is inclusion and making sure that everybody has that opportunity.”

Among many roles throughout her career, she has worked in university athletics, managed Canada’s women’s soccer team, owned her own sport communications company, worked as a sport consultant for the provincial government and managed events for the BC Games Society.

Her entry into the Canada Games came in 1993 in communications for Team BC’s Mission Staff, where she was tasked with navigating the burgeoning fame of a young basketball phenom in Steve Nash. That marked the beginning of a long and impactful multi-sport Games career.

Judy attended 10 Canada Games as Mission Staff for Team BC, and now more Games in her role as a Board member with the Canada Games Council. She has also worked at multiple Paralympic Games, Commonwealth Games, BC Games and Western Canada Summer Games.

Judy knows the Games have the ability to spark positive change, strengthen the fabric of Canada and empower people to grow. 

"When I look at the volunteers that we affect. When I look at the facility upgrades that happen because of the Games coming to the community, we know nothing else affects sport the way we can and the way we do. We leave a legacy of leadership and pride, and that's something that you just can't quantify.”

She emphasizes the Games' role in promoting Indigenous coaching, women in sport, and the inclusion of athletes with physical and intellectual disabilities. But she knows more work needs to be done to travel the path of reconciliation and to ensure everyone can see themselves at the Canada Games and within sport more broadly.

“When I was growing up, I had no reference of people – female, much less people of colour – to be able to look up to in this sport administration field. And in fact, I still sit on boards today, and I'm the only person of colour. So I always say that ‘You can't be what you can't see.’ And so if I can be that person that some young kid sees sitting at a table, making decisions, directing sport, then I'm going to do everything I can to do that. Representation matters, and it's important for me to be able to give back to what sport has given me.”

“I want to make sure that the right lens, the right voices are at the table, to make sure that nobody's forgotten and that everybody is included. There's so many different aspects of sport where people can make an influence, and so if you can show them the opportunities that are out there, then you're just going to make sport and this country a better place.”