About Kate
Kate Graham researches, writes, speaks, and teaches about politics in Canada. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Political Science from the University of Western Ontario. Her areas of focus include Canadian politics, local government, urban politics and public policy.
Her Ph.D. dissertation, Leading Canada’s Cities: A Study of Urban Mayors, examined the role and power of big city mayors in Canada. The research process involved travelling across Canada to conduct 70 interviews with political and community leaders across Canada. She blogged throughout the experience and developed an online following for what became affectionately known as the Mayors Project.
Kate is a regular media commentator and speaker on local politics in Canada. Kate teaches in the Political Science departments at Western University (Local Government Program), King’s University College and Brescia University College. She currently teaches two courses on women and politics. She is an associate producer of the 25% documentary about the underrepresentation of women in Canadian politics.
Before entering academia, Kate spent a decade working as a public servant. Most recently she served as the Director, Community & Economic Innovation at the City of London where she was responsible for the City’s government relations, strategic initiatives, culture and economic partnerships portfolios.
Kate is an active community member and volunteer. She served as the Chair of the Pillar Nonprofit Network Board of Directors, on the Executive of the ReForest London Board of Directors, and as a volunteer for numerous community organizations. She was named one of London’s Top 20 Under 40 in 2015. Kate has also dabbled in politics herself, including running in the 2018 Provincial Election in Ontario.