Dr. Janaé Bonsu-Love

Janaé Bonsu-Love is Director of Research at the Building Movement Project (BMP), where she leads Race to Lead—one of the largest national studies of race, leadership, and nonprofit work in the United States. She also directs research on the intersectional experiences of nonprofit leaders, philanthropic accountability, and the infrastructure needed to sustain organizations and movements. 

An activist researcher, licensed master social worker, and educator, Janaé designs and leads mixed-methods studies that connect research with advocacy and practice. Her scholarship and public work examine race, gender, criminalization, and nonprofit leadership, with an emphasis on producing actionable findings that strengthen organizations and movements. She is co-author of Imperial Policing: Weaponized Data in Carceral Chicago (University of Minnesota Press, 2024). Her previous research and advocacy roles include positions at the National Black Women’s Justice Institute and Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100). 

Janaé holds a Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of Illinois Chicago and an MA in Social Work, Social Policy, and Social Administration from the University of Chicago. She serves on the boards of Chicago Quilombo, a liberated space centering the collective physical needs of Black young adults, including women and gender-nonconforming people on Chicago’s South Side, and mRelief, a nonprofit working to improve access to social services.