Dr. Sara M. Grimes is the Bell Canada University Labs (BUL) Chair in Human-Computer Interaction and Professor in the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto. She was formerly the director of the KMDI (2018-2023) and director of Semaphore (2018-2021) . Her research and teaching are centred in the areas of children’s digital media culture(s) and critical theories of technology, with a focus on digital games. Her published work explores the commercialization of children’s play culture and creative expression, discussions of intellectual property and fair dealing in child-specific digital environments, as well as the legal and ethical dimensions of marketing to children online. Her scholarship appears in numerous academic journals, edited collections and readers, and has been presented at multiple national and international conferences. Community outreach forms a core part of Dr. Grimes’s professional practice, and she regularly speaks at media/cultural industry conferences, participates in policy consultations, and engages in community outreach. Most recently, Professor Grimes was Principal Investigator on a multi-year, cross-sector, transnational research collaboration called the Kids DIY Media Partnership, which identified key opportunities and challenges associated with children’s “do-it-yourself” media platforms, and investigated their implications for children’s creativity, learning, cultural rights, and well-being. Professor Grimes holds degrees in Communication from Simon Fraser University (PhD, MA) and the University of Ottawa (BA Hons). She is the founder and head of the Kids Play Tech Lab (formerly the Critical Games Lab).
