Prasanna Ranganathan is a documentary producer, human rights lawyer, diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and belonging (DEIAB) consultant/advisor, speaker, author, correspondent, writer and arts columnist.
Prasanna currently leads Prasanna Ranganathan Consulting, a DEIAB, Talent/HR, and inclusive content consulting practice. Previously, he served as the Head of Diversity and Belonging at Shopify building the company’s Global DEIAB Strategy, creating DEIAB programs, and leading a team of global leads and specialists in DEIAB data collection, DEIAB learning, HR/talent systems, internal and external community building, partnerships, inclusive content advisory services, and inclusive storytelling (through marketing, longform storytelling, films and docuseries). After completing his clerkship at the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, Prasanna worked as human rights lawyer for nearly 13 years with the Department of Justice Canada, Federal Judicial Affairs Canada, the United Nations, the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission, and the Independent Street Checks Review where he served as Senior Counsel to the Honourable Michael Tulloch, Chief Justice of Ontario. He has over 18 years of experience in DEIAB, working in the legal profession, justice system, international development space, entertainment industry, and tech. He has worked around the world with teams and on projects in Canada, the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, Lithuania, Germany, India, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Ethiopia, Mexico, and Jamaica.
Holding a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from Columbia Law School where he studied under a Fulbright fellowship, a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Victoria, and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) (Major: Political Studies, Minor: French) from the University of Saskatchewan, Prasanna's graduate thesis was cited by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2014. Prasanna is the recipient of various awards including, most recently, the David C. Onley Award for Leadership in Accessibility presented during the 2024 Legacy Awards from the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario/Ontario Honors and Awards.
Prasanna is a Consulting Producer on the 2021 docuseries Born for Business about entrepreneurs with disabilities (airing on NBC Peacock and Crave), an associate producer on the 2016 documentary film Dream, Girl about women entrepreneurs that premiered at the White House during the Obama administration, a social media correspondent at the Academy Awards red carpet (2019) and the Screen Actors Guild Awards red carpet (2014), a film and arts columnist with Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Radio, and the author of a South Indian cookbook – alongside his mother – called Made with Prema (with 100% of the profits going to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind).
Proudly claiming his identity as a racialized, queer person with a disability (blindness), Prasanna is a board member of the Disability Screen Office and a past board member of Inside Out (the largest LGBTQ2+ film festival in Canada). Prasanna is a seasoned speaker, providing the annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) inclusion and accessibility workshop, speaking at the TIFF Industry Conference, and serving as a Guest Lecturer at the University of Southern California Annenberg Inclusion Initiative on inclusive storytelling.
