KBHN advisor earns leadership award for driving change

On April 14, Dr. James Reynolds received the 2025 Innovation and Impact Award in Child Health Leadership Legacy from Children’s Healthcare Canada for his lifetime of dedication and leadership that has made a lasting impact on the field of children’s brain health.

While appreciative of the Award, James doesn’t want this to be about him.

Yes, he has devoted his career to improving diagnoses and treatments for neurological disorders.

Yes, he has helped children and their families in Canada and worldwide lead a better life.

And yes, he has inspired researchers and clinicians to follow his lead and multiply his impact.

But it isn’t about him.

“Long after I’m gone, the work and the organization will still be there, serving the needs of children and their families,” he says. “KBHN has a record of delivering value – and it will continue to grow long after me.”

James began his career investigating how alcohol affects the brain. That evolved to understanding the developmental impact of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). People started to notice his work. He and others were generating enormous amounts of information.

But how could that become helpful? What could be done with all that information?

He started to focus on the pathways for turning knowledge into practice. He purposefully sought out contact with families to understand the practical, everyday issues of raising a child with a neurodevelopmental disability.

In 2009, that focus on knowledge translation led James to join a core group creating what would later become the Kids Brain Health Network (KBHN). It was a network right from the beginning, with a shared vision of bringing the threads together, combining knowledge and inspiring one another to better understand FASD, Autism Spectrum Disorder and Cerebral Palsy, to sort out environmental from genetic causes, and to develop treatments based on that collective wisdom. Early discoveries led to a better understanding of the origins of these three highly prevalent neurodevelopmental disabilities.

Fast forward to years of investigation, research, clinical work, peer-reviewed publications, mentoring, and nurturing of families. The capstone to his career, he says with humble pride, was helping lead an organization whose mission is to help families, using the power of the team for common goals.

Along the way, James resisted the traditional model for funding research. For years, the approach has always been that researchers come up with questions and then compete for funding to test that hypothesis. James rejected that concept. He turned 180 degrees to a model that assigns value to the issues identified by children and families.

Change is always hard. Changing institutional thinking is even harder. It can be frustrating to change thinking about what is important and how to approach research. Institutions can be slow to catch up even when that thinking starts to change on the ground. Inertia is a powerful force. But James understood that the old system was a barrier, and possibly even a blockage for some activity, especially for newer researchers.

James strove to be a beacon of hope, especially for younger researchers. He took risks with his own career and reputation, “but the risk is worth it. The reward is when you see the impact.”

He has helped bring the world to a new place by changing how NDDs are identified and treated.

“Children’s Healthcare Canada is pleased to recognize the breadth and value of Dr. Reynold’s work over his 35+ year career with our 2025 Child Health Leadership Legacy Award! His pioneering research in neurodevelopmental disabilities has improved early identification tools and interventions worldwide. Further, his leadership and commitment to children will have a lasting impact on the health of kids in Canada. Congratulations, Dr. Reynolds,” said Emily Gruenwoldt, President and CEO of Children’s Healthcare Canada.

So, what’s next?

In theory, James has retired to his beloved home in Kingston, Ontario. He continues to work with KBHN as a strategic advisor and at Queen’s University. He may never fully retire.

But what should be next for those who follow in his footsteps?

Asking the core question of “what do families need” shouldn’t change, he insists. Answering those questions will drive better approaches to improving quality of life. Importantly, it will also result in a broader understanding in the medical community, especially about the early years of childhood, better education protocols in classrooms, and better understanding and responses in social services, justice and housing.

“We pride ourselves on a level playing field,” he remarks. “But those with disabilities must prove constantly, over and over, that they deserve support.”

If there was just one thing that James most values from his career, it is that he has inspired others to find their own passion and commitment and that he has tried to instill demanding standards of integrity and effort in both himself and others.

“Children and their parents are my heroes,” he acknowledges. “Their resilience, their daily courage, the unconditional love for their children. They face challenges every day. What I’ve had to do pales by comparison.”

James’ legacy is one of leadership, hope and inspiration.

“If you are doing it right,” he says, “it just opens up new questions. You can’t ever be satisfied, whatever you have accomplished. There’s always more.”

James sparked an era of change. He changed how researchers approach their explorations. He put the spotlight on families to drive research and treatment. He put great emphasis on building teams and working with partners to maximize impact and leverage investments.

The results of his leadership are clear at KBHN. He guided its focus on partnerships, practical treatments for real-life challenges, and broadening understanding with health care and service communities so they can offer better options to promote family resilience and quality of life for children.

“KBHN is grateful to Dr. Reynolds’ groundbreaking approaches to research, innovation, and partnership, and that work has been of benefit to children and families,” said Geoff Pradella, KBHN CEO.

“He has been an inspiration to a whole new generation of researchers who are creatively investigating practical challenges and identifying best practices using the most up-to-date knowledge and tools. This will be a key part of his lasting legacy here at KBHN.”

James would be modest in taking credit for these critical turning points, but he is rightly proud of the change he sparked. His legacy will not be found in a list of research accomplishments – as impressive as that resume is – but in driving change and inspiring others.

This Child Health Leadership Legacy Award tells the world about the successful paths he forged and the impact those new ideas had on the lives of children and families, his highest aspiration.

One is persuaded he is not yet finished.