Speaking
Dr. Lewis is a sought-out speaker who has delivered talks on her research, leadership, and social justice across the nation. Her 2025 TEDx talk, The Illusion of Choice, has been viewed over 900 times. She was recently the keynote speaker at the Minnesota Social Service Association Annual Conference & Expo, and was the featured speaker at the Minnesota Equity & Justice Black Caucus Employee Resource Group’s Black History Month event.
Dr. Lewis is featured in the Midwest Emmy award-winning documentary Jim Crow of the North and the radio documentary A Fiery Unrest: Why Plymouth Avenue Burned. She had been interviewed on national and local podcasts and radio stations, including Feminism NOW and Minnesota Public Radio.
Dr. Lewis is the recipient of a 2020 Bush Foundation Fellowship and the Minneapolis Civil Rights Department 2020 History Makers at Home Award. She was named one of the top 100+ Leading Black Women in 2020 by the Minnesota Black Chamber of Commerce.
“Dr. Lewis motivates individual, community, and systems action for physical, mental/emotional and economic health and wellbeing. Dr. Lewis’ body of work creates platforms upon which people can build capacities for working together to solve intransigent and stubborn problems of our society today, making way for an equitable society that works for all.”
Former Ramsey County (MN) Commissionner, Toni Carter
TEDx Minneapolis
In her TEDx talk, Dr. Brittany Lewis discusses the systemic injustices perpetuated by our social housing ecosystem through storytelling, disrupting the narrative that those experiencing houselessness simply failed to make good choices. She shares the real-lived stories of participants in her research studies who face embedded systemic issues that stem from issues created by an unrefined housing ecosystem. These often begin with a lack of access to safe, affordable, and dignified housing.
Minnesota Social Service Association Annual Conference
In her talk, Dr. Brittany Lewis discusses the transformative impact of her Equity in Action process model — walking through the different steps, sharing real-world examples and articulating how the principles can apply across sectors to center community in creating or changing policies and practices that impact their lives.