Judy Britnell completed earned her Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto, her Masters' degree at Columbia University in Psychiatric and Community Mental Health Nursing, and her Masters in Education at OISE/University of Toronto. She continued her studies at OISE towards her PhD. She worked as a School Nurse for 4 years at Selsen International School in Tokyo, Japan and she worked as a mental health consultant at West Park Hospital in Toronto before coming to Ryerson's School of Nursing in 1986. Between 1993-1999 she served as the Associate Director of the Basic Nursing Degree program. She also served on the Executive of the Ryerson Faculty Association. In 1999 she was seconded to the Learning and Teaching Office, becoming its director in 2001 - a role she held until 2011. She retired from Ryerson in 2013.