Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio is an author, community worker, public speaker, and the founder of Filipino Talks—an initiative that builds bridges between Filipino families and Canadian school boards. Inspired by her work with newcomer youth, she finished writing programs at the Humber School for Writers and the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Reuniting with Strangers (Douglas & McIntyre) was longlisted for Canada Reads 2024, named one of CBC's Best Books of 2023, and won the silver medal for multicultural fiction at the Independent Publisher Book Awards, and was a finalist for the Toronto Book Award and the Jim Wong-Chu Emerging Writers Award. Her work has been published in Geist, TAYO Literary Magazine, Changing the Face of Canadian Literature (Guernica Editions), Magdaragat: An Anthology of Filipino-Canadian Writing (Cormorant Books), and more. She is a founding member of Salaysay, a collective of Toronto-based Filipino authors.
Jennilee's topics have included culturally-responsive outreach strategies, multicultural education, the journey of a diasporic author, public speaking tips, and walking tours of North York’s Little Manila.
Whether the topics are Filipino-specific (Impacts of Separation and Reunification on Filipino Student Aspirations) or for a more general audience (From Settlement Worker to Author), her presentations are tailor-made for audiences ranging from the federal government to newcomer youth.
Using a combination of humour, empathy, and real stories, Jennilee delivers presentations that are engaging, touching, and memorable. She has presented keynote speeches at the Pathways to Prosperity Conference and at Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada.
She is available to present both in-person and online.
Read more about her public speaking here:
http://jennileeaustriabonifacio.com/public-speaking
While Jennilee is happy to present about her debut novel, Reuniting with Strangers, she is also able to contextualize it within the wider framework of the Filipino-Canadian diaspora.
As a school board consultant through her initiative, Filipino Talks, Jennilee often speaks about family reunification, academic attainment, mental health, inclusive curriculum design, and frontline settlement work.
Here are a few of her recent presentations for adult audiences:
“From Settlement Worker to Author” (Audience: non-profit organizations, educators, emerging authors, readers; 30-60 minutes)
- Building Bridges to Support Filipino Students” (Audience: educators, non-profit organizations, frontline workers; 3 hours)
- “Filipino Curriculum Explorations: Filipino Literature Through a Culturally-Responsive and Relevant Pedagogy Lens” (Audience: Educators; 1 hour)
- “Walking Tour of North York’s Little Manila” (Audience: general public, university students, 2 hours)
Learn more about her speaking here: http://jennileeaustriabonifacio.com/public-speaking
Jennilee is very happy to do workshops for youth. In her debut novel, Reuniting with Strangers, over half of the linked short stories are from voices aged 5-17. As a longtime youth worker, she was adamant about representing young voices, and enjoys showing young people the joy of finding diverse stories in the literary world.
She is very experienced with presenting for elementary, middle school, secondary, and university students.
Here are a few of her most recent workshop topics:
- “The Journey of a Filipino-Canadian Author” (Audience: middle school and secondary school students; 1 hour)
- “Unleashing Your Public Speaking Potential: Self-Esteem Tips for Future Authors” (Audience: middle school and secondary school students; 1 hour)
- "Communicating With Your Parents: Connecting to Reuniting with Strangers" (Audience: middle school and secondary school students; 1 hour)
http://jennileeaustriabonifacio.com/public-speaking
