Speaking

Museum of Toronto’s “The 52: Stories of Women Who Transformed Toronto”

Leading a Little Manila tour for Ismaila Alfa of CBC Metro Morning. Photo by Samantha Lui.

With her experience in Canadian literature, social services, settlement services, the federal government, and multiple school boards, Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio has been a sought-after professional public speaker since 2014.

She is open to book clubs, lunch & learns, writing seminars, youth workshops, keynote speeches, and more. Whether the format is in-person, online, or hybrid, Jennilee is open to audiences including emerging writers, book lovers, students, newcomers, academics, educators, and settlement staff.

Her topics have included culturally-responsive outreach strategies, multicultural education, the journey of a diasporic author, public speaking tips, and walking tours of Toronto’s Little Manila.

Using a combination of humour, empathy, and real stories, she delivers presentations both in-person and online that are engaging and memorable.

Lastly— and most importantly— it's her personal policy to always leave her audience smiling. 

Delivering the keynote speech at Pathways to Prosperity— one of Canada’s biggest settlement conferences

Testimonials

““Jennilee is a great presenter— lovely, funny and extremely knowledgeable and passionate about her community.”
”
— Carmen Condo, Settlement & Multicultural Services Halton Catholic District School Board
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“That was an incredible presentation; I was genuinely so engaged! Seeing the data on graphs was very insightful and impactful. I learnt more about the experiences of my Filipino students and how important it is for me to learn about each student. The most valuable guest speaker I’ve heard from in my time at OISE!”
— Teacher Candidate at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE)
“Jennilee led an incredibly fascinating tour of Little Manila, in the Bathurst-Wilson area, for my course Asian Canadian Space and Place (Canadian Studies Program, University of Toronto). She provided detailed insights into the socio-economic and cultural makeup of the neighbourhood, which gave us valuable and important perspectives beyond the landscape observations that we were able to see. Little personal touches like stopping in the bakeries and grocery stores presented us with an insider’s point of view on the unique cultures within the less well-known landscapes in Toronto.
”
— Dr. Serene Tan, University of Toronto, Asian-Canadian Studies
“The best professional development we’ve ever had. Book this speaker today. She is doing exactly what she is on this planet to do.”
— School Staff, Halton Catholic District School Board
“Jennilee was the best speaker our school could have ever invited. Engaging, funny, touching, and more honest about mental health and culture than anyone we have had in the past.
She has a gift, she really does.”
— School Staff, Toronto Catholic District School Board
“Jennilee is such a good speaker and role model! Not just for newcomers like us but for ALL students. We loved her activities!”
— Newcomer Student, Toronto District School Board

Salaysay Festival at the Toronto Public Library. Photo by Pearly Anne Ellarde.

FilCan Creatives night coverage by OMNI Filipino: FilCan creatives ibinahagi ang karanasan sa pagpasok sa creative fields

Speaking at Toronto City Hall.

Speaking at the Toronto Book Awards.

Speaking Highlights

Delivering the keynote speech in Ottawa at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for their Settlement Integration Policy all-staff retreat

Co-leading a Little Manila tour for Kababayan Multicultural Centre and the University of the Philippines Alumni Association of Toronto. Photo by KMC.

  1. Recipient of the Excellence Award in Arts and Culture and nominee for the Community Service Award at the 2025 Golden Balangay Awards— an honour recognizing outstanding Filipino leadership across Canada

  2. Keynote speaker at the Pathways to Prosperity Partnership Annual National Conference: “From School Settlement Worker to Author”

  3. Keynote speaker at Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada’s annual Settlement Integration Policy all-staff retreat

  4. Developed and delivered tours of Toronto’s Little Manila since 2016 for Heritage Toronto, Museum of Toronto/Myseum of Toronto, Jane’s Walks, University of Toronto, Kababayan Multicultural Centre, and more

  5. Panelist for On Canada Project’s training modules for Kids Help Phone

  6. Featured on CBC Metro Morning, CBC Books

  7. Profiled by Dual Citizen documentary series on leaders in the Filipino diaspora: “Jennilee Austria, Filipino Talks”

  8. Featured Speaker for Celebrating Linguistic Diversity: “Building Bridges to Support Filipino Students” 

  9. Annual guest lecturer, University of Toronto: “Asian-Canadian Space and Place: Field Trip to Little Manila”

  10. Speaker at National Metropolis Conference: “Immigration Trajectories and Youth Post-Secondary Pathways in the Filipino Community” 

  11. Speaker at Bridges to Learning National Conference: “Digital Storytelling: Newcomer Youth Issues” 

  12. Panelist at University College London, FiliFest: “Deconstructing Filipino” 

  13. Speaker for Equity & Inclusivity Course, Halton Catholic District School Board

  14. Keynote Speaker, York University: “Filipino Voices in the Arts and Academia” 

  15. Keynote Speaker, Toronto Catholic District School Board: “Engaging Newcomer Parents” 

  16. Guest Speaker, Seneca College: “Transformative Learning in Communities”

Photo by R. Esteban.

Photo by R. Esteban at the Halton Catholic District School Board.

Clients

  1. Asian-Canadian Writers’ Workshop

  2. Bel Canto Books

  3. Burlington Public Library

  4. Canadian Council for Refugees

  5. CBC Metro Morning

  6. Centre for Social Innovation

  7. City College of San Francisco

  8. Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy

  9. Diaspora Dialogues

  10. Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board 

  11. Eden Mills Writers’ Festival

  12. Filipino-American International Book Festival

  13. Filipino Canadian Book Festival

  14. Filipino-Canadian Social and Community Workers Network

  15. Filipino Centre of Toronto

  16. FilCan Creatives

  17. Found Book Shop

  18. Galing Bata Filipino Education Centre, San Francisco

  19. gritLIT Festival

  20. Halton Catholic District School Board

  21. Hamilton Public Library

  22. Havergal College

  23. Heritage Toronto

  24. HotDocs

  25. Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada

  26. Jamii Hub

  27. Junction Reads

  28. Kababayan Multicultural Centre 

  29. Kamalayan Konsciousness

  30. Kapisanan Philippine Centre for Arts and Culture

  31. Kids Help Phone

  32. LiterASIAN Writers Festival

  33. Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation

  34. Migrante Ontario

  35. Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities 

  36. Museum of Toronto (Formerly Myseum of Toronto)

  37. Newcomer Women’s Services Toronto

  38. New Roots Radio

  39. North York Community House

  40. On Canada Project

  41. Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCAD)

  42. Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE)

  43. Pathways to Prosperity Partnership Annual National Conference - Keynote

  44. Peel Multicultural Council

  45. Perfect Books

  46. Philippine Edmonton Events and Arts Society (PHIDEAS)

  47. Pinoys on Parliament

  48. Saskatchewan Festival of Words

  49. Saskatoon Open Door Society

  50. Seneca College 

  51. St. Mary’s University

  52. Surrey School District

  53. The Women’s Canadian Club of Toronto

  54. The Writers’ Union of Canada

  55. Toronto Catholic District School Board

  56. Toronto District School Board

  57. Toronto International Festival of Authors

  58. Toronto Lit Up

  59. Toronto Metropolitan University

  60. Toronto Metropolitan Centre for Immigration and Settlement

  61. Toronto Public Library

  62. United Way of Greater Toronto

  63. University College London, UK

  64. University of Ottawa

  65. University of the Philippines Alumni Association of Toronto

  66. University of Toronto

  67. University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies

  68. West Neighbourhood House 

  69. Whistler Writers Festival

  70. Word on the Street

  71. World Education Services (WES)

  72. Working Women Community Centre

  73. Writers’ Guild of Alberta

  74. YMCA of Greater Toronto

  75. York Centre for Asian Research

  76. York University

 

Top Workshop Topics

  1. “From Community Worker to Author” (Audience: frontline workers, educators, emerging authors, general public; 30-60 minutes)

  2. “Building Bridges to Support Filipino Students” (Audience: educators, non-profit organizations, frontline workers; 3 hours)

  3. “Walking Tour of North York’s Little Manila” (Audience: general public, university students; 2 hours)

  4. “The Journey of a Filipino-Canadian Author” (Audience: middle school and secondary school students; 1 hour)

  5. “Public Speaking for Authors” (Audience: emerging and established authors; 60 minutes)

  6. “Social Media for Authors” (Audience: emerging and established authors; 60 minutes)

  7. “Unleashing Your Public Speaking Potential” (Audience: middle school and secondary school students; 1 hour)

  8. “Filipino Curriculum Explorations: Filipino Literature Through a Culturally-Responsive Lens” (Audience: Educators; 1 hour)

  9. “Success Strategies for Reaching Filipino Clients” (Audience: non-profit organizations, frontline workers; 1.5 hours)

  10. “Impacts of the Caregiver Program: Education, Youth Aspirations, and Family Separation” (Audience: policy analysts, government workers, frontline workers, educators; 2 hours)

  11. “Supports and Resources for Filipino-Canadian Youth Pursuing Post-Secondary Education” (Audience: Filipino-Canadian youth; 1 hour)

  12. “Career Aspirations: Meeting Role Models from the Filipino Community” (Audience: Filipino-Canadian youth; 1-2 hours)

  13. “Get Involved! The Power of Community Involvement” (Audience: Secondary school youth; 1-2 hours)

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