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Breaking silences, one story at a time.

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Speaking

I give customized and engaging talks to help your organization explore identity, diversity and inclusion, and self-expression. Through storytelling, spoken word and facilitation, I invite audiences to see and embrace their multi-layered stories.

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Conference Storytelling

I weave together key conference themes and write a summative spoken word piece that is performed at your conference finale. This is a powerful way to unite participants in a common vision and end with a strong call to action.

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Workshops

I offer writing and spoken word workshops exploring diversity, self-expression and telling your personal story. I hold challenging conversations with care, and provide helpful tools to empower you to find your voice through storytelling.

 

Latest Talks and Interviews

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“It’s rare that a speaker can connect with audiences on multiple levels, but Jenna did exactly that. She will not disappoint.”
— David Leonard, The Walrus Foundation
“Passionate. Engaging. Inspired. This is how I’d describe Jenna’s contributions to the inaugural CKX Summit. ”
— Lee Rose, Community Knowledge Exchange (CKX)
“Jenna’s ability to cultivate environments where people can access their own story, in their many dimensions, is a powerful tool in the journey of reconciliation with self and others.”
— Wendy Gritter, Generous Space Ministries
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I want to help you tell your conference story.

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I picked up a guitar the other day while singing around a campfire. It was the first time in months, maybe even half a year. I don't really know. . It was that familiar and foreign feeling, a closeness and distance with something I once loved. As I pressed into the strings, the pain on my fingers reminded me how disconnected I felt to my guitar. . I never thought I'd feel that way with music. Music saved me when I had no words. It gave me life as I strung together notes and melodies, and many minor chords. It was a source of joy, healing and freedom, when so much of my life felt otherwise. . But this has happened to me before — with sports, after I tore my ACL. It was never quite the same as it used to be. I was never quite the jock I used to be. . It's fascinating to see the ways our identities and passions move in fluid and unexpected ways. Some seasons it's everything you breathe. Other times, you can't remember the last time you picked up a guitar or told someone you're a musician. If I don't play any more, am I still a musician? . I'm no longer the person in this photo who played music every day and painted her nails, so she didn't look "that gay." But I long to connect with her again, that piece that couldn't live without playing her guitar or piano. She won't be as good, but the muscle memory has never left her fingers. . What are the passions and parts of yourself you rarely connect with these days? . Photo cred: Brian Goldschmied
Did you know there was a resource created for LGBTQ+ students and teachers in Catholic schools in the 90s? Probably not since thousands of copies were never distributed and shut down by the church. . "The Moment" featured stories and contributions from queer students, Catholic teachers, priests and nuns, and was published by The Jesuit Centre for Social Faith & Justice in Toronto. I can only imagine how this resource would have impacted queer and trans students and teachers in Catholic schools. . It's pretty incredible to hold this part of history, of the silence and fear that still permeates the church and Christian communities. I was lent this copy by someone who was instrumental in helping to create safer spaces for LGBTQ+ students in Catholic schools across Canada. I look forward to sharing that interview with you next month in @broadviewmagazine.
A little snap from my writing workshop at @fireflycreativewriting with BIPOC folks this past weekend! . The room was filled with rich stories of food, family, microaggressions and intergenerational connections. Stories where we sat there nodding our heads, that all-too-familiar experience of shame, racism, and the complexities of identity and family. That nod of I see you, I've lived that story, you don’t have to explain this to me. . I shared a childhood memory of eating chicken feet at dim sum with my family, the way the skin and bones felt in my mouth, the lack of shame I had eating it as a kid. I would feel insecure to share this story in many other spaces out of fear of judgment, that it would be seen as disgusting or backwards in some way. . But in these spaces with racialized people, my stories of food, internalized racism and family are seen and understood in healing ways.
The water. The words. The wonder.