Keynote Speaker, Jill Andrew, Lifts Spirits at the Fall 2020 CITE Annual Meeting

Teachers of English & Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages gathered for their annual fall meeting, virtually on October 15, 2020. The keynote speaker was dynamo Toronto-St. Paul’s MPP and former teacher, Jill Andrew. Teaching during a pandemic includes many challenges and Jill was the tonic needed to give everyone a lift. 

Jill Andrew, MPP, Toronto–St. Paul's  
Jill Andrew is described as a “rock star” and a dynamic speaker by CITE colleagues. Jill is the first Black and Queer person to be elected to the Ontario Legislature and reportedly in Canada. Since then, Jill has been a leading voice on issues of gender, race and social justice, the housing crisis, healthcare inequities, education and the immeasurable benefit of arts and culture to our communities but also to our physical, mental and social health. Outside of politics, Jill is also co-founder of Body Confidence Canada and is an award-winning educator and former columnist, equity and body-image advocate, speaker and writer. Jill holds a Child & Youth Worker diploma from Humber College, a Bachelor of Education (BEd) from York University among her other undergraduate degrees, a Master’s degree in women and gender studies from the University of Toronto New College and her PhD from York University’s Faculty of Education. Jill's PhD dissertation explored the trifecta of racism, sexism and fat hatred experienced by Black women in the GTA, their strategies of both accommodation and resistance as well as everyday, systemic and policy reform necessary to facilitate change against anti-Black racism, gendered violence and weight discrimination. www.jillandrewmpp.ca/

A huge thank you to Annette Chiu and The Bishop Strachan School for the effort and organization to plan and host the event!