Jeff Perera

Jeff is a workshop facilitator for the White Ribbon Campaign, the world’s largest effort to engage men in ending violence against women as well as founded a chapter at Ryerson University working to further a gender-inclusive environment. Jeff also co-founded the Ryerson Black History Awareness Committee & annual Viola Desmond Day Awards celebrating strong Black/African Canadian women. He is the Director of the annual discussion-focused ‘What Makes a Man’ White Ribbon Conference and was event director for the first TEDxWomen event in Toronto. Jeff’s awareness-raising initiatives to create inclusive spaces for people of all walks of life have earned him numerous human rights & equity awards. Jeff was named one of 100 leading anti-racist activist People of Colour by Racism Free Ontario. He has organized, facilitated and spoken at numerous workshops and events examining intersections of race and gender including with the National Film Board of Canada, University of Toronto, and annual ‘YWCA Common Ground’ Conference as well as the ‘Garden of Hope: Empower Women’ Conference in Taipei, Taiwan. In 2010 Jeff delivered the TEDx talk ‘Words Speak Louder Than Actions’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VBlQJFe_Ik discussing gender construction and roles, the impact you make as well as the impact words have on our everyday lives.