Jennifer is infinitely curious (her small-town relatives might say nosy), and a born storyteller. A member of Chapleau Cree First Nation, Jennifer is of mixed ancestry and feels that she embodies reconciliation in everything she does. Jennifer moved to Ottawa in the 1990s to get a journalism degree at Carleton University and was the Director of Communications for the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network when it launched in 1999. This instilled in her a passion to amplify Indigenous voices and ensure that accurate and true narratives get out into the world. She started a communications consulting company called Debwe Communications (Debwe is a derivative of Debwewin, one of the seven Anishinaabe Grandfather Teachings, meaning ‘one who speaks true’), then joined a larger company called NVision Insight Group, where she is currently a Senior Consultant and Lead of the Truth and Reconciliation service basket.

Jennifer continues to amplify Indigenous voices. In her professional life, she creates, facilitates, educates and presents on topics related to Truth & Reconciliation. In her personal life, she wrote a book about the launch of APTN, she co-hosted a podcast on Indigenous literature with Anishinaabe writer Waubgeshig Rice, and she is currently working on a book about her First Nation. She is married and a mom of two university students. She loves to spend time at her cottage, soaking up the rocks, trees and lake vistas of her childhood while reading voraciously and dreaming up new stories.