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ACJS Speakers' Bureau

The ACJS Speakers' Bureau provides access to leading voices in Canadian Jewish studies for public speaking engagements and community learning opportunities. Members of the Bureau are historians, political scientists, sociologists, artists, archivists, novelists and poets, journalists, and religious and civic leaders, with expertise on issues of historical and contemporary concern to the Canadian Jewish experience. 

 

The Bureau serves as a resource for social and cultural organizations, religious congregations, museums, universities, schools, and more, to bring specialists on Canadian Jewry to their communities for lectures, readings, and conversation.

 

If you are organizing an event, seminar, workshop, or training session, please browse our catalogue of more than 80 speakers and fill out one of the booking forms below. We will be happy to facilitate a speaker for your next program!

How It Works:

Organizations interested in hosting a talk select speakers that spark their interests. The ACJS will coordinate the match between speaker and host, and from there the host will coordinate topic, format, and scheduling directly with the speaker.
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The default rate for booking any speaker is 500 CAD, with a 10 percent administrative fee earmarked for the ACJS. We will receive the full 500 CAD payment and subsequently process the speaker’s fee. 
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Hosts are responsible for all event planning and logistics and will bear all costs associated with bringing a speaker from out of town, if applicable. We will be pleased to assist with advertising and promotion.

Please write to bureau@canadianjewishstudies.ca for more information, or consult the FAQs below.

Find a Speaker!

Browse our available talks by theme, a speaker’s willingness to travel, their preference for in-person or virtual appearances, and availability in English or French—or scroll through the entire catalogue. If you are interested in booking more than one talk, you may include multiple requests on the same form or submit separate forms for each request.

Yiddish, Gender & Sexuality, Immigration, Literature

Chantal Ringuet

Independent

Crossing Borders: Why We Should Read Yiddish Women Poets Rokhl Korn and Kadya Molodowsky Today

CITY

WILLING TO TRAVEL?

Montreal

Yes

OPEN TO VIRTUAL?

LANGUAGE

Yes

Bilingual

Chantal Ringuet, PhD, is a Canadian award-winning author and translator. She is the author of a dozen books (and many essays) covering a wide range of subjects and genres: historical and cultural essays, biographical narratives and anthologies. Her work focuses on issues of memory and language crossing in urban space, translation, poetry, women's voices, Yiddish literature, and Leonard Cohen. As a literary translator from English and Yiddish, she has brought to life in French the voices of Marc Chagall, Rachel Korn, Kadya Molodowsky and Adrienne Rich. In 2024, she held the position of Mordecai Richler Writer-in-Residence at McGill University's Department of French Literature, Translation and Creative Studies. In 2025, she launched Montreal, City of Women, with l'UdeM, a fourth iteration (after London and Barcelona) of Rebecca Solnit's original map, NY, City of Women.

Yiddish, 20th Century, Literature, Quebec

Ira Robinson

Concordia University

Montreal Jews in the Early 20th Century as Reflected in the Keneder Adler's Advice Column

CITY

WILLING TO TRAVEL?

Montreal

Yes

OPEN TO VIRTUAL?

LANGUAGE

Yes

Bilingual

Ira Robinson is distinguished professor emeritus of Jewish Studies in the Department of Religions and Cultures at Concordia University, where he taught for forty-two years. Robinson has written, edited, and translated nineteen books. They include Rabbis and Their Community: Studies in the Eastern European Orthodox Rabbinate in Montreal, 1896–1930 (2007), which won a J.I. Segal Prize, A History of Antisemitism in Canada (2015), Les Juifs Hassidiques de Montréal (2019), and A Kabbalist in Montreal: the Life and Times of Rabbi Yudel Rosenberg (2021). He is the 2013 winner of the Louis Rosenberg Canadian Jewish Studies Distinguished Service Award from the Association for Canadian Jewish Studies.

Yiddish, Literature, Archival Research

Ira Robinson

Concordia University

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: Serial Novels in the Keneder Adler

CITY

WILLING TO TRAVEL?

Montreal

Yes

OPEN TO VIRTUAL?

LANGUAGE

Yes

Bilingual

Ira Robinson is distinguished professor emeritus of Jewish Studies in the Department of Religions and Cultures at Concordia University, where he taught for forty-two years. Robinson has written, edited, and translated nineteen books. They include Rabbis and Their Community: Studies in the Eastern European Orthodox Rabbinate in Montreal, 1896–1930 (2007), which won a J.I. Segal Prize, A History of Antisemitism in Canada (2015), Les Juifs Hassidiques de Montréal (2019), and A Kabbalist in Montreal: the Life and Times of Rabbi Yudel Rosenberg (2021). He is the 2013 winner of the Louis Rosenberg Canadian Jewish Studies Distinguished Service Award from the Association for Canadian Jewish Studies.

Religion & Ritual, Theology, Identity, Environment / Nature

Michael Rosen

Independent

Tzedekah, Tikkun Olam and T'u B'Shvat: Canadian Jewish Expressions of Environmentalism

CITY

WILLING TO TRAVEL?

Gatineau/Ottawa

Yes

OPEN TO VIRTUAL?

LANGUAGE

Yes

Bilingual

Michael Rosen was president of Tree Canada, a national not-for-profit, where he led its transition to private sector support and facilitated the planting of over eighty million trees. He now consults to environmental companies, landowners and NGO’s, doing presentations, and authoring articles on various subjects. A registered professional forester and certified arborist, he has a BA (Hons) in History from Trent University, a BScF from the University of Toronto, and is an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia. He serves on the boards of numerous organizations, lives in the Outaouais region of Quebec and received the Canadian Forestry Achievement Award from the Canadian Institute of Forestry in 2020. His pastimes includes making maple syrup, cross-country skiing, canoeing, and gardening.

Health & Medicine, Ontario, 20th Century, Economy

Michael Rosen

Independent

Charles H. Moses, the People's Dentist of Hamilton

CITY

WILLING TO TRAVEL?

Gatineau/Ottawa

Yes

OPEN TO VIRTUAL?

LANGUAGE

Yes

Bilingual

Michael Rosen was president of Tree Canada, a national not-for-profit, where he led its transition to private sector support and facilitated the planting of over eighty million trees. He now consults to environmental companies, landowners and NGO’s, doing presentations, and authoring articles on various subjects. A registered professional forester and certified arborist, he has a BA (Hons) in History from Trent University, a BScF from the University of Toronto, and is an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia. He serves on the boards of numerous organizations, lives in the Outaouais region of Quebec and received the Canadian Forestry Achievement Award from the Canadian Institute of Forestry in 2020. His pastimes includes making maple syrup, cross-country skiing, canoeing, and gardening.

Community Institutions, Interfaith, Politics & Activism, Human Relations

Avrum Rosensweig

Independent

From Jewish Wisdom to Canadian Action: A Life Dedicated to Tikkun Olam

CITY

WILLING TO TRAVEL?

Toronto

Yes

OPEN TO VIRTUAL?

LANGUAGE

Yes

English

Avrum Rosensweig is a Canadian Jewish humanitarian, public speaker, podcaster, writer, teacher, and artist whose life's work is inspired by the Jewish ideal of tikkun olam—repairing the world. Through his writing, teaching, humanitarian leadership, and tikkun olam art, he explores the intersection of compassion, Jewish wisdom, and social responsibility. As the founder of Ve'ahavta, he has devoted decades to serving vulnerable communities such as Native Canadians, Guyanese, Zimbabwean, Haitians, and many many more. His work invites audiences to believe that creativity, kindness, and service can each become powerful instruments for healing the world.

Literature, Art & Visual Culture, Holocaust, Youth & Education

Charlotte Schallié & Mark Celinscak

University of Victoria

Being in Relationship: Creative Practice as Research with Holocaust Survivors

CITY

WILLING TO TRAVEL?

Victoria, BC & Dallas, TX

Yes

OPEN TO VIRTUAL?

LANGUAGE

Yes

Bilingual

Charlotte Schallié's teaching and research interests include memory studies, visual culture studies & graphic narratives, teaching and learning about the Holocaust, genocide and human rights education, community-engaged participatory research, ethics of care, and arts-based action research. Schallié is the project lead and co-director, together with Dr. Andrea Webb (University of British Columbia), of a seven-year Social Science and Humanities Research Council-funded Partnership Grant (2022-2029) entitled “Survivor-Centred Visual Narratives” (www.visualnarratives.org). Mark Celinscak is the incoming Leah and Paul Lewis Chair of Holocaust Studies, professor of History, and the new director of the Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies at the University of Texas at Dallas.

North Africa & Middle East, Immigration, 20th Century, Oral History

Rhona Seidelman

University of Oklahoma

Jewish Egyptian Refugees in Canada: A Personal Reflection in Historical Context

CITY

WILLING TO TRAVEL?

Oklahoma

Maybe

OPEN TO VIRTUAL?

LANGUAGE

Yes

English

Rhona Seidelman, an associate professor of History and the Schusterman Chair of Modern Israel, is the director of the Schusterman Center for Judaic and Israel Studies at the University of Oklahoma. Professor Seidelman is the preeminent expert on the history of Shaar Ha’aliya—Israel’s Ellis Island—as well as one of the leading scholars on the history of medicine and public health in Israel. Born in Vancouver and raised in Hamilton, Seidelman holds a BA and MA from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a PhD from Ben Gurion University of the Negev.

Holocaust, 20th Century, Health & Medicine, Second World War

Rhona Seidelman

University of Oklahoma

History of Medicine and the Holocaust: The Canadian Contribution

CITY

WILLING TO TRAVEL?

Oklahoma

Maybe

OPEN TO VIRTUAL?

LANGUAGE

Yes

English

Rhona Seidelman, an associate professor of History and the Schusterman Chair of Modern Israel, is the director of the Schusterman Center for Judaic and Israel Studies at the University of Oklahoma. Professor Seidelman is the preeminent expert on the history of Shaar Ha’aliya—Israel’s Ellis Island—as well as one of the leading scholars on the history of medicine and public health in Israel. Born in Vancouver and raised in Hamilton, Seidelman holds a BA and MA from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a PhD from Ben Gurion University of the Negev.

Literature, Global / Diaspora, Europe, 20th Century

Emily Robins Sharpe

Keene State

A Better Earth: Canadian Jewish Literature of the Spanish Civil War

CITY

WILLING TO TRAVEL?

New Hampshire

Maybe

OPEN TO VIRTUAL?

LANGUAGE

Yes

English

Emily Robins Sharpe is a professor of English and an affiliate faculty member of the departments of Women’s and Gender Studies and Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Keene State College. Her book Mosaic Fictions: Writing Identity in the Spanish Civil War (University of Toronto Press) analyzes Jewish Canadian literature about the war (1936–39) within overlapping North American networks of Jewish, Black, immigrant, female, and queer writers. She co-directs the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada-funded print-digital project, “Canada and the Spanish Civil War,” including the forthcoming anthology, Canada and the Spanish Civil War: An Anthology (University of Ottawa Press, 2026).

Literature, Europe, Global / Diaspora, 20th Century

Emily Robins Sharpe

Keene State

Federico García Lorca in the Canadian Jewish Literary Imagination

CITY

WILLING TO TRAVEL?

New Hampshire

Maybe

OPEN TO VIRTUAL?

LANGUAGE

Yes

English

Emily Robins Sharpe is a professor of English and an affiliate faculty member of the departments of Women’s and Gender Studies and Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Keene State College. Her book Mosaic Fictions: Writing Identity in the Spanish Civil War (University of Toronto Press) analyzes Jewish Canadian literature about the war (1936–39) within overlapping North American networks of Jewish, Black, immigrant, female, and queer writers. She co-directs the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada-funded print-digital project, “Canada and the Spanish Civil War,” including the forthcoming anthology, Canada and the Spanish Civil War: An Anthology (University of Ottawa Press, 2026).

Global / Diaspora, Comparative, Food & Material Culture, Film & Media

David Sheinin

Trent University

Jews and Popular Culture in Argentina and Canada

CITY

WILLING TO TRAVEL?

Peterborough

Yes

OPEN TO VIRTUAL?

LANGUAGE

Maybe

Bilingual

David M K Sheinin is professor of history at Trent University and a member of the Argentine National Academy of History. David and Jorge Nallim are writing a history of memory narratives in Argentina.

Global / Diaspora, Immigration, Comparative, Community Institutions

David Sheinin

Trent University

Two Paths: Jewish Life in Argentina and Canada

CITY

WILLING TO TRAVEL?

Peterborough

Yes

OPEN TO VIRTUAL?

LANGUAGE

Maybe

Bilingual

David M K Sheinin is professor of history at Trent University and a member of the Argentine National Academy of History. David and Jorge Nallim are writing a history of memory narratives in Argentina.

Literature, Canada, 21st Century

Kenneth Sherman

Independent

The Continuing Relevance of Canadian Jewish Poetry

CITY

WILLING TO TRAVEL?

Toronto

Maybe

OPEN TO VIRTUAL?

LANGUAGE

Yes

English

Kenneth Sherman is a Canadian author who has published over ten books of poetry, including the highly acclaimed long poems Black River and Words for Elephant Man. He has also published three books of prose, including the memoir Wait Time, a finalist for the RBC/Taylor nonfiction prize. His articles have appeared in Tablet, The National Post, and The Globe and Mail.

Religion & Ritual, Theology, Canada

Lesley Simpson

L'Chaim: The Jewish Letters Project

The Tiny Flashlight During a Dark Time: An Introduction to Jewish Wisdom Letters in Canada

CITY

WILLING TO TRAVEL?

Toronto

Maybe

OPEN TO VIRTUAL?

LANGUAGE

Yes

English

Dr. Lesley Simpson is the founder of L’chaim: The Jewish Letters Project, an online newsletter where Jews throughout time share what makes life meaningful in wisdom letters (sometimes called ethical wills). In addition to searching for more letters, Lesley designs writing workshops dedicated to wisdom letters. A former journalist and published children’s book author, Lesley completed a PhD in Jewish studies specializing in this extraordinary tradition that is not well known.

Religion & Ritual, Denominations, Quebec, Memory

Karen Skinazi

Hebrew Union College/University of Southern California

Sukkah Stories and Other Tales of Orthodox Jewish Montreal

CITY

WILLING TO TRAVEL?

Los Angeles

Yes

OPEN TO VIRTUAL?

LANGUAGE

Maybe

Bilingual

Karen E. H. Skinazi is professor of Modern Jewish Literature and Culture at Hebrew Union College and director of the Louchheim School for Judaic Studies at the University of Southern California. The author of Women of Valor: Orthodox Jewish Troll Fighters, Crime Writers, and Rock Stars in Contemporary Literature and Culture (2018), she is currently working on a book on Jewish and Muslim women's literature and a second project on Mizrahi history and culture. Karen is originally from Toronto and has taught at universities in Canada, the UK, and the US.

Interfaith, Gender & Sexuality, Western Canada, Multiculturalism

Karen Skinazi

Hebrew Union College/University of Southern California

The Canadian in the Room: Gender, Religion, and Nationality in a British Jewish-Muslim Women's Book Club

CITY

WILLING TO TRAVEL?

Los Angeles

Yes

OPEN TO VIRTUAL?

LANGUAGE

Maybe

Bilingual

Karen E. H. Skinazi is professor of Modern Jewish Literature and Culture at Hebrew Union College and director of the Louchheim School for Judaic Studies at the University of Southern California. The author of Women of Valor: Orthodox Jewish Troll Fighters, Crime Writers, and Rock Stars in Contemporary Literature and Culture (2018), she is currently working on a book on Jewish and Muslim women's literature and a second project on Mizrahi history and culture. Karen is originally from Toronto and has taught at universities in Canada, the UK, and the US.

Music, Art & Visual Culture, Identity, 20th Century

Jonathan Slater

SUNY Plattsburgh

The Posthumous Celebrity of Leonard Cohen

CITY

WILLING TO TRAVEL?

Montreal

Yes

OPEN TO VIRTUAL?

LANGUAGE

Yes

Bilingual

Jonathan Slater is professor emeritus of public relations at SUNY Plattsburgh, where he also founded and led the Jewish Studies program and directed the college’s Ethics Institute. Prior to his teaching career, Slater worked for two decades in the communication field in New York. He writes and talks mostly about the intersection of mass media and the Jewish experience. Slater received his doctorate from NYU and lives on Montreal’s South Shore.

Music, Canada, Religion & Ritual, 20th Century

Jonathan Slater

SUNY Plattsburgh

The Jewish Origins of the Canadian Recording Industry

CITY

WILLING TO TRAVEL?

Montreal

Yes

OPEN TO VIRTUAL?

LANGUAGE

Yes

Bilingual

Jonathan Slater is professor emeritus of public relations at SUNY Plattsburgh, where he also founded and led the Jewish Studies program and directed the college’s Ethics Institute. Prior to his teaching career, Slater worked for two decades in the communication field in New York. He writes and talks mostly about the intersection of mass media and the Jewish experience. Slater received his doctorate from NYU and lives on Montreal’s South Shore.

Identity, Community Institutions, Zionism, 21st Century

Michael Soberman

Independent

Building Tomorrow's Canadian Jewish Community ... Today

CITY

WILLING TO TRAVEL?

Toronto

Yes

OPEN TO VIRTUAL?

LANGUAGE

Yes

English

Michael is a world-renowned speaker, educator and storyteller who inspires and makes you laugh. His meaningful stories challenge audiences to think about important issues. Through his years of experience in Jewish, Israel & experiential education, his travel to all seven continents, he addresses issues that matter to the Canadian Jewish community's future and how to engage the next generation of Jewish leaders. Michael has been invited to speak all over the Jewish world and has complied his stories in his recently published book, Who is Nick Victory? And Other Stories from the Seven Continents.
Bureau FAQ

FAQs

I'd like to invite a speaker. Is my organization the right fit? The Bureau is a resource for any and all individuals and organizations interested in engaging community audiences and learners in thoughtful conversations about Canadian Jewish history, heritage, and culture. Appropriate venues include but are not limited to: synagogues and other religious institutions; adult education groups; community centres, Jewish or not; schools; literary and film festivals; book clubs; employee resource groups (ERGs); retirement homes; DEI seminars; professional development seminars; board meetings; historical societies; and genealogical societies.

I'm interested in a particular speaker but would like them to speak on a different topic than what appears in the catalogue. Is that possible? Yes. Once you are connected with the speaker you will be able to negotiate a different talk. Revising or customizing a talk already listed in the catalogue or creating a new one entirely is at the speaker’s discretion.

Where are the speakers based? Speakers are primarily located in Canada, though several are based in the United States and Israel. Many are willing to travel. Please consult the catalogue for speakers’ preferences and availability.

Are the speakers available to present online? Most of our speakers will present in-person or online. Please consult the catalogue for their preferences and availability.

Does the Bureau offer talks in languages other than English? Yes. Several speakers are available to present in French, Hebrew, Yiddish, Spanish, and Russian. Please contact us for more information.

Does the Bureau insist on a particular format for any given talk? No. Some of the talks listed in the catalogue are lectures, others are seminars, and still others are hands-on workshops. The total length of the event will be negotiated between the host and speaker.

Are there costs associated with booking a speaker? Yes. Our default fee for booking any speaker is 500 CAD, paid to ACJS. ACJS takes a 10 percent administrative fee to offset the costs of coordinating the Bureau. The remaining money goes directly to the speaker. Hosts are expected to bear any travel costs for out-of-town speakers. Note that some of the Bureau’s members are accustomed to higher rates for speaking engagements. Please contact us if you have any concerns and we will do our best to assist.

I’m a prospective host. What are the basic expectations for me and my organization? Once we connect you with a speaker, you will coordinate directly with the speaker to schedule dates and times, select a format (if applicable), and customize the presentation (if applicable). Hosts are expected to handle all of the local event planning, logistics, and advertising.

As a host, how do I promote the event as being connected to the Association for Canadian Jewish Studies? We kindly ask that any communications assets associated with your event include the ACJS logo and/or mention the talk’s association with the ACJS Speakers' Bureau. We provide all hosts with ACJS graphics, as well as a short description of the Association and the Bureau that can be used in promotional materials and/or welcome remarks. Likewise, all speakers are asked to acknowledge the ACJS prior to their talk. If you provide us with a digital flyer and/or descriptive text about your Bureau event, we will gladly promote it through our own social media and other communications channels.

I’m planning a series of talks for my organization over a period of months. Can I work with the Bureau to curate a program? Yes, we would be happy to facilitate a speaker series involving more than one of our Bureau members. Please contact us for more information.

I have research, insights, and knowledge to share. How do I become a member of the Bureau? The Bureau is open to new members on a rolling basis. If you are a scholar, advanced graduate student, archivist, museum professional, journalist, artist, writer, or community or religious leader, please complete our application form. You are invited to submit up to three talks. Only talks that have both Canadian and Jewish content will be considered. We will assess your application and follow up within three weeks.

I'm already a member of the Speakers' Bureau and would like to edit an existing talk title, add a new one, or update my bio. How can I do that? Please write to bureau@canadianjewishstudies.ca and we will be happy to revise your offerings.

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