RECONCILIATION
SPEAKERS BUREAU
JENNIFER DAVID
An award-winning Indigenous communicator, storyteller, and leader known for amplifying Indigenous voices and advancing Truth and Reconciliation. A member of Chapleau Cree First Nation, she brings decades of experience spanning journalism, media, and strategic communications, including her role with APTN at its launch. Jennifer is a Senior Consultant and Lead of Truth & Reconciliation at NVision Insight Group, a TEDx speaker, author, and Vice-Chair of APTN’s Board.
MY STORY
Jennifer describes herself as 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 (APTN) when it launched in 1999. She then started a communications consulting company called Debwe Communications (Debwe is a derivative of Debwewin, meaning ‘one who speaks true’, one of the seven Anishinaabe Grandfather Teachings), then joined a larger consulting firm called NVision Insight Group, where she holds multiple roles: she is a shareholder, Vice-President on the Board, a Senior Consultant and Lead of the Truth and Reconciliation area of service.
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Jennifer continues to amplify Indigenous voices in her work and personal life. 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 recently finished writing a book about the history of her First Nation.
She is currently Vice-Chair on the Board of APTN, a TedX speaker and winner of the King Charles III Coronation medal. She lives in Ottawa and is married and a mom of two young adults. She spends her weekends at her cottage in the water or in her garden.