Monique Grey Smith will be the District Conference Key Note Speaker on Friday.
Greetings Monique Gray Smith
 
Monique Gray Smith is an award-winning, best-selling author. Her books cover a broad spectrum of ages, topics and emotions. Woven into all of Monique’s writing, speaking engagements and online courses is the teaching that Love is Medicine. In September 2022, she released her 4th children’s picture book, I Hope with Orca Book Publishers. Monique’s most recent book is Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults, which received the Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award for 2022. Originally written by Robin Wall Kimmerer and the adaptation includes illustrations by Nicole Neidhardt. Monique’s novel, Tilly and the Crazy Eights was longlisted for Canada Reads 2021.

Monique is trained as a Psychiatric Nurse and has worked in various capacities in community and as a consultant since 1990. Her focus has been weaving history, resilience and trauma informed training for educators, social workers, librarians and early childhood teams. She is an appointed member of the Board of Directors of Royal Roads University and the Minister’s Advisory Council for Indigenous Women for the Government of BC and is the elected President of the Board of Directors for the Victoria Native Friendship Centre. In 2019 Monique received the City of Victoria Leadership Award for Reconciliation. Monique is Cree and Scottish and has been sober and involved in her healing journey for over 32 years. She is well known for her storytelling, spirit of generosity and focus on resilience.