NSB Logo Jeff Perera Jeff Perera

Jeff Perera

Speaker

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Inspiring Healthy Models of Manhood & Masculinity

With today’s headlines about sexual assault, gender inequity and life amidst the #MeToo movement, people are having tense and needed conversations from the boardroom to the classroom about our ideas of manhood today. Drawing from over ten years of advocacy, Jeff’s presentations inspire accessible and transformative conversations about what positive and mindful manhood can look like, embracing our full potential and how to ‘be the lesson in action’ where we work, live, and study.

Event Theme Ideas Health Youth & Campus Human Rights & Social Change Current Events

In the News

Awoken Word | Jeff Perera - "Mankind. Kind Men" January 19, 2019
CBC | Men question their own behaviour as more women say #MeToo Social Sharing November 27, 2018

Keynote Speeches

DRAWING MAPS TO MANHOOD

An opportunity for candid conversations leading us towards a new measure of manhood. This talk allows the audience to explore how men and young men developing empathy, accountability, and models of possibility. Participants will leave with strategies around tackling shame, owning their story, and being better teammates amongst their community, team, organization, or campus! 

 

THE LADDER OF MANHOOD

An interactive talk where Jeff challenges attendees to rethink the harmful ideas they possess towards manhood. He asks: what are the traditions handed down here? What do you want them to be? Jeff explores the power structures in society and how they reinforce a certain definition of manhood that limits us all. Jeff encourages men to embrace new models of manhood and take the conversation back into everyday ‘male spaces.’ Attendees will look at how men and young men can become part of a change in their communities and organizations.

 

MEN BUILDING EMPATHY MUSCLES

As men, we can learn to lean on one another to have hard conversations, support one another, and develop our emotional literacy. Jeff teaches audience members how they can “spot” one another as they learn how to nurture and grow their relationships, connections, and friendships.

THE GENDER OF SUCCESS AND FAILURE
We have assigned a gender to the concepts of success and failure: defining so-called masculine traits as those of success, and feminizing ideas of failure, Jeff explores how these concepts impact us from the boardroom to the dating scene, and how we can develop collaboration, empathy and healthy communication between us.

THE GENDER OF SUCCESS AND FAILURE

We have assigned a gender to the concepts of success and failure: defining so-called masculine traits as those of success, and feminizing ideas of failure, Jeff explores how these concepts impact us from the boardroom to the dating scene, and how we can develop collaboration, empathy and healthy communication between us.

Audience reviews:

  • What I learned from Jeff Perera tonight is that we're all human. We're all trying to break through the fear and just be our authentic self. I guess I never really thought about it from the male perspective. We're all aware of the struggles women face in the media and in society etc but we don't we take the same amount of time to understand the affects on boys and men. And when you DO take the time you realize it's huge. The messages are EVERYWHERE telling boys & men to hide their vulnerability & PROVE their "masculinity". I'm honestly pretty humbled and enlightened.

    - Stephanie Mulhall, Kindness Changes Everything
 

Speaker Biography

Since 2008, Jeff Perera been building bridges between people of all genders: having spoken to tens of thousands of people across North America about gender, masculinity, empathy-building, and men helping end gender-based violence. Whether in the boardroom, on campus, or the locker room: we need more examples of positive ways to be a man today. Jeff is a storyteller inspiring new models of possibility for men and young men, and healthier versus harmful ideas of manhood where we work, live, play, worship or study. He has delivered two TEDx talks: ‘Words Speak Louder Than Actions’ looking at the power of gendered words, and ‘The Ladder of Manhood’ which explores the male pursuit of identity and how too many men are fluent in a language of violence. In 2011, he curated the first TEDxWomen event in Toronto.

Jeff previously worked for the White Ribbon Campaign, the world’s largest grassroots effort to engage men in ending violence against women, and Next Gen Men, as well as founded and curated the What Makes A Man conference for four years which featured actor Terry Crews in 2014.

From Rogers Media, Mackenzie Investments, Klick Canada, Vidyard, and Canada Post, to numerous other organizations and campuses, Jeff has delivered interactive talks for team leaders and groups of all genders, fields, creeds, and faiths within various organizations, conferences, and spaces. His work helps nurture brave spaces for real discussion: inspiring people to challenge our gendered ideas of success and failure and to be the lesson in action. 

Jeff regularly contributes thought leadership through writing and appearances on podcasts and interviews exploring how limiting ideas of gender impact us all in everyday life.

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