speaking

Leslie is a dynamic speaker who would be happy to join your organization for a virtual or in-person event. She is available for keynote presentations, panel discussions, and workshops. All talks are customized to fit your audience’s interests. Please visit the contact page to get in touch.

“Dr. Leslie Kern is a compelling speaker, academic coach, and writer. In her lecture on the Feminist City, she translated her expertise from feminist geography into formats that are engaging and understandable for people with diverse disciplinary and cultural backgrounds.” Dr. Oona Morrow, Associate Professor, Wageningen University and Research, Netherlands.

selected talk and workshop descriptions

• How Cities Fail Women: Keynote presentation
  • Argues that cities have historically been exclusionary and hostile toward women, especially in areas such as mobility, safety, and an infrastructure for care work. However, it doesn’t have to be this way. Cities around the world are pursuing effective interventions to create more just urban worlds. Takeaway: Cities have been designed for men but if we begin to design with women in mind, we can create better cities for all.
• Towards a Feminist City: Keynote presentation
  • Illustrates the planning, design, and policy trends that have prioritized men in city building, and suggests several key feminist principles to transform the process and outcomes of place making. These include moving the margin to the centre, starting from the body, and creating a design lexicon for care. Takeaway: If we start with a different set of priorities, we can make positive changes to the everyday lives of millions of city dwellers.
• Why Gentrification Is Not Inevitable and What We Can Do About It: Keynote presentation
  • Provides a snapshot of the multiple and accelerated forms of gentrification impacting cities in the 21st century in what can seem like an unstoppable wave. But the trajectory of this wave can be changed through policy interventions and citizen actions. Takeaway: Alternatives ways of organizing housing and preventing displacement already exist and are possible in your city.
• Words Matter: Publish a Powerful Point of View: Interactive workshop
  • Participants use a structured worksheet to craft a clear and compelling message, and give and receive peer feedback while collaboratively developing their ideas. We discuss publication strategies and the challenges that writers from marginalized groups often face. Takeaway: Attendees leave with an action plan for pursuing a publication.
• Raising Our Expectations: Collective Care Practices in the University: Interactive workshop
  • Based on the ideas in the book Higher Expectations: How to Survive Academia, Make it Better for Others, and Transform the University, this workshop helps participants generate ideas for how to transform their university into a more equitable, caring, and collaborative space. Together, we create action items for short- and long-term change. Takeaway: Attendees commit to at least one action they can pursue this week.

“It’s difficult to have a conversation about inclusivity in cities without referencing Leslie Kern’s work, so having her as a keynote speaker is a major highlight. Her presentation, “Towards a Feminist City”, gives much-needed context on the state of gender inclusivity in urban environments, challenging urban conventions and inspiring new ways to envision truly equitable spaces for all.” – Marta Bugés Aragonés, La Salle, Universitat Ramon Llull, Barcelona.

“Leslie was a top act! As a positive and approachable speaker, she was an absolute asset. She motivated and inspired with her intelligent and relatable messages, both in terms of content and teaching style. In Düsseldorf, she presented a new perspective on writing as an outlet for feminist work—a new, encouraging perspective that sparked many conversations.” Karin Hartmann, Architect and Author; Organizer, Room at the Top: Feminist Activism as Architectural Practice, Düsseldorf, May 2025.

“Leslie Kern is the real deal – a Canadian treasure when it comes to community building and community action. In April 2025, as the keynote speaker at the Mount Dennis People’s Summit in Toronto, Leslie inspired more than one-hundred and fifty participants to organize and support positive alternatives to the gentrification of their community. In these challenging times Leslie Kern provides a vital voice to be heard both in Canada and around the globe in the struggle to protect, maintain and build strong local communities.” Sean Gadon, Action Advisor, Housing, Community and Urban Affairs.