Pinoys on Parliament 2022: Panels and Speakers

France Stohner is a Philippine-born, Montreal-raised diasporic community organizer and mental health counsellor. As an uninvited settler immigrant on Turtle Island, she is committed to decolonization and spent her undergraduate years at the Simone de Beauvoir Institute. In her early career, France worked in the non-profit sector for an organization focused on urban development for women's safety in cities. She then pursued a Masters of Arts degree in Counselling and Spirituality, specializing in Women’s Studies, a collaborative program between the universities of Ottawa and Saint Paul. From 2011 to 2016, she was a radio host and content creator for Sigaw Ng Bayan on CKUT 90.3FM. As co-lead organizer for the Pinay Power II (McGill University 2019) and Filipino-Canadian Futures (Concordia University 2019) conferences, and as member of the Advisory Council for Kabanka and Pinoys on Parliament, she strives to highlight the importance of community dialogue while uplifting Kapwa voices. Since the pandemic she has been a Restorative Circle Keeper, creating brave spaces for racialized women and youth to work towards more emotional and spiritual strength and growth. In order to maintain connections to the Motherland, France is also a community coordinator for Inday Dolls, a program bringing art initiatives to incarcerated women at the IloIlo City District Jail in Panay Islands. In her day-to-day, France is a Student Advocate and on the Sexual Violence Response team at a post-secondary institution, and proud Mamang to her two year-old, Kalayaan.