HOW ALISON CAN HELP YOU
1. Event Host/ Emcee
Meet the emcee for your next event: ME!
As a beauty editor, I learned to think on my feet and stay poised.
As a magazine feature writer, I learned to ask smart questions and tell a good story.
As a university instructor, I’ve mastered clear communication and crowd engagement—on stage and off.
As a public speaker, I know how to command a room.
As a webinar host, I know how to manage live timing and tech hiccups without breaking a sweat.
I’ll bring all of these skills to the stage as your next event emcee.
If you’re interested in teaming up with me, contact me.
Let’s put on a show!
• Music: “Happy Toes” by MooveKa on ArtList.com
• Drawings inspired by “For Audrey With Love,” by Philip Hopman (New York: North|South, 2016).
• Alison at The Arcadian Court in Toronto hosting the 2025 Digital Publishing Awards. Photos by Sammy Kogan.
If you liked my cartoon emcee, here’s the real Alison hosting the National Media Awards Foundations’s Digital Publishing Awards in Toronto.
My thanks to Andrea Beranek and Sammy Kogan for the event footage.
Music: “This Upbeat Sunshine,” Adobe Stock
2. Keynote Speaker
Award-winning writer, Alison Garwood-Jones, is a dynamic speaker. Her featured keynotes include:
• INKING YOUR GRIEF: Creativity & Loss
• GRIEF AT THE OFFICE: Work Goes On, But How Do You? Changing how organizations respond to a grieving workforce.
Both talks are spinoffs from her illustrated novel
I Miss My Mommy:150 Portraits of Orphaned Adults
• Recipient of a Kirkus Star* • A Kirkus Best Book of 2024 • 2025 IPPY silver medal
Alison has delivered past keynotes at:
OpenText
PodCamp Toronto
Canadian Media Guild
The Toronto Public Library
Professional Writers Association of Canada
The Ontario Colleges Higher Education Summit
Bishop’s University (Morris House Reading Series)
ACT Government, Australian Economic Development
IABC Toronto’s PIC (Professional Independent Communicators)
The University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies Knowledge Hub
3. Art Instructor
Contact Alison to lead an art class at your organization. Delivery includes online and in-class.
This online drawing class was part of an alumni event for the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. The organizers wanted my help getting people to relax through their creativity.
Complete this form to let Alison know how you would like to work with her.
- Corporate talks and hosting gigs start at $3500 (travel additional)
- Hosting gigs and talks for non-profits: Let’s discuss!
- Art classes start at $500 (travel and supplies additional)
4. Writing & Digital Strategy Instructor
Alison is a dynamic and award-winning university instructor. Her areas of expertise include online writing and digital strategy.
She currently teaches Foundations of Digital Communications Strategy and Social Media in the Age of AI and Writing Digital Content at the University of Toronto (SCS). In 2021, she received the Excellence in Teaching Award – Business and Professional Studies from the University of Toronto (SCS).
5. Custom Profile Illustration
Contact Alison in the form above if you’re looking for a custom illustrated portrait for an About Page, social media profile, or just for your wall. This form explains how to order your one-of-a-kind likeness. Note that the starting price goes up for complicated portraits.
6. Graphic Recorder
As an artist consultant and graphic recorder to brands and non-profit organizations, Alison provides a fresh perspective for those looking to clarify their marketing message or solve a problem, be it organizational, financial, social or cultural. She has worked with TEDx, Lean In Canada (tackling gender bias and diversity in the workplace) and The City of Toronto.
That’s Alison with Kristyn Wong-Tam after the Gender Equal Budget meeting, January 2017.
Still not convinced? Alison made this short video to explain the difference an artist consultant can make for organizations looking to forge new strategies and business outcomes:
7. Advisor
Alison is a member of the Program Advisory Committee for Social Media Week Toronto and The School of Media Studies and Information at Humber College. As a member of the Quadrangle Society, she mentors Junior Fellows at Massey College at the University of Toronto.