Junie Désil is a Haitian Canadian poet, educator & community leader whose work bridges literature, social justice, and community empowerment.

Born to Haitian parents on the traditional territories of the Kanien’kehá:ka in Tiohtià:ke (Montréal) and raised in Treaty 1 Territory (Winnipeg), Junie (she/her) brings a deep, intersectional understanding of community, justice, and systemic change.

Over the past two decades, she has worked to uplift communities made vulnerable by structural inequities. From frontline support to executive leadership, she has held diverse roles in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, advocating with and for women living and working in the neighbourhood. Her expertise spans human resources, governance, strategic planning, organizational change, and community engagement.

An accomplished poet, Junie is the author of eat salt | gaze at the ocean (Talonbooks, 2020), which was shortlisted for the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize. Her latest collection, allostatic load (Talonbooks, 2025), continues her exploration of Black identity, resistance, and survival. Her poetry has appeared in Room Magazine, PRISM International, CV2, and The Capilano Review, and she has performed at numerous literary events and festivals.

Junie also contributed the chapter I’m Still Not Done Talking about Zombies to the academic anthology Living and Learning with Feminist Ethics, Literature, and Art, edited by Dominique Hétu and published by the University of Alberta Press .

A UBC alum and recovering academic, Junie is a graduate of Simon Fraser University’s Writer’s Studio, where she now serves as a Poetry Mentor, guiding emerging writers through their creative journeys. She also teaches in SFU’s Leadership Essentials Certificate program.

In addition to her writing, Junie consults, facilitates, and coaches emerging leaders—and somehow also finds time to raise goats. She currently lives on the unceded territories of the Homalco, Tla’amin, and Klahoose peoples.