Betty Esperanza

Betty Esperanza is a first-generation Canadian of immigrant parents of France-Hungary descent who was the first in the family to attend English Protestant School where she was exposed to diverse cultures and welcomed into the English-speaking diaspora. She has been building communities worldwide for three decades through her passion to unite people of all cultures to champion causes in the philanthropic, skateboarding, and arts and culture spheres. She studied diplomacy and business and marketing while juggling careers as an artist, musician and entertainment manager of Canadian Jazz Musician, Vic Vogel for 10 years, as well as an avid street photographer participating in over 30 International exhibits where some of her black and white series “A BOOK ABOUT DEATH” are archived in the Museum of Modern Art. She is also the Founder and Organizer of 100 Thousand Poets 4 Change, a Montreal poetry festival in its 10th year. She is part of the TED Talks brand and a recent Radio Canada documentary “L’Esperanza de Cuba” tells her story in Cuba about her non-profit, Skateboards For Hope which empowers youth using skateboarding as a tool to break the cycle of poverty. Working on the documentary, Betty felt very connected to the storytellers she interviewed and found her own sense of belonging as an English-speaking Quebecer anchored and validated.