Carolyn Van

Carolyn is an outstanding leader with a natural drive to problem solve and make decisions fearlessly. Carolyn is truly one of the leading thinkers in digital media, strategy, communications and innovation.

Her curiosity, determination and constant need to be challenged makes her a force to be reckoned with. Her contagious laughter, positivity and deep insight makes her an integral part of any team she leads. She leads her business and teams with vision, passion and engagement like no other.

Carolyn knows how to move projects forward, drive results and empower and push her team. She is a great mentor and one of the best leaders I’ve worked with. She really challenged me to grow. I would recommend Carolyn in a heartbeat!

Carolyn worked with me for just over two years and when she left we have had difficulty hiring a replacement because she had definitely raised the bar high.

I would describe Carolyn as having just a perfect blend of strategic and implementation skills. Known for her energy, passion and direct and "to the point" communication style I found her to be someone that I could always rely on to get things done on time and on budget. Truly an inspiration to me and the rest of the team by challenging the status quo, adding value along the way with her unique vision, style and focus on the business objective at hand.

A great person to brainstorm with, I always found Carolyn to be very creative, full of energy, conscientious and loyal.

It was a bittersweet day when she announced she was leaving to start up her own agency. Sorry to see her go but very happy and excited for her and her new venture. It’s no surprise that her business is doing so well and so fast as I’d guess that her clients are having the same great experience that I enjoyed with her.

When we were planning the first Lean Startup Machine Conference in Canada, we were a week or so away from our go/no-go decision. And we had less than one-half of the registrants we needed. We were not optimistic that we would be able to move ahead with the event.

And then Carolyn joined the team. And wow, what a difference!

Through her energy, bold-nature, persistence, awesome ideas and wide connections we just rocketed forward. By the cut-off date, we had more attendees than we needed and she had expanded our (financial, community and media) sponsors to boot. The event was a roaring success and had the largest attendance of any Lean Startup Machine in the world. And I credit a lot of that success to Carolyn.

Carolyn is thoughtful, empathetic, focused and always knows how to plan and execute the next move. I would love an opportunity to work with Carolyn again … and so should you.

Carolyn recently was my director at Canada Learning Code, where her support, expertise and trust had a huge impact on the success of our team. Working with her felt natural - it was easy, fun and stimulating.

Anyone would be lucky to have Carolyn on their team. She’s definitely one of the best leaders I’ve had the chance to work with, and I admire her strength, leadership skills and positivity. I would not hesitate to recommend her, and would love to work together again in the future.

I had the pleasure of reporting to Carolyn when I first began my role as the Teens Learning Code Coordinator at Canada Learning Code. Teens Learning Code was a program Carolyn played a huge role in conceiving and bringing to life.

As she brought me onboard, it was clear to me how much energy and love she had put into designing this program and building relationships with teen learners. She was extremely collaborative and receptive about suggestions I had for building a more inclusive program, and was also a great mentor who sought out opportunities within the organization for me to grow and contribute to.

Carolyn is an incredibly personable individual who broke the ice right away. Her advisory approach focused on understanding our needs and providing appropriate business advice and mentorship. Carolyn's insights (in tech) she drew from her past client engagements were incredibly valuable in steering us in the right direction. Her workshops were always filled with relevant, useful and actionable information.

We are immensely grateful to Carolyn for being able to tap her extensive network of contacts who we have already started forming relationships with. We would recommend Carolyn in a heartbeat. Her charisma, wealth of knowledge, focus on results, and unparalleled professionalism have made her one of our most favourite mentors

With the introduction of the new curriculum to BC, teachers across Canada were both excited and a little overwhelmed with one of the new teaching requirements; teaching basic coding skills.

I can honestly stay that I felt a little anxious to learn and teach something that I had little previous experience with. And, I was not alone in feeling this way. My colleagues also expressed trepidation; but, we were all excited to learn a new skill and to share our learning with our students. But how?

The workshop hosted by Teachers Learning Code was exactly what I needed. The message that I really appreciated was that we did not have to expertise in coding, but facilitators of learning.

I would like to commend Carolyn Van, Director of Program Design of Canada Learning Code for reinforcing this throughout the workshop throughout the pilot test. It was expressed that we should not feel like we have all the answers, but rather create questions - and problem solving strategies within ourselves and our students that lead to critical thinking skills and learning.

I’ve had the opportunity to work and learn from Carolyn through many different events and workshops.

She is a strong leader and not only understands marketing strategy but can also execute seamlessly. With her driven personality and results-oriented attitude she makes a great mentor, who is dedicated to personal development and growth.

I would also definitely recommend reaching out to her for any social media hurdle you encounter and am looking forward to working with her on some exciting new projects.