One of my greatest accomplishments was founding the Wired Woman Society, a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to encouraging women to explore technology careers. I founded the Society in 1996, and served as the Society's President until 1999, during which time I built a national team, launched chapters across the country, and garnered significant recognition for our mandate. Wired Woman changed lots of lives and ran independently for 17 years before joining forces with Canadian Women in Communications.
At Large Media
At Large Media is a technology consultancy I launched first in the UK and then in Canada. I ran the business for over a decade and am incredibly proud of the work we delivered together.
Along with Robert Ouimet and Sara Bailey, I created mobile apps to get young people voting, North America’s first real-time chat solution for teens in crisis, digital media strategies for the 2010 Olympics, and more things that pushed the limits of what the web could do to make the world better.
At Large Media was a gift. And we featured a lot of sumo wrestlers in our design, which was fun. Clients included Nike, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Virgin Mobile, Marks & Spencer, the London Science Museum and lots of super cool start-ups :)
Healthcare Start-ups
I absolutely believe (in fact I KNOW) that technology can postiively impact our fragile health care systems. Whether by facilitating communication and knowledge share, increasing access to care and support, or making arduous tasks simple, even a small change in this arena can lead to enormous results. I've worked with a number of health/tech start-ups over the years. My favourite was Tyze.
I began as a Consultant to Tyze Personal Networks, even before we incorporated. By the end of my time there I'd worn many hats, including VP, Sales & Strategy, which I loved. My greatest achievements were assembling and mentoring a young and talented team, and building relationships with hospitals and care organizations who recognized that supporting caregivers is a critical part of health care, both today and in the future. It always feels good to take a business from an idea to a living, breathing organization providing care and value to many.
The WebPool syndicate
My first entrepreneurial endeavor was the launch of The WebPool Syndicate, one of the very first web companies in Canada. Born before Netscape, WebPool was an exciting opportunity to work with early adopters and create previously unheard of online communities and solutions for clients spanning business, federal government, and broadcasting. I started Wired Woman at the same time, and got famous-ish for a while.