Kevan Gilbert's CV

Kevan's online CV/resume and selected portfolio items

Summary and introduction

I’ve had a 20+ year career leading strategy and design processes for clients across the world, using my voice, words and listening ear to help organizations and individuals transform. I’ve been a trusted support for leaders at Shopify, Ubisoft, Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation, BC Disability Collaborative, Canadian Cancer Society and more.

Depending on how I'm being of service, you might call me a systems change leader, facilitator, coach, strategist, user experience researcher, writer, UX designer, podcaster, content creator, marketer, communications lead, organizational development lead, storyteller, human-centered designer, public speaker — or, in general, a creative, empathetic, culture-shaping teammate.

Professional Experience

Co.school: A social innovation design firm

Founder, CEO, Principal Facilitator & Coach

May 2022 - Present | Kelowna, BC | Remote

• Work: I lead innovation design processes to help organizations and individuals transform, while ensuring the business stays vision-focused, values-aligned and healthy.
• Clients: United Way, Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation, FoundryBC, BC Disability Collaborative, Canadian Cancer Society, Shopify, Ubisoft, AIDE Canada, Vancouver Foundation, TakingITGlobal
• Skills: Leadership, facilitation, strategy, co-creation, service design, human-centered design, vision development, storytelling, coaching, workshops, organizational development, client care, operations, project management, budget & finance oversight.
• Sample portfolio items:

Co.school

Creative partnerships for making change | A Canadian co-creation agency

Co.school: a social innovation design firm (BC, Canada)

Co.school Case Studies - Facilitation, Coaching, Design in BC, Canada

Stories of Co.school’s facilitation, coaching, strategy & design for social change in BC, Canada

Co.school: a social innovation design firm (BC, Canada)

Domain7: Digital agency (acquired by Collaboration Betters the World Company / Versett )

Facilitation Practice Lead

April 2018  - May 2022| Kelowna, BC | Remote

• Work: I led the organization’s shift into human-centered design and facilitation, by leading client-facing engagements, mentoring the internal team, and providing public-facing thought leadership.
• Clients: University of the Fraser Valley, City of Vancouver, Child Development Institute, Trinity Western University, MCC, SAP, Seattle Public Library, Civil Space, Translink, First West Credit Union
• Skills: Leadership, people & culture, facilitation, strategy, human-centered design, stakeholder & community engagement, public speaking, branding, writing, strategy, positioning, podcasting.
• Sample portfolio items:

The Cascad.AI Summit for Responsible AI (2019)

The unstoppable Bethany Edwards of Northeastern University conceived of a conference that would invite forward-thinking technologists and ethicists together to share case studies, perspectives, and eventually co-create a manifesto for the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence. It became known as the the Cascadia Commitment, and would call on organizations to

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Design Thinking Days

| A special program for community engagement and education When I was part of the team at Domain7, I helped conceive of, strategize and co-facilitate our cornerstone community education series, “Design Thinking Day.” These events were day-long, immersive, practice-driven dives into the methodology of design thinking, centered around real-world design challenges

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Cold Feet

Songwriting, performance, content campaign (2018, Domain7) In the spirit of the holidays, the digital agency I worked for wanted to create a memorable, warm and friendly seasonal campaign to honour their clients, employees and partners. Following in the multi-modal tradition of past holiday campaigns, I did what I do best:

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Director of Engagement Strategy

June 2014  - April 2018 | Kelowna, BC | Remote

• Work: Co-developed the company’s vision, core values, 5-year plan, internal retreats and rebranding. Led collaborative design practices for digital strategy work. Served as brand spokesperson.
• Clients: Imperial College London, World Bank, University of British Columbia, Central 1 Credit Union, Redlands University, District of North Vancouver, Point Loma Nazarene University
• Skills: Team leadership, digital strategy, user experience design, brand strategy, facilitation, creative direction, community engagement, writing, co-creation, marketing, podcasting, speaking.
• Sample portfolio items:

Imperial College London content strategy

A top-to-bottom, content-driven redesign for the world’s leading science educator (2013 - 2014) It was on the grounds of Imperial College London where the industrial revolution was launched, at the Grand Exhibition hosted at Imperial in 1867 – and from there, the world springboarded into a new century of technological growth.

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The Loop

| A special program for continuous improvement I was asked by my boss at Domain7, the brilliant Sarah Evalina, to explore ways we could improve customer care by rethinking the tired “retainer” idea. I conducted a process of research, ideation, branding, strategy and internal leadership to help build our program, called

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Change is in the Making podcast

Podcast creation, content planning, brand building (2018-2021, Domain7) “Change is in the Making” was the name of the podcast I co-created at Domain7, and served as co-strategist, co-writer, co-host, audio editor/producer (for some episodes). The podcast used interviews and conversations to explore themes like: * Digital transformation * Effective communication * Listening

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Helping Civil Space find its voice

Co-creating the voice of a SaaS product Before it was acquired by Zencity, Civil Space was hatched at the digital agency I worked at, Domain7. In fact, before it was Civil Space, it was a clever little tool we helped build for our clients at the District of North Vancouver.

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Pitching remote work in 2016

A creative, comical, retro way to sell telework to the corporate crowd.

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SAP Analytics Cloud

| Digital product launch leadership It was in the final months leading up to the official public launch of the massive project code-named “Orca” that SAP approached my team at Domain7 with this question “Will you help us launch Analytics Cloud?” We learned that Analytics Cloud was slated to be unveiled

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Content Strategist

January 2012  - June 2014 Kelowna, BC | Remote

• Work: Developed award-winning creative concepts to help clients better tell their stories and display their information online, from initial discovery, to user research, to final launch.
• Clients: Claremont McKenna College, A&W Canada, Earls Kitchen + Bar, TELUS, VarietyBC
• Skills: Content strategy, creative direction, user research, discovery meetings, stakeholder engagement, user experience design, project management, client leadership 
• Sample portfolio items:

Bouloum, the person-shaped chair

Helping the original designer reclaim internet authority Copycats, fakes and replicas for this iconic midcentury modern chair are all over the internet. I got to help Arconas, the chair’s current manufacturer, reclaim web authority by crafting a clear, compelling pitch for this recliner-for-weirdos. The process went through competitive research, and

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Merry Christmas, Internet

| a song-driven content campaign for the holidays, online. For the 2013 holiday season, web agency Domain7 wanted to surprise and delight their clients and partners with “not just another Christmas card.” With the help of the team, we produced this ridiculous song and music video. It was hosted on a

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Project Manager

Nov 2010  - January 2012 Vancouver, BC 

• Work: Oversaw complex creative and technical web projects — from initial sales and discovery, to completion and launch — across a broad range of clients and industries.
• Clients: HSBC, Baby Gourmet, Oakridge Centre, Go2HR, ISS of BC
• Skills: Project management, client leadership, cross-team collaboration, UX redesign workflows
• Sample portfolio items:

Full project & portfolio list

Through my 12 years at Domain7 and my 3 years running my own consultancy called Co.school, I have helped lead large-scale digital transformation projects, product development, and original/creative concept development for dozens and dozens of organizations. I’ve offered my services and skills of facilitation, content strategy, UX research,

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Union Gospel Mission: A not-for-profit addressing poverty, homelessness & addiction

Project Manager, Creative Technologies

Aug 2007 - Nov 2010 Vancouver, BC 

• Work: I led the work of digital transformation, as web 2.0 technology emerged. I led projects to rebuild our intranet, public-facing website and donor database, introduced the org to social media, developed highly visible influencer partnerships, and grew online donations to $1M annually.
• Skills: Digital communications, social media, influencer relationships, community partnerships, website redesign, project management, writing, internal communication, fundraising, donor relations.
• Sample portfolio items:

Influencers and infrastructure with Union Gospel Mission Vancouver

| Leading early adoption in social media Based in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, UGM helps address poverty, homelessness and addiction through a broad range of services. I was part of the team that helped raised money and reach donors through creative campaigns and digital experiences. In a time when social media

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Elbowroom Design: A digital & design studio

Communications Director

Sept 2006 - Aug 2007 | Calgary, AB

• Work: I led content development, client communications, community outreach and general content management for this small design agency, while also providing on-project creative support.
• Skills: Content marketing, content strategy, writing, client communication, community outreach, sales, graphic design, web design, multi-media coordination, video editing, audio editing.
• Sample portfolio items:

Content marketing for Elbowroom Design

Creative content labs with Elbowruminations My brother Neil used to run a design studio in Calgary, Alberta, called Elbowroom Design. It was his primary vehicle for serving clients through visual design and digital production for over a decade, starting in the early 2000s. Just to contextualize that 2003 is when

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Parliament of Canada, Office of the Leader of Opposition

Communications Intern

Sept 2005 - Dec 2005 | Ottawa, ON

• Work: Contributed to the activities of the office of Strategic Planning & Strategic Communication. Coordinated communication from MPs and Cabinet Ministers to their constituents.
• Skills: Communications, government relations, persona development, political messaging.

Volunteer Leadership

BC Family French Camp

Camp Manager, 2024 Summerland, BC
Provided leadership and communication to the community in a cross-cultural, kid-focused setting.

Kelowna Gospel Fellowship Society

Board Chair 2018 - 2021 Kelowna, BC
Led this community-driven organization through a time of executive leadership transition. Leaned into co-creative and facilitative leadership to regenerate the mission, vision and values, re-build the leadership team, and engage the membership base as a relational, highly visible leader.

• Skills: Executive leadership, board leadership, community engagement, co-creation, governance, budget and financial oversight, public speaking, not-for-profit leadership

New Hope Community Services Society

Board Member - Communications Lead, 2008 - 2010, Vancouver, BC
Led communications for this refugee resettlement org, welcoming newcomers to Canada.

Education

Diploma, Applied Project Management  

Simon Fraser University, 2010 Surrey, BC

BA, Media Communications

Trinity Western University, 2002-2006, Langley, BC

• Served as Creative Director for Mars’ Hill, school newspaper, leading a team of 5 designers, and winning the Associated Press “student newspaper of the year” award.

Professional Development

Foundations in Coaching - Coachworks Academy 2025 
Towards becoming a Certified Impact Coach, with the International Coaching Federation.

Art of Hosting Certification - Harvest Moon Consultants, 2018
Participatory processes for collective decision-making.

The Organization Workshop - Power + Systems (Barry Oshry), 2019
Facilitating systems thinking exercises for organizational life.

When Cultures Meet - Workshop - Power + Systems (Barry Oshry), 2019
Understanding patterns in power when dominant + minority cultures interact.

Design Thinking & Innovation  - THNK School of Creative Leadership, 2016 
Transformational creative leadership to build human-centered systems for a better future.

Writing & Publication

Guide to Facilitation
Stories and methods for an authentic practice, Book, 2023

Pocket Guide to Design Thinking
Community-centred innovation, Book, 2023

The Co-Design Workshop: The Facilitator’s Pocket Guide
Highly cited article, referenced in: 

• The Co-Create Handbook, co-funded by the European Union’s ERASMUS+ Programme
• The Government of Victoria, Australia’s Human-Centered Design Playbook 
• Human-Centred Systems Design program, at the University of Wollongong, Australia 
• User Experience Engineering curriculum in the Technical University of Denmark
• User Research: A Practical Guide to Designing Better Products & Services, Steph Marsh

Public Speaking

BC Disability Summit - Vancouver, BC (2024)

Impossible Conference - Vancouver, BC (2023)

Ubisoft Global Producer’s Summit - France (2022)

IAP2 Conference - Virtual (2021)

GovX UK - London, UK (2021)

Canadian Department of Heritage - Virtual (2021)

BC Innovation Hub - Virtual (2020)

Cascad.AI - Seattle, WA (2019)

SXSWedu - Austin Texas (2018)

FutureEdTech - London, UK (2019)

CASE Conference - Atlanta, GA (2019)

Royal Roads University - Victoria, BC (2019)

First West Leadership Summit - Whistler, BC (2019)

Government of Canada - Vancouver, BC (2019)

Vancouver UX Awards - Vancouver, BC (2017- 2019)

Design Thinking Days - Vancouver, BC - (2016-19)

ContentEd Live - London, UK (2018)

Central1 Momentum Conference - Vancouver, BC (2017)

eduWeb Digital Summit - Denver, CO (2016)

HighEdWeb West - Riverside, CA (2016)

SIT Interchange - Toronto, ON (2016)

BCAMA Vision - Vancouver, BC (2016)

Now What? - Belbas Theater, Sioux Falls, SD (2015)

Disney Interactive - Kelowna, BC (2015)

Kwantlen Polytechnic - Vancouver, BC (2014)

Simon Fraser University - Vancouver, BC (2013)

UBC Continuing Studies - Vancouver, BC (2013)

TedX TWU - Langley, BC (2012)

Bonus

Kevan lives on a solar-powered intergenerational hobby farm; his partner raises chickens and sells eggs locally to the community. Kevan and Kendra have four kids (including kiddos with autism and ADHD), and when there’s time, Kevan makes music and tells stories on his podcast, called The Kevan Gilbert Show. He’s currently working on a children’s music album.