Karla is passionate about helping people and companies succeed. Starting her career in the brewing industry, Karla learned quickly how to take complex processes and facts and distil (no pun intended) them down to easy to understand aspects, while at the same time getting those involved highly engaged in the “story”. From the Brewery industry, Karla moved into academia at Olds College with her role at the Center for Innovation (OCCI), including Co-Chairing the Central Alberta Regional Innovation Network (CARIN). Currently Karla works with Innovation Canada to help companies navigate federal and provincial resources to help them grow and scale.

Over the past 6 years at Olds College, Karla has worked with a multitude of companies as a trusted Advisor and Coach as they moved along their respective innovation and commercialization journey. Her vast knowledge of the Innovation Ecosystem has helped start-ups and SMEs navigate applied R&D, grant & seed funding, and participation in various incubators and accelerators. Karla has also developed, including operating the CARIN Incubator in Central Alberta. She is also a Leanstack and GrowthX Coach. Furthermore, Karla has also been trained in the Strategyzer methodology and teaches workshops on the Business Model Canvas and Value Proposition Design. As a lifelong learner, Karla finished her MBA in 2019 and continues to say yes to all learning opportunities that come her way.