SHARON MARSHALL
Indigenous Entrepreneur | Social Impacter | Author | Orator
Indigenous Story
Sharon is a Cree/Métis Entrepreneur, originally from Treaty 6 Territory in Edmonton, Alberta on Turtle Island. As an Indigenous person, she was not raised knowing anything about her culture, and as such has spent much of her adult life running away from who she truly is. She was raised in a home fraught with poverty, abuse, and alcoholism, combined with not knowing of where she belonged. Her path as an Indigenous woman has been reconciling that unknown story and coming to terms with her ancestry. She has spent the last fifteen years immersed in Indigenous teachings, embracing her identity and remembering her innate ways of being. She lives on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Snaw'naw'as First Nations of the Coast Salish People on Vancouver Island, BC. She is a proud mom to two children who are attending University, and loves to spend time in nature with all her relations and friends.
PowHERhouse Braid Partner, WE GATHER Co-Host, and an Amplify Auntie
Sharon Marshall offers HOPE by Helping Other People Excel. She is the Founder and CEO of Cree8iv Collaboration Inc dba DEVA Training & Staffing Solutions, drawing from 30+ years of experience in administration, as well as 15+ years of experience providing remote administrative, creative, and technical support to executives globally. She leverages her skills and passions in speaking, writing, training, and facilitation to empower Indigenous women to realize their brilliance by providing training in public speaking and presentation skills, digital literacy, digital skills, and women's leadership. She also works with settler organizations to help them decolonize their business practices as a certified Cultivating Safe Spaces Facilitator.
Sharon will be graduating from Royal Roads University this fall with an MBA in Executive Management with a specialization in Leadership, and is a member of The Braid of PowHERhouse and a Co-host of GATHER.
AT A GLANCE
Canada’s First Indigenous Online Digital Literacy/Virtual Support Training Pilot Launched
Five Indigenous women from British Columbia and Alberta are enrolled in Canada’s first online learning pilot program offering training in digital literacy and virtual support skills.
“DEVA”, the 20-Week Digital Literacy/Digital Executive Virtual Assistant (DEVA) Online Training Program launched its pilot on Monday, June 17, 2019. DEVA is comprised of 16 modules, delivered weekly, plus a four-week paid practicum @ 20 hours of paid work per week, all completely online.
The DEVA Initiative
Building Impact in Indigenous Communities with H.O.P.E. - by Helping Other People Excel.
GATHER for HER welcomed Sharon Marshall, an Indigenous Entrepreneur of proud Cree and European heritage who has dedicated her life to helping Indigenous women find their voice. She is the founder and LEO of DEVA Training & Staffing Solutions, as well as the creator of the DEVA 20-week Online Training Program providing Indigenous women in remote communities virtual administrative training and digital literacy skills for greater opportunities to live in their home community.
DEVA: Bridging the Divide
On February 15th, 2021, ten Indigenous women from Onion Lake, Saskatchewan started a six-month journey to learn digital literacy and virtual administrative skills, in search of new opportunities.
The DEVAs worked with program facilitator and owner of DEVA Training & Staffing Solutions, Sharon Marshall, who had her hands at their back over the 20-weeks they spent building confidence by learning how to work remotely in a team, performing internet research, writing, taking notes, brainstorming ideas, creating social media posts, and communicating using Slack, Voxer, and Milanote, to name a few.
Media
Nation Talk Interview - 2020
I want to lead with the wisdom of the natural world.
- Sharon Marshall
Sharon's Leadership Pillars
What's Next?
Sharon is working toward offering four DEVA cohorts this year, which means, empowering up to 80 Indigenous women in remote areas of Canada with the skills they need to step into entrepreneurship and have choices in their life. She is currently researching Indigenous communities on Vancouver Island and Northern BC to find out what kinds of programs and services are needed to better support new Indigenous entrepreneurs. Sharon is also currently writing her first book, so stay tuned…
