Strategic thinker.
Facilitator.
Community builder.
ABOUT VICTORIA GIBB-CARSLEY
I have spent my career helping people come together to solve problems, create change and build stronger organizations.
While my roles have changed over the years — teacher, organizer, campaign director, educator, facilitator, manager and executive director — the thread running through them has remained remarkably consistent:
Bring people together. Ask good questions. Understand the bigger picture. Create a strategy. Then turn it into action.
I bring more than 30 years of facilitation and adult education experience, along with more than 15 years of direct management experience in board-led, progressive non-profit environments.
Experience from many sides of the table.
I began my career as an educator, teaching English and History and working internationally with Canada World Youth.
​
My career later moved into advocacy and organizing with The Council of Canadians, where I served in increasingly senior roles including National Organizer, Director of Organizing, and Director of Campaigns and Communications. My work included national strategic planning, campaigning, communications, volunteer mobilization, team leadership, evaluation, conflict resolution and organizational development.
​
I subsequently spent 14 years with the Public Service Alliance of Canada, overseeing its National Education Program, working with elected leaders and boards, and designing and facilitating leadership development and strategic planning processes.
​
Most recently, as Executive Director of the Perth and District Community Foundation, I brought my strategic planning, leadership and community-building experience to the local level. vgcStrategic is the natural culmination of that work.
Strategy with heart.
I believe that everything an organization does should connect back to purpose. But strategy doesn’t happen on a spreadsheet ... it happens between people.
​
Successful organizations need to understand their goals, systems and structures, but also their culture, relationships, communication and power dynamics. My approach brings these pieces together in a way that is strategic, participatory, practical and deeply human.
​
I don’t simply tell organizations what they should do. I work alongside them to help uncover what will actually work - and how to make it happen.
Union leadership is incredibly complex, but the three days spent with Victoria gave me exactly what I needed. We covered everything from self-regulation and leadership styles to power dynamics and intersectionality. Even with so much packed into three days, the lessons really stuck because of Victoria's facilitation style. She creates a space that is engaging, human, and deeply relatable to the unique challenges we face in leadership. I walked away with practical tools for difficult conversations and a renewed confidence. If you get the chance to learn with Victoria, take it!
Jonny Maria
Vice-President
CUPE Manitoba