Caitlin Powell-Bowman
Founder & Principal Consultant at sparka group- Claim this Profile
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Bio
Savannah Thornton (Roach)
Caitlin is an incredible leader, innovative thinker, and unparalleled addition to any team. She’s been the secret weapon to every project we’ve worked on together (and there are many). She builds nurturing and meaningful relationships that make working feel seamless, and she has a holistic approach to building strategies that integrate impact, innovation, and the bottom line. Caitlin adds a little bit of magic to every project she touches and makes anything feel possible. What a joy to collaborate with her.
Robert Mack
I’ve had the pleasure, privilege, and honor of working closely with Caitlin over the course of several years together, and I can’t recommend her strongly enough. She is both brilliant and kind. She is both a consummate professional with outstanding work ethic and phenomenal business acumen, and she is a trustworthy, conscientious, compassionate human being with a heart of gold and a spirit of generosity. Caitlin is a master, magician, and miracle-worker at managing talent, cultivating relationships, and facilitating donor engagement in ways that are authentically relational yet mutually beneficial; personally satisfying yet professionally rewarding for all parties involved. Marrying her extraordinary interpersonal skills and a penetrating passion for people with her profound professional prowess and deep business acumen, Caitlin crafts a consistently compassionate approach to business that drives meaningful organizational success and delivers measurable business results on time, within budget, exceeding expectations. An all-star at developing strategic partnerships, she is a visionary with a sweet spot for strategic thinking, planning, and working. This gives her a comparative and competitive advantage in community-building that allows for a smart, intentional, inclusive, empathetic, emotionally intelligent, and cognitively agile experience within even the most transactional of business negotiations. I can’t say enough wonderful things about Caitlin. Partner with her if and when you can! You will not be disappointed.
Christa Hull
I've had the good fortune to work with Caitlin in a few different capacities, first as collaborators within the Vancouver and Global yoga communities, next during our time at lululemon and most recently in the context of her consulting business, Sparka. Caitlin is a masterful connector and relationship builder, she cares immensely about the details that make events and experiences memorable and she is a stand for creating positive impact in the world. Any purpose-driven leader or organization could benefit greatly from tapping into Caitlin's expertise and global network.
Savannah Thornton (Roach)
Caitlin is an incredible leader, innovative thinker, and unparalleled addition to any team. She’s been the secret weapon to every project we’ve worked on together (and there are many). She builds nurturing and meaningful relationships that make working feel seamless, and she has a holistic approach to building strategies that integrate impact, innovation, and the bottom line. Caitlin adds a little bit of magic to every project she touches and makes anything feel possible. What a joy to collaborate with her.
Robert Mack
I’ve had the pleasure, privilege, and honor of working closely with Caitlin over the course of several years together, and I can’t recommend her strongly enough. She is both brilliant and kind. She is both a consummate professional with outstanding work ethic and phenomenal business acumen, and she is a trustworthy, conscientious, compassionate human being with a heart of gold and a spirit of generosity. Caitlin is a master, magician, and miracle-worker at managing talent, cultivating relationships, and facilitating donor engagement in ways that are authentically relational yet mutually beneficial; personally satisfying yet professionally rewarding for all parties involved. Marrying her extraordinary interpersonal skills and a penetrating passion for people with her profound professional prowess and deep business acumen, Caitlin crafts a consistently compassionate approach to business that drives meaningful organizational success and delivers measurable business results on time, within budget, exceeding expectations. An all-star at developing strategic partnerships, she is a visionary with a sweet spot for strategic thinking, planning, and working. This gives her a comparative and competitive advantage in community-building that allows for a smart, intentional, inclusive, empathetic, emotionally intelligent, and cognitively agile experience within even the most transactional of business negotiations. I can’t say enough wonderful things about Caitlin. Partner with her if and when you can! You will not be disappointed.
Christa Hull
I've had the good fortune to work with Caitlin in a few different capacities, first as collaborators within the Vancouver and Global yoga communities, next during our time at lululemon and most recently in the context of her consulting business, Sparka. Caitlin is a masterful connector and relationship builder, she cares immensely about the details that make events and experiences memorable and she is a stand for creating positive impact in the world. Any purpose-driven leader or organization could benefit greatly from tapping into Caitlin's expertise and global network.
Savannah Thornton (Roach)
Caitlin is an incredible leader, innovative thinker, and unparalleled addition to any team. She’s been the secret weapon to every project we’ve worked on together (and there are many). She builds nurturing and meaningful relationships that make working feel seamless, and she has a holistic approach to building strategies that integrate impact, innovation, and the bottom line. Caitlin adds a little bit of magic to every project she touches and makes anything feel possible. What a joy to collaborate with her.
Robert Mack
I’ve had the pleasure, privilege, and honor of working closely with Caitlin over the course of several years together, and I can’t recommend her strongly enough. She is both brilliant and kind. She is both a consummate professional with outstanding work ethic and phenomenal business acumen, and she is a trustworthy, conscientious, compassionate human being with a heart of gold and a spirit of generosity. Caitlin is a master, magician, and miracle-worker at managing talent, cultivating relationships, and facilitating donor engagement in ways that are authentically relational yet mutually beneficial; personally satisfying yet professionally rewarding for all parties involved. Marrying her extraordinary interpersonal skills and a penetrating passion for people with her profound professional prowess and deep business acumen, Caitlin crafts a consistently compassionate approach to business that drives meaningful organizational success and delivers measurable business results on time, within budget, exceeding expectations. An all-star at developing strategic partnerships, she is a visionary with a sweet spot for strategic thinking, planning, and working. This gives her a comparative and competitive advantage in community-building that allows for a smart, intentional, inclusive, empathetic, emotionally intelligent, and cognitively agile experience within even the most transactional of business negotiations. I can’t say enough wonderful things about Caitlin. Partner with her if and when you can! You will not be disappointed.
Christa Hull
I've had the good fortune to work with Caitlin in a few different capacities, first as collaborators within the Vancouver and Global yoga communities, next during our time at lululemon and most recently in the context of her consulting business, Sparka. Caitlin is a masterful connector and relationship builder, she cares immensely about the details that make events and experiences memorable and she is a stand for creating positive impact in the world. Any purpose-driven leader or organization could benefit greatly from tapping into Caitlin's expertise and global network.
Savannah Thornton (Roach)
Caitlin is an incredible leader, innovative thinker, and unparalleled addition to any team. She’s been the secret weapon to every project we’ve worked on together (and there are many). She builds nurturing and meaningful relationships that make working feel seamless, and she has a holistic approach to building strategies that integrate impact, innovation, and the bottom line. Caitlin adds a little bit of magic to every project she touches and makes anything feel possible. What a joy to collaborate with her.
Robert Mack
I’ve had the pleasure, privilege, and honor of working closely with Caitlin over the course of several years together, and I can’t recommend her strongly enough. She is both brilliant and kind. She is both a consummate professional with outstanding work ethic and phenomenal business acumen, and she is a trustworthy, conscientious, compassionate human being with a heart of gold and a spirit of generosity. Caitlin is a master, magician, and miracle-worker at managing talent, cultivating relationships, and facilitating donor engagement in ways that are authentically relational yet mutually beneficial; personally satisfying yet professionally rewarding for all parties involved. Marrying her extraordinary interpersonal skills and a penetrating passion for people with her profound professional prowess and deep business acumen, Caitlin crafts a consistently compassionate approach to business that drives meaningful organizational success and delivers measurable business results on time, within budget, exceeding expectations. An all-star at developing strategic partnerships, she is a visionary with a sweet spot for strategic thinking, planning, and working. This gives her a comparative and competitive advantage in community-building that allows for a smart, intentional, inclusive, empathetic, emotionally intelligent, and cognitively agile experience within even the most transactional of business negotiations. I can’t say enough wonderful things about Caitlin. Partner with her if and when you can! You will not be disappointed.
Christa Hull
I've had the good fortune to work with Caitlin in a few different capacities, first as collaborators within the Vancouver and Global yoga communities, next during our time at lululemon and most recently in the context of her consulting business, Sparka. Caitlin is a masterful connector and relationship builder, she cares immensely about the details that make events and experiences memorable and she is a stand for creating positive impact in the world. Any purpose-driven leader or organization could benefit greatly from tapping into Caitlin's expertise and global network.
Credentials
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200RYT Certified Yoga Instructor (YogaWorks, Bali, Indonesia | 1,500+ hours of training since 2010)
YogaWorks, Inc.Jan, 2010- Oct, 2024
Experience
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sparka group
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Canada
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Business Consulting and Services
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1 - 100 Employee
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Founder & Principal Consultant
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Oct 2018 - Present
We produce game-changing experiences and offer purpose-driven consulting to help you + your work shine bright. From curated programming to every-detail-matters logistics, we produce experiences for organizations, businesses, and conscious leaders that are committed to creating the conditions for personal, professional, and planetary health. We support purpose-driven leaders, change-makers and organizations with strategic consulting projects, fractional leadership, coaching, and advising. We specialize in building engaged communities, social impact strategies, and brand activations and high level curriculum design and delivery. Skills: Management Consulting · Corporate Events · Brand Strategy · Brand Marketing · Event Planning · Business Strategy Show less
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Canadian College
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Canada
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Education Administration Programs
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1 - 100 Employee
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Course Instructor - Event Planning
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Sep 2022 - Apr 2023
Certificate program Introducing students to the concepts involved in the planning of festivals and events. The successful conceptual development, marketing, promotion, protocol, financial management, risk management, operations, logistics, safety, security, and evaluation of festivals and events and career opportunities is discussed and explored. Certificate program Introducing students to the concepts involved in the planning of festivals and events. The successful conceptual development, marketing, promotion, protocol, financial management, risk management, operations, logistics, safety, security, and evaluation of festivals and events and career opportunities is discussed and explored.
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Unlikely Collaborators
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United States
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Wellness and Fitness Services
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1 - 100 Employee
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Director of Events + Experiences
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Jan 2019 - Jan 2022
The mission of Unlikely Collaborators is to empower individuals to live fully and consciously so they can have supportive relationships, create thriving communities, and build a more compassionate world. Using a unique combination of introspective tools, psychology, storytelling and mindfulness techniques to encourage people to be vulnerable on their path towards self-expression, meaningful relationships, and living into what matters to us. Unlikely create tools and experiences including workshops, ongoing community sessions, and storytelling events that guide people to investigate their own stories. MY CONTRIBUTIONS: Collaborating with teams in both NYC and LA, I provide guidance and support to leaders, overseeing optimization efforts across diverse domains, including business and growth strategies, social impact initiatives, program development and launch, event planning and management, curriculum design, global partnerships, and enhancing customer value. In a more hands-on role, I collaborate closely with both internal and external teams and stakeholders, translating novel concepts and curricula into tangible experiences—both live and digital—fueled by efficient operational systems and guided by strategic KPIs and metrics. I take charge of event teams and oversee all stages of project and event life cycles, commencing from conceptualization, planning, and scoping, and extending to production and seamless execution. I foster team culture and bolster organizational capacity through endeavors such as talent acquisition, nurturing B2B partnerships, and actively fostering connections within the community. Show less
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lululemon
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Canada
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Retail
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700 & Above Employee
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Social Impact (Global Partnerships)
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Jun 2016 - Oct 2018
With 15,700 employees and $3.3B in revenues, lululemon (NASDAQ: LULU, TSX: LLL) is a global retailer of athletic wear and lifestyle apparel distributing internationally online and through 460 stores. MY CONTRIBUTIONS: I collaborated in the development and launch of projects under the multibillion-dollar organization’s international 'Here to Be' social impact program that has generated partnerships with 500+ organizations in 25+ countries, $14M in funding raised, donations of tens of thousands of products, and support for more than 500,000 people worldwide. This cross-functional role required well-rounded ‘jack of all trades’ expertise in matters of social impact, wellness programming and philanthropy. After assessing opportunities to evolve the company’s global social impact strategy and program in communities, retail channels, business operations and supply chain, I designed interactive experiences and managed program build-out/rollout, communications and engagement across 14,000+ staff, secured national/global partnerships, managed project budgets, and directed collaborations with regional training, communications, and creative teams. I also forged and supported numerous productive partnerships. WHAT I LEARNED: ● The keys to managing across multiple levels of organizations of all sizes. ● How to maintain big picture vision while you are in the weeds getting s**t done. ● Effective ways to measure impact, track data, and enroll, iterate, and implement. ● The importance of clarifying roles and responsibilities. ● How to bring together and host 200+ social impact leaders and influencers from 10+ countries in 3 global summits to promote collaborations and social change. ● How to co-develop an innovative initiative that increased awareness for traumatic brain injuries and raised over $600K in 3 weeks. Show less
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One Yoga
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Portugal
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Wellness and Fitness Services
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General Manager
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May 2011 - Nov 2016
One Yoga operates six vinyasa yoga studios, an international teacher's college and an e-commerce website (www.oneyoga.ca). MY CONTRIBUTIONS: I took the helm in strategic planning, business administration, commercial operations, sales, marketing, communications, membership development, partnering, market expansion, franchising, branding, talent recruitment, talent development, human resources, media and community relations, and financial management. While overseeing a team of 5 staff members, 5 contractors, a group of up to 30 instructors, and skillfully managing a substantial $1M budget, I also orchestrated the planning, promotion, and successful execution of capacity-crowd workshops, seminars, and international retreats. Additionally, I crafted comprehensive wellness and yoga programs along with train-the-trainer curricula. These responsibilities encompassed every facet, from curriculum design, event planning, logistics coordination, marketing strategy, sales efforts, facilitation support, contracting, to final delivery. Notably, I orchestrated six 200-hour instructor training programs across Canada, and orchestrated over 30 series of yoga workshops and retreats across international locations. I spearheaded the inception and launch of the company's online teaching college, boasting an impressive enrollment of 600+ graduates across 5 distinct programs. Simultaneously, I spearheaded the growth of the brick-and-mortar business, expanding it from 2 to 6 locations. My role involved strategic site selection, overseeing build-out renovations for two franchised studios, and orchestrating seamless operations. WHAT I LEARNED: ● The hustle required to translate vision into action, solve problems, and deliver excellence on tight budgets. ● What it means to “live” yoga on and off the mat (discipline, focus, patience, integrity, strength, service, compassion). ● How to create an inclusive, trauma-sensitive event designed to inspire learning and transformation. Show less
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Brand & Community Manager (lululemon lab)
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May 2010 - May 2011
Situated in NYC and Vancouver, lululemon labs combine retail spaces and design concept operations that feature in-house designers and develop forward-thinking, versatile and innovative gear and collections responsive to the cities and communities in which they are located (www.lululemonlab.com/about). MY CONTRIBUTIONS: I supported daily operations and strategic planning for a hybrid conceptual design studio and retail store: a research/design/innovation workspace where lululemon’s brightest and most creative brainstormed and developed apparel and accessories for potential mass market release or small-batch production for regional sale. On a daily basis, I oversaw retailing, sales, customer service, staff, financial management, in-store marketing, branding, loyalty and ambassador programs (community outreach/engagement), performance management, and inventory control. I also identified and cultivated partnerships with community leaders and influencers for collaboration on the design and production of capsule collections and limited-edition products. I then supported every stage of the process from design meetings through launch event planning and oversight. I helped to realize lululemon lab’s first-ever successful capsule collaboration and led the design/development of 10 pieces, of which two went to mass market. WHAT I LEARNED: ● How to coach and manage to nurture and develop people and ideas: inspiring direction and infusing values, vision, creativity, and goals into something that becomes real, tangible, and of value. ● How to win though relationship-based marketing and community building. ● How focused effort and great communication can take something initially perceived as one dimensional (like yoga clothes) and transform it into something multidimensional (everyday wear, an identity, a personal statement, a trend). Show less
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Shell Vacations Club
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United States
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Hospitality
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1 - 100 Employee
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Senior Marketing Manager
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Jun 2006 - Aug 2010
A premier brand of Wyndham Destinations (NYSE: WYND), Shell Vacations Club is a points-based reservation company that provides 60,000 owner families with access to vacation experiences in 110 countries, 220+ vacation ownership resorts, 10,000 vacation rentals in North America, and 4,300+ affiliated exchange properties across the globe (www.shellvacationsclub.com). MY CONTRIBUTIONS: This was a change mandate where I was asked to lead the successful turnaround of an under-performing operation while meeting aggressive sales and volume targets. I led daily marketing operations and 30+ staff across multiple concierge locations with responsibility for developing sales channels, mentoring, staff hiring/training/development, performance management, and establishing/strengthening vendor relationships with organizations including the Sacramento Kings, Monarchs, Century Theatres, and the Napa Chamber of Commerce. I built and mentored a new marketing team, implemented best practice systems and processes, and actively cultivated a high-performing culture of inclusion, engagement, and accountability. In recognition, I earned a 2008 People’s Choice Award of Excellence for leading business transformation and contribution to generating millions of dollars in revenue from thousands of customers. WHAT I LEARNED: ● Why pressure makes diamonds (I took quantum leaps forward in terms of people management and development while working 14-16 hours, 6-7 days/week). ● How to break through glass ceilings. ● What "Always Be Closing" (ABC) really meant. ● How to read an amazingly wide array of people. ● Ultimately, that money is not more important than your health and well-being and happiness. Show less
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Sales & Marketing Manager
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Oct 2004 - Dec 2005
Solarice Wellness Centre transform the traditional spa experience by delivering a truly integrated approach to health and wellness via two locations in Whistler, BC, home to one of the largest ski resorts in North America. MY CONTRIBUTIONS: Given that this was a smallish operation, I managed in-resort sales, business and community partnerships, advertising, and event planning while overseeing daily office, spa and yoga studio procedures including client management, inventory, staff hiring, scheduling, training, accounts receivable, and deposits. I also led product R&D, sales, and distribution for a natural body care line. WHAT I LEARNED: ● How to roll-up my sleeves and do what was required regardless of what my job title said. ● How much the success of a business depends on having efficient systems and streamlined, repeatable processes that are geared towards delivering consistency and excellence. ● The importance of creating paths (like procedures and programs) to systematically deliver quality, great experiences, and customer loyalty. ● How health and well-being is a holistic practice. ● That 60% to 70% of what you put on your skin is absorbed directly into your blood stream (honestly, this still wows me). Show less
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Education
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2000 - 2004
McMaster University
Honours Bachelor of Arts in Health and Society (BA Hons), Wellness, psychology, sociology, healthcare practices, bioethics, business, and health economics
Community
