Shawn Van DaeleShawn Van Daele
Back
Tailor this page for:
A little more about me

About Shawn Van DaeleCreative & Marketing Leader

I'm a Toronto-based Creative Director, brand strategist, communications leader, writer and photographer with more than 25 years of experience across consumer brands, healthcare, nonprofit organizations, fundraising and publishing.

I'm equally comfortable shaping a campaign with senior leadership, writing the headline, directing the photography, reviewing the layout, or opening a new AI tool to see whether it can make the whole process smarter.

Keep reading ↓

I like leading people. I also like making things. I've never believed those two activities should become strangers.

Base
Toronto, ON
Status
Open to senior creative, marketing and communications roles
Email
What drives the work

Strategy and craft, at the intersection of story and system.

CEO conversation in the morning, Adobe file by the afternoon, landing page live before dinner. That range is the point.

Now tailored for
Creative, Marketing & Communications Leader

Change the lens at the top of the page and this panel rewrites itself.

What I believe

Specialists who can't connect the dots are expensive. Generalists with rigour are rare.

How I work

Brand, marketing, comms and fundraising drawing from one narrative and one production standard.

Track record

Newell's 18-brand portfolio, Ascend's $3B+ ecosystem impact, and this site (built by hand with AI workflows).

Beyond the desk

Community + causes

Beyond the day job, I put craft and creative leadership into the causes I care about - governance, mentorship, and storytelling for organizations that don't always have those muscles in-house.

I have served as a Board Director and volunteer mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters St. Thomas-Elgin, contributing governance, fundraising communications, and direct youth mentorship.

Through The Drawing Hope Project, I turned drawings and stories from children facing serious illness into internationally recognised visual narratives, featured on The Today Show, ABC World News and MTV News.

I also support initiatives like Diabetes Canada - Aprons in Action, bringing marketing and participant-engagement perspective to community-driven fundraising.

  • Board service
    Big Brothers Big Sisters, St. Thomas-Elgin
  • Founder
    The Drawing Hope Project
  • Press
    The Today Show · ABC World News · MTV News
  • Mentorship
    Youth + emerging creatives
Interactive playgrounds

Pick your own adventure

A selection of self-directed games and tools to explore my professional history. Complete a round to add its artefact to your downloadable Ultimate Dossier.

Now Playing: The About Game

Flip a card, earn a wedge. Fill the pie, spin the wheel, solve the puzzle.

The Decoder is warming up…
Career milestones vault

Trophies with track record

Tear a seal to reveal the story. Every trophy you open threads a real proof point into the Shawn Mix bio draft below - and stays open for keeps.

0 of 10 unlocked0%

Signature recipe

The Shawnarita
The Shawnarita - a Tajín-rimmed grapefruit-pineapple margarita garnished with grapefruit, jalapeño, and cilantro.
Liquid courage
The Shawnarita

The Shawnarita

A spicy grapefruit-pineapple margarita with a Canadian twist

Glass

Rocks glass, Tajín-rimmed

Ingredients
  • 2 oztequila blanco
  • 1 ozfresh grapefruit juice
  • 1 ozfresh pineapple juice
  • 0.75 ozfresh lime juice
  • 0.5 ozpure maple syrup
  • 2 slicesfresh jalapeño
  • 4 leavesfresh cilantro
Garnish

Grapefruit wheel, jalapeño slice, small cilantro sprig

Method
  1. 1Rim a rocks glass with Tajín and set aside.
  2. 2Gently muddle jalapeño and cilantro in a shaker.
  3. 3Add tequila, grapefruit juice, pineapple juice, lime juice, and maple syrup.
  4. 4Shake hard with ice, then double strain over fresh ice in the prepared glass.
  5. 5Garnish with grapefruit wheel, jalapeño slice, and cilantro sprig.

Bright, bold, slightly unconventional, and prepared to defend cilantro in court.

From the kitchen of Shawn Van Daele · shawnvandaele.work
See the workRead the CV