About Digital DEVA
Digital DEVA Virtual Assistant Training Society is a nonprofit organization helping women and non-binary people build practical digital skills, grow confidence, and create flexible career pathways as virtual assistants.
Our work is rooted in dignity, community care, and the belief that people deserve access to meaningful work that fits their real lives.
WHO WE ARE
We help people build skills, confidence, and options
Digital DEVA exists to create practical pathways into virtual assistant work for women and non-binary people who are ready for something different.
Some learners come to us because they want flexible work.
Some are rebuilding after major life transitions.
Some are returning to the workforce.
Some live in rural or remote communities where employment options are limited.
Some simply know they are capable of more, but need support, structure, and a clear place to begin.
We help learners build the digital skills, communication skills, workflow habits, and job readiness they need to explore remote work, employment, freelance work, or self-employment.
At Digital DEVA, we do not just teach people how to use tools.
We help them see what is possible.
OUR MISSION
To empower women and non-binary people with the skills and confidence to create meaningful, flexible virtual assistant careers shaped by their values and built to work for their lives.
OUR VISION
We envision a sustainable, community-rooted nonprofit that consistently trains and launches multiple cohorts each year, creating clear pathways from being underpaid, overlooked, or stuck to becoming confident, values-aligned remote professionals.
OUR APPROACH
We teach the whole person, not just the software
Learning digital skills can feel intimidating, especially for people who have been out of the workforce or consider themselves not “techy.”
That is why Digital DEVA takes a supportive, trauma-informed, beginner-friendly approach.
We break learning into practical steps.
We make room for questions.
We honour lived experience.
We build confidence through practice.
We connect technical skills to real-world work.
Our learners are not expected to arrive confident.
Confidence grows through support, repetition, encouragement, and the experience of realizing, “I can do this.”
THE DEVA ACCELERATOR
A guided training program for aspiring virtual assistants
The DEVA Accelerator is Digital DEVA’s cohort-based training program for women and non-binary people who want to build practical virtual assistant skills, grow confidence, and prepare for flexible remote work.
The program combines digital skills training, virtual assistant foundations, communication practice, workflow organization, job readiness support, and confidence-building.
Learners are supported through a structured program that helps them move step by step from uncertainty to possibility.
The Accelerator is designed for learners who benefit from live instruction, encouragement, community connection, and a clear pathway forward.
Through the DEVA Accelerator, learners build skills in:
✓ virtual assistant foundations
✓ digital communication
✓ Google Workspace and Microsoft 365
✓ file management
✓ online meetings and remote work tools
✓ workflow organization
✓ time management
✓ professional communication
✓ client and workplace expectations
✓ resume and profile development
✓ interview preparation
✓ portfolio basics
✓ early-stage business setup
✓ confidence and self-trust
The goal is not simply to complete a program.
The goal is for learners to leave with stronger skills, clearer options, and a deeper belief in what they are capable of building.
OUR ROOTS
Rooted in community. Built for real life.
Digital DEVA began with a vision to support Indigenous women in remote communities through practical digital skills training.
That vision continues to guide us.
Today, Digital DEVA supports women and non-binary people from many backgrounds, including learners who may be rebuilding after violence, incarceration, isolation, underemployment, or other major life transitions.
Our work remains grounded in equity, dignity, self-determination, and community care.
We believe flexible work can create real possibilities, especially for people whose lives do not fit neatly into traditional employment structures.
OUR VALUES
Guided by the Seven Sacred Teachings
Digital DEVA is guided by the Seven Sacred Teachings: Love, Respect, Courage, Honesty, Wisdom, Humility, and Truth.
These teachings shape how we teach, lead, partner, and support learners.
Love reminds us to lead with care.
Respect reminds us to honour each learner’s path.
Courage reminds us that learning something new takes bravery.
Honesty reminds us to be clear, accountable, and real.
Wisdom reminds us to value lived experience.
Humility reminds us that we are always learning.
Truth reminds us to align our work with what matters.
These values are not decorative.
They guide our curriculum, our partnerships, our expectations, and our relationships.
Love
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Respect
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Courage
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Honesty
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Wisdom
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Humility
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Truth
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Love ✦ Respect ✦ Courage ✦ Honesty ✦ Wisdom ✦ Humility ✦ Truth ✦
WHY VIRTUAL ASSISTANT TRAINING?
Virtual assistant and remote work can open new doors
Virtual assistant and remote work can offer flexibility, autonomy, and practical income opportunities for people who need work that fits their lives.
A new virtual assistant may support businesses, nonprofits, entrepreneurs, artists, consultants, or community organizations with tasks such as:
● email and calendar support
● document preparation
● social media assistance
● customer service
● research
● file organization
● event support
● project coordination
● data entry
● online systems and workflows
As a VA gains experience, the work can grow in many directions. A seasoned virtual assistant may become a bookkeeper, graphic designer, project manager, systems specialist, online business manager, content coordinator, podcast assistant, course support specialist, grant support assistant, or executive-level administrative partner.
The list is endless because virtual assistant work is not one narrow job. It is a flexible career pathway that can expand with a person’s skills, strengths, interests, and experience.
For many learners, remote work offers a way to use existing strengths while building new digital skills.
✓ It can become employment.
✓ It can become freelance work.
✓ It can become a business.
✓ It can become a bridge to something bigger.
OUR BOARD AND TEAM
The people helping guide the work
Digital DEVA is supported by a small but committed group of people who believe in practical training, community care, and flexible career pathways for women and non-binary people.
Our Board provides governance, oversight, and strategic guidance as Digital DEVA grows as a nonprofit. Our facilitators and collaborators help bring the learning experience to life through instruction, mentorship, curriculum support, and learner care.
Together, we are building a training society rooted in dignity, accountability, and real-world impact.
Board of Directors
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Marianne Bell is a first-generation settler of Dutch origin who lives and works remotely in Treaty 6 Territory, the traditional lands of the Cree, Dakota, Nakota, and Saulteaux Peoples, and the homeland of the Métis Nation. She acknowledges this land as a place of ongoing learning, responsibility, and relationship.
Having started her career as a medical secretary, Marianne attributes much of her career success to her foundational start in administrative support. She brings extensive experience supporting leaders, teams, and organizations through thoughtful program design, administrative leadership, and systems-based project work. Grounded in collaboration, care, and accountability, she has worked extensively in healthcare, medical education, technology, and online learning environments, helping organizations build practical, sustainable processes that support people to do their work well.
With a background as a Certified Management Consultant (CMC), Project Management Professional (PMP), and Maxwell Leadership Coach, Trainer, and DISC Consultant, Marianne supports capacity-building, strategically aligned initiatives that prioritize relational leadership, clarity of roles, and accessible pathways to employment. She is a strong advocate for financial independence and is particularly committed to advancing accessible, skills-based training pathways that support women and Indigenous learners in building meaningful, sustainable virtual administration careers.
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Facilitators and Program Team
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Currently based in Lantzville, BC, Nicolle Nattrass is grateful to live, work, and create on the unceded ancestral territory of the Snaw’naw’as Mustimuxw people.
A registered therapeutic counsellor and addiction counsellor, Nicolle has proudly served as a facilitator of the Wellness Wisdom Circle for the past four years, supporting mental wellness for women enrolled in the DEVA program.
She specializes in cultivating safer spaces to navigate, heal, and recover from trauma, anxiety, loss, mental health challenges, and substance misuse. A strength-based, trauma-informed approach guides her work, alongside a professional career in the arts and entertainment industry, including theatre, film, and television, as an actor, playwright, dramaturge, and intimacy director.
Nicolle is skilled in facilitating creative self-care practices that encourage healing while supporting interpersonal and professional development. Her Creative Journaling program, The Promises of Recovery (CACCF approved), has been used in treatment facilities across Canada and the United States.
She is also a maternal mental health advocate and author of the book Just the Two of Us: A Soft Place for Tender Hearts to Land. In addition, she is a featured author in You Are Not Alone: An Anthology of Perinatal Mental Health Stories from Conception to Postpartum (Wintertickle Press), Transformational Journaling for Coaches & Clients: The Complete Guide to the Benefits of Personal Writing (Routledge Press), and The Great Book of Journaling (Mango Publishing).
For more information about her work, visit Nicolle Nattrass Official Website
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Ready to take the next step?
Whether you are a future learner, community partner, funder, or supporter, we invite you to be part of this work.
Together, we can create more pathways into flexible work, digital confidence, and economic self-determination.
