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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For over 25 years, I've walked alongside people in some of their most challenging moments — as a psychologist, teacher, and trainer — helping them find their footing and move toward real, lasting change.
My work has taken me across Canada, China, Ghana, Uganda, and the UK, where I've had the privilege of training and supporting psychologists, counsellors, social workers, and mental health professionals. I specialize in trauma, depression, anxiety, and stress — and I'm especially passionate about working with people who want to move on from the impacts of their past.
I currently teach with Banmen Satir China Management Centre and serve as an Associate Professor with Akamai University. My roots are in clinical psychology — I completed both my MA and Ph.D. at Simon Fraser University, with research exploring how we think about our internal relationship with our body, food and eating, and how the bonds we form early in life shape how we show up in the world.
At the heart of everything I do is a belief that people have the capacity to heal and grow — they just need the right support to get there.
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Doreen Arrowmaker is a Northern leader and emerging scholar focused on strengthening First Nations economic development and governance across the Northwest territories. She works at the intersection of Indigenous governance, community driven innovation, and major project strategy by supporting nations, organizations, and leaders to build long term economic strength anchored in modern treaty.
Blending practical leadership experience with a growing academic foundation, Doreen is actively developing research in decolonial, and mixed methods approaches to First Nations economic development. She is also building a digital product ecosystem that provides accessible tools, guides, and governance resources tailored to Northern audiences.
Doreen’s work is shaped by her commitment to community, good governance, and creating pathways for Northern people to prosper. She is currently expanding her influence through doctoral studies, public leadership, and entrepreneurship.
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Angie Marshall is a Métis/Cree woman whose family roots are in Alberta and Vancouver Island. Raised on the traditional territories of the Liǧʷiłdax̌ʷ Peoples of Campbell River and now living on the lands of the Lək̓ʷəŋən Peoples in Victoria, she is on a journey of cultural reconnection. Her personal and professional experiences have fostered a commitment to lifelong learning and reconciliation.
A Social Work student and Court Clerk with the Ministry of Attorney General, Angie is passionate about child welfare, Indigenous advocacy, and creating more responsive systems of support. Her background spans public service, administration, and community-focused work supporting children, youth, and families.
Through the BC Public Service Agency’s Indigenous Youth Internship Program with the Public Guardian and Trustee, she contributed to initiatives focused on Indigenous engagement, youth empowerment, financial literacy, and culturally informed policy development.
Angie attributes much of her professional growth to curiosity and an openness to diverse perspectives and knowledge systems. She believes effective services are built with, not simply for, the people they support, and strives to bring that ideal to her work.
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Sharon Marshall is a Cree/Métis mother, sister, auntie, speaker, author, educator, entrepreneur, and Founder and Executive Director of Digital DEVA Virtual Assistant Training Society. With more than 30 years of experience in administration, leadership, and business operations, and over 20 years as a virtual assistant, Sharon created Digital DEVA to help Indigenous women and non-binary learners build practical digital skills, confidence, and flexible remote work pathways.
Sharon holds an MBA in Executive Management from Royal Roads University and has worked with First Nations, nonprofits, entrepreneurs, and community organizations across Canada. Her work is rooted in dignity, economic self-determination, and the belief that digital skills can open doors to meaningful work that fits real life.
Through Digital DEVA, Sharon is building a values-guided training society that supports learners to move from feeling underpaid, overlooked, or stuck to becoming skilled, confident virtual assistant and remote work professionals.
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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Debra Laliberte is a proud Kohkum to six grandchildren and mother to three daughters. Family is at the heart of Debra’s life, and she brings that same sense of care and connection into both her work and community. She enjoys golfing, traveling, gardening, and embraces life with a willingness to take a few risks and welcome new experiences.
Debra has a strong educational background in Indigenous leadership and social work. She earned a Diploma in Aboriginal Management from The University of British Columbia, along with a Certificate in Indigenous Business Administration from the University of Saskatchewan. Prior to retirement, Debra made the decision to return to university and completed her Bachelor of Indigenous Social Work at the First Nations University of Canada, strengthening her commitment to supporting Indigenous individuals, families, and communities.
Debra is currently contracted with Thunderchild First Nation as a Mental Health Therapist. Through her work, she continues to advocate for wellness and healing while drawing on her education, professional experience, and lifelong connection to community.
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Marilyn is an anaana (mother), Inuit advocate, holistic leadership coach, relational facilitator, cultural navigator, educator and founder of Marilyn Maychak Consulting.
Marilyn’s lifelong passion for culturally safe, culturally responsive practices grounded in humility, respect, values, assets and strengths stems from not seeing herself reflected in her learning and life experiences. Marilyn’s work focuses on bringing people together in community to co-create spaces of belonging through relationship, liberation, education and reciprocity. This is reflected in her experiences with the Toronto Inuit Association and Inuit Collective Society of BCmiut, where creating spaces for Inuit - living in urban areas across southern Canada - to come together in community. Her guiding purpose in connecting community to empower others and effect systemic, transformative change in education and the social sector.
She believes it is in the spaces in between - us, our words, our bodies, our lived experiences - that we really get to know each other to build a better understanding of who we are, cultural empathy and mutual respect.
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.
