We Are Power Podcast
The We Are Power podcast is the podcast for your career and your life. A weekly podcast with listeners in over 60 countries worldwide where you'll hear personal life stories, top-notch industry advice, and key leadership insight from amazing role models. The podcast not only aids your personal and professional development but also delves deep into conversations around Gender Equality and Social Mobility. Each week the We Are Power Podcast will bring you a new interview from a leader within the 100,000-strong We Are Power community, hosted by Simone Roche MBE.
We Are Power Podcast
Empowering Creativity and Careers with Jade Parkinson-Hill
Join us as we chat with Jade Parkinson-Hill, Canva's Education and Community Manager, about her incredible career journey and how she found her way into the world of Canva.
Jade talks about how Canva’s innovative features, like AI tools and website creation, are empowering freelancers, small business owners, and educators to unlock their creativity.
She also highlights the importance of self-belief and resilience when navigating a non-linear career path.
In this episode, Jade also discusses:
- The supportive gaming scene in Liverpool
- The crucial role of digital literacy
- How key mentors have shaped her career
- The challenge of staying connected in a fast-paced, tech-driven world
If you're interested in technology, education, or career growth, this is a conversation you won't want to miss!
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Hello and welcome to the we Are Power podcast. Every week I get the most amazing opportunity to speak to role models from all walks of life, all levels, all different stories, and guarantee that no two have the same straight line path, because that's just not life right, anyway. But every week it's great to get some of those top tips, advice and guidance. So, whether it's for your career, your life, whatever your adventure on, we hope to be able to pass some of those on to you and this week I'm very excited to bring from the world of Canva. I'm very excited, jade. Welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for inviting me. I'm so excited to be here In these great studios. How cool are they? It's amazing.
Speaker 1:And you are the education and community manager for Canva. For those of you who live under a rock right, tell us about.
Speaker 2:Canva. Okay, so Canva is a visual communications platform we launched back in 2013 and we quickly became every freelancer's, every small business owner's best friend. Thank you, thank you so much. Absolutely Me too, because I was a business owner at the time. So our platform really makes design easy for people who aren't necessarily trained professionally in design. So we started out with lots of templates for social media leaflets, posters and the platform now is just like a huge iceberg because you can do so much on it. You can create docs, videos, animations. We've got AI tools on there. You can even create websites pretty snazzy ones in Canva.
Speaker 1:What about bios for your podcast guests?
Speaker 2:Right there, absolutely.
Speaker 1:And it's business and education as well, isn't it? It's, you know, it's something that we definitely we are power, northern power, women towers have used for years and years and years. And, what's interesting, you've been there since the start of the year, but you were a super fan anyway, weren't you? Oh?
Speaker 2:totally, totally so. I was a business owner in the education world and you know Canva enabled me to. I used to pay like 600 pounds for a logo and and then we could kind of do an all right one in Canva. So that was great. And then I used it every day and I did actually used to bring in a designer who would come in every term and do all of our resources, all of our social media graphics in canva and then as a team, we would take those, we could make amendments, we could put them out, we could refresh them. Um, when I used to work with schools as a marketing consultant, every client that I took on I created them a canva account. We got a designer in, designed all the templates. I just made life so much easier. You know I'm more cost effective as a business to run.
Speaker 1:But you've had a really varied career up until you've worked in school. You've had your own businesses. You've just alluded to what was, what was your clearly not a straight line path.
Speaker 2:No, not a straight line path at all. So I started my career in tech, which I loved, did loads of travel, um, ended up in Australia at one point. Okay, absolutely about to hit 30, let's, let's sell up and move to Australia, um, which I loved. But I was very homesick for Liverpool. So I came back, I set up a business and you know what it's like when you're on a business. You know it's crazy, isn't it? All of you? And I started doing some mentoring for a friend who was a university lecturer, and my mum, my stepdad, all my brothers and sisters we all worked in education in some way. So my mum said to me yeah, I think you need to go into teaching. You know, I think it will give you a better social life. That's what she said. So I said, okay, I'll consider it. And then one of the new academies opened just at that time.
Speaker 2:I was really, really lucky and I sent in an application for a job that I had no business really applying for. I didn't have any of the. I could do a couple of things like marketing and partnerships. That was it. I did an interview. I didn't get it and then I wrote back to the head teacher and said you know, please give me a job. I would, I would love to work with you. And and she did. She found a job for me and still one of the best jobs that I've ever had. I really kind of like found my niche. Really, I could bring all of those marketing and business development skills and, you know, use them for good. So I was the um. My official title was director of enterprise, but I did lots of work in the community. Um brought lots of tech companies in funding yeah and I had a great time.
Speaker 2:then I got involved in setting up schools, setting up specialisms. But, yeah, after creating a school for gamers and working with lots of digital entrepreneurs, I was like, yeah, I'm going to do this myself. And I left education with this really good job, with this vague ambition to set up a community for geeks young geeks across the world. I had no idea what I was doing. In fact. Actually, I thought, if I play around on Canva every day, that was job done, you know. But yeah, I kind of set up a marketing consultancy alongside it, launched that, loved it. It was a wild ride, you know, it was great.
Speaker 2:Got to work with some big brands as well, like Pokemon and Epic Games and Instagram, virgin Galactic, um, but the pandemic. Really, after the pandemic, I needed a break from running a business because it was a lot you know, um and and so yeah, so found myself doing lots of consultancy and then saw the job. I actually created a Canva site two days before I saw the job advert. I didn't even know Canva had an education product and sent it in, sent in my Canva site. I was like I am a super fan, give me a job. And yeah, about six months later, here we are.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, seems to be a pattern there. So the job that you applied for earlier on in your career that you didn't get, but you, you persisted, yes, you know, yeah, and then the same again. But there's something in that, isn't there?
Speaker 2:oh, there is. There is absolutely. There's something about, uh like one knowing your worth and knowing like I can give a lot to this company. You know I might not fit the exact box, but I can give a lot and actually just saying it out loud and sharing it with whoever's hiring. You know, there is definitely something in that.
Speaker 1:Manifesting it, and do you think yourself? Do you think you're a confident person?
Speaker 2:I am outwardly confident, like everybody you know, like you have moments of, you know, insecurity and imposter syndrome, like when I did join Canva. I was a bit star-trucked, you know, because it was like wow, like I have loved this brand for you know what seems like forever, and now I work in this amazing company. So so, yeah, I'm glad to be here.
Speaker 1:And what does an education and community manager do?
Speaker 2:Glad to be here. And what does an education and community manager do? So my role is to really enable schools, teachers and students across the country, across the UK, to access our product, which is completely, 100% free for schools, so they get access to all of those pro features, but 100% free. Canva is, like you know, I I loved it before, I loved the company before I worked for them, but now what I know about Canva is that they have, um have, these really strong values, one of which is being a good human and the other is to do as much good as we can in the world. So, uh, yeah, that's why we give away Canva to schools across the globe.
Speaker 1:And you've talked about some of the brands that you work with on your. Some of them are like Galactic, virgin Galactic, great big names, aren't they? Pokemon, but you were named in the top 100 women in games for establishing the UK's first geek school, which you talked about earlier. Yeah, where did that come from?
Speaker 2:So I'd had my son and I'd actually started working outside of Liverpool, in Blackburn, but I didn't want to travel with a small baby. So the lady that first employed me, kay, when I said to her I need a reference, I'm going to have to look for a new job, she said, oh, just come back here, we'll figure something out. So she asked me to open a science school. Um, and you know how you make an application to the government? Um, and I said, well, at the same time, can we do something around gaming? We may as well just throw in two applications at the same time. And because she was a real maverick, she was like, yeah, sure, let's do it. So I literally had a few contacts socially in the game industry and I was like, right, introduce me to everybody. And I went round, met lots of people Sony at that time, we're in the Runcorn office, they're back in Liverpool now and I just said write me, write me a letter of support. So we did and, uh, and we were one of the first studio schools to be approved. And then, yeah, it took us a little longer to open because we waited for that lovely building where both schools were housed. So, yeah, it was like an amazing adventure. I loved it.
Speaker 2:It was a really unique project to be part of. Really unique students that we attracted into that school because they were all, like you know, hype, really creative, quite entrepreneurial, but in their previous schools they'd been, you know, quite isolated, you know, because they were quite geeky, creative and you know, a little bit different. But when they all came together, like it was just amazing. It was such a lovely, you know, project to be part of, really. Uh, and all the gaming. Everybody in Liverpool was so generous, you know, they used to help out so much. We used to do mentoring sessions, used to have 50 people every other week come up, come to school to mentor kids, which was amazing, um, so yeah, and now my son goes to the science school of the same building, which I would have never predicted, because he isn't geeky, he's sporty, um, but he loves it and do you think geeky always comes with gaming, or do you think that's the thing of the past and things have changed?
Speaker 2:I think now tech is so dominant. You know, whatever job you are in, you have to have a certain level of digital literacy. You know 100%. It's just part of our everyday lives now, isn't it?
Speaker 1:And were you a gamer at school?
Speaker 2:No, so what on earth got you into gaming? I think, just as part of my role at North Liverpool Academy, I met lots of the digital people. I met people in gaming and they were so passionate and they told me about how Liverpool had a really unique history in games. And at that time, I think, Sony was moving out and lots of people who previously worked at Sony were now setting up their own company. So it's just kind of like a perfect storm, perfect timing. The gentleman that made Tomb Raider I can't remember his name, Ian Liverston he'd also released a report at the time which said every child needs to learn these skills. So it was just like perfect timing, really.
Speaker 1:And who were your role models growing up?
Speaker 2:My role models. I was a bit of a book geek, really, so I always, always had my head in a book and I wanted to be a lawyer. I don't know why. I would have been really bored, um, but, um, I guess my my real role models come from, you know, when I actually started working properly. Um, I've always been really, really lucky. I've started to work for an Irish entrepreneur when I was 23 who just basically gave me a blank canvas and said you know, go and do what you want, um, but then also brought in lots of mentors as well. So wherever I've worked, I've always had a really, you know, talented group around me, and I think that's so important, because then you raise your bar, you know to work, you know, and and then subsequently everybody raises, you keep raising that bar. So, yeah, I've just been really, really lucky in my career.
Speaker 1:And what do you see as sort of the opportunities for the gaming industry and in particularly kind of levelling up the playing field for women, to progress?
Speaker 2:Well, not just the gaming industry, but anywhere in the tech industry. You know companies like Canva, but anywhere in the tech industry, you know companies like Canva. If you're able to teach yourself new skills to be able to keep up with, you know, the huge, vast rate of pace of change in technology, you can work for any company anywhere in the world. You know, last year I was working for a Silicon Valley company, for here, from Liverpool, you know, in my spare room. This year I'm working for Canva, who's an Australian company. Uh, you know my colleagues, my teammates are in France, italy, turkey, spain, argentina, australia. You know that's where my teammates are and it's the tech industry is just so amazing. It's because tech is such a great enabler. The opportunities for women are amazing, because you can, you can. I'm a single parent of a teenager and somehow I managed to juggle it. All you know, and I don't know whether I'd be able to do that without tech. You know and you've talked about having colleagues all over the'd be able to do that without tech.
Speaker 1:You know, and you've talked about having colleagues all over the world, if you like how do you manage, how do you feel connected within that community? Because tech is that great enabler it is. You know. So how I mean. And obviously we saw, we saw it in massive practice, didn't we? Over pandemic. I don't think I could do another pub quiz, though.
Speaker 2:I'm not gonna lie um, but what?
Speaker 1:what do you use? How do you you best manage that? Yeah?
Speaker 2:so, um so. So we talk a lot on slack, um, so we have those daily chats. We also have weekly zoom meetings as well. Sometimes. You know there's some colleagues that I'll see twice a week. Sometimes maybe not, for, you know, every other week, but we do have that regular contact and sharing of ideas and of course, we're all rolling out similar projects in our own countries, so that kind of keeps us united. But the other thing that we do is off-site. So it's a big thing in tech companies where we all come together for a week and we have that face-to-face time which is so important. So, yeah, a couple of weeks ago I was in London for a week, um, and yeah, lots of workshops, but some, you know, some great bonding time together as well during that week, just for us to all have that social time as well as, as well as work and what advice would you give to your younger self?
Speaker 1:because it it just strikes me that your path I said at the top, didn't I, you know, no one has that one straight, lenient path. And your path is, you know, from entrepreneur to, to maverick, to, business owner, to educator, to oh, just creating a new education establishment while you're at it, you know, and now working at big tech organisations, what advice would you have given yourself to go? This is what it could look like.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I think it sounds really cheesy, isn't it? But I, you know, I would say, like you know, if you have big ideas, always have that self-belief that you can make it happen. If you want to work at a company, always have that self-belief that you can. You can make it happen. And don't be afraid to try things, don't be afraid to share ideas out, Because you know, when we share ideas out, when we connect with people, it's like a chain reaction, isn't it? Eventually, it leads to was you know to, to to always be cultivating your talents and always find a space where you can share them. I saw a gentleman that came to speak at an animation conference from Marvel and he said just share your drawings online. He said, your audience will find you and then we will find you. So, yeah, I think, just cultivate your creativity and then share it out as much as you can.
Speaker 1:And I think that connection between industry and education is so critical, which is a good job, because that's your new job, right? But you know, it's one of the roles, but the fact that you talked about the sessions where 50 individuals from industry were coming because they wanted to to mentor. Yeah, you know, mentoring is so important and it's it's for everyone. It's not for specific, it's for everyone. There's always someone out there what, who, who have been your mentors?
Speaker 2:um, so, so, so, probably my, my, very, the very first gentleman that employed me. Tom Kelly, who was an Irish entrepreneur. He was really, really influential in my career because he had no fear and he was like, yeah, let's just try things. It didn't matter if things didn't always go to plan. We always, you know, could always take something from it really. So he's been very, very instrumental. Kay Askew, who employed me in my first school, huge maverick, and I loved working for her because, you know, everything that she did was for the kids and she set a really, really high standard. So sometimes it was tough, you know, it was a tough place to work, but everything that I took away from that experience, you know, has made me who I am today and I've got some great friends who I've kept. And then another one, a gentleman you probably know, is David Wafer. So, david, I met when I first sat in the business.
Speaker 1:He's going to love this being named Jack. He's going to love it. He will love it.
Speaker 2:But yeah, so he, although I am older than him, I would say he's like my big brother, but he's always somebody who I've been able to check into and say have a little bit of a sense, check, what do you think. You know, I've got an interview at Canva. What do you think you, what do you think? So he's been great throughout my business journey.
Speaker 1:And what is next for you? Because you're clearly not someone who's afraid of a challenge or something new or something a bit out there. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, for now, I really love working at Canva. I love the vibe. They're an Australian company. I love that they want to do lots of good in the world, but I also love that they have fun at the same time. So, as an example, we host an annual event called Canva Create, and you know how Apple does with. This is the new iPhone. We have our version of that.
Speaker 2:Did you? Oh yeah, it was brilliant. So I hosted a local event in London. We invited some of our key community members to come along, but there was a dress code and it was like ombre, bright colours or maybe a bit of glitter, and I thought this, this is my company, you know, so I love it, and it's so fast paced it's there's always something new to launch. I can see it really kind of, you know, sustaining my interest for for a good while, and then also there's a big job to be done on it. You know I I am so passionate about education and, uh, you know, I want to make sure that we get Canva in the hands of as many kids as we can.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, because they become the business owners, the influencers enables them to make sure that we get Canva in the hands of as many kids as we can. Absolutely, because they become the business owners, the influencers enables them to make their dreams come true, doesn't? It 100% Jade. What a conversation. Who doesn't want to work for a company that puts on their dress code Ombre bright?
Speaker 2:or glitter, I mean literally.
Speaker 1:Right, there's my application. Right there, Jade, thank you so much. Please keep fangirling and doing awesome things and thank you for joining us today. You're welcome, my pleasure. Thank you all of you for watching, tuning in and staying connected on all of our brilliant podcast guests. I told her every single week, talk to somebody. That is so amazing, with a different story and a different path.
Speaker 1:No two humans alike, thank goodness is what I say and please do stay connected to somebody that is so amazing, with a different story and a different path no two humans alike Thank goodness is what I say and please do stay connected on all of our socials. We are power underscore net on Insta, twitter and TikTok and we are power and all of our other socials. And please do join us. Next week I'm going to be talking to someone else Awesome with all of those top tips. My name is Simone. You are watching the we Are Power podcast. Thank you for joining.
