Meet the Team

Alison Haenlin
Founder & Owner

Alison has always been a dreamer. What sets her apart is the tenaciousness to turn those dreams into a reality. A true Entrepreneur, Alison's mind is wired for creativity, solution-based problem solving and has no off button (a blessing & a curse). She is a business & sales professional with 10+ years of experience across multiple industries, including four seasons with the Ottawa Senators.

Equipped with a passionate & collaborative mindset, Alison has made sure to be a leader in her community and a longtime advocate for women in sport. She has volunteered with local girls' hockey associations, has been a recurring Panelist & Speaker, been featured in Adrenalin magazine and strives to be the female mentor she would have wanted. She has a Bachelor with Honours in Health Sciences from the University of Ottawa and holds three Business Certificates from Algonquin College. She also mixed in some Children's Literature courses to add a little *spice* and, of course, feed her soul.

A military brat, she hopped cities as a young child but has called Ottawa home for most of her life. When she isn't writing, you can catch her at home cuddling her three dogs or at the golf course with her husband, Zac. However, these days she spends most of her time chasing after her daughter, Logan, who leaves a wake of chaos in her path. Apple doesn't fall far from the tree, you might say.


Katharine Hirsch
Director of Marketing

Kat is a career creator & storyteller. Whether in the form of writing, marketing, design, painting, drumming, weaving, or photography, she is forever in pursuit of new ways to create, communicate, and convey. On paper, Kat is a tenured marketing professional and entrepreneur with 10+ years of experience (predominantly in high-tech). Over the years, Kat has actively participated in, and facilitated events for Women in Tech, as well as mentorship programs for kids interested in software programming. She has also been instrumental in the launch of flagship events such as Devoxx US in Silicon Valley.

A third-culture kid who spent most of her life living abroad, Kat graduated with Honours from Goldsmiths University of London with a Master’s in Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship, and also holds a double major Bachelor of Arts in Drama and Creative Writing from Royal Holloway University of London. While pursuing her undergraduate degree in the UK, Kat started writing a fiction novel. One of these days she'll finish it.

Over the past decade, Kat has been busy planting roots in her hometown of Ottawa, Ontario, where she spends most of her time wrangling her two sons, Hudson (3), Lewis (1), hiking the Ottawa greenbelt with her husband Neil, experimenting with vegetarian recipes, or watching Korean horror films.

 
Tara Shannon (@iamtarashannon) / TwitterTara Shannon
Business Advisor

Tara is an award winning singer, songwriter, entrepreneur and speaker. She is the Founder of Willow Sound Records and co-founded Syndicut Music Publishing, with Nashville's Debbie Zavitson. She has been a guest speaker at notable events such as the G20 Summit and won awards such as the BMO for Women Community and Charitable Giving.

For both her musical and charitable endeavours, Tara has been featured in media across North America including EtalkGlobal’s The Morning ShowCBC’s All in DayCP24 Breakfast, Sirius XM’s Ward and Al, and many more. She also had the opportunity to host American hit TV show Country Fix in 2017, a CJM Production that airs in more than 100 million households worldwide on networks including Heartland, The Family Channel and more. Tara divides her time between Ottawa and Nashville and lives with her family in the village of Russell.

"Tara Shannon is a songwriter, performer, record label owner, music publisher, and most important of all - mentor. Within the music ecosystem, she plays many of the key roles, and works with other key players. This helps to ensure that the writers, performers and others that Tara mentors are very well served, are trained for the real world, and have the best shot at success."


Byron
 Pascoe / Music Lawyer / Edwards Creative Law