Van’s work is built on the foundation that we are all creative and curious, that good ideas can come from any level of an organization, and that by cultivating creative thinking in the workplace, everyone has a chance to have their voice heard. As the founder of worksmart Advantage, a progressive leadership and team development consultancy, Van creates authentic experiences that utilize creativity and play to disrupt traditional training methods.
In her book What if Pigs Can Fly?, Van recounts the inspiring story of how her mom and nineteen Vietnamese refugee women pioneered the now $8.3 billion manicure industry in the United States, all by following a curiosity while living in a refugee integration center in Sacramento. She then encourages readers to use a practical framework to follow their own curiosities to create possibilities for themselves and others.
Van studied Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and earned her MBA from Pepperdine University. With over 20 years of corporate and start-up experience, Van has worked as a sales and training leader at GlaxoSmithKline and served as COO at a Body Glove subsidiary. She currently brings her work to game-changers like Google, LinkedIn, Southwest Airlines, and now the community at Authenica. Van actively works to rewrite the way we apply creativity in the workplace, inviting clients to think with their hands and use creative tools to disrupt traditional training methods.