Verna Chan

Low Incidence Manager

About me.

Fortuitous irony is how I ended up at LEARNstyle. Before LEARNstyle, I worked with children and youth with special needs for over 10 years, then my own child was diagnosed with a learning disability. I started an applied learning strategist certification to help me better understand and support my son’s needs. I stumbled on a LEARNstyle job posting one day and on a whim, I applied thinking it was a good way to get a little bit of related work experience while I worked on my certification. That casual 2 day/week, 2 month contract was a few years ago now!

My Hero

Underdogs and outliers of the world are my heros. The ones who have to work harder or more creatively in order to stake their place in the world. Bonus: they usually leave really amazing stakes behind to marvel at.

My Passion

Learning is my passion. If I had copious amounts of money and time I would do nothing but learn about stuff. Everything from philosophy to fonts. I want to know all about fonts. And history. Throw some automotive and cognitive science in there too…

Great Adventure

This was taken at am amusement part and clearly, I did not think that the life-sized Raggedy Andy was so great.

Email

verna@learnstyle.com

Favourite Movie

I think “The Royal Tenenbaums” might be my favourite movie.

Favourite Colour

I love the colour purple. It’s such a visually pleasant colour with an interesting backstory.

Favourite Animal

I can’t just pick 1 favourite animal. They’re all amazing and cool: dogs, otters, beavers, bats, crows, octopuses, sea slugs…

Growing Up

I’m a first generation Chinese Canadian who grew up in the 70’s and 80’s, so I know dim sum, taramasalata, baklava, TTC station Jamaican patties, Country Style donuts, and Johnny’s Burgers. Being a first generation Chinese Canadian also means I know dry, soya sauce turkey at Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s a thing. I’ve had the conversations.

Graduation

My undergraduate was an Honours Bachelor of Science. At one point, I worked for a Masters student who studied bats. That’s right. I worked for Batgirl taking care of her bats.

New Faces at Octoberfest

Octoberfest. I don’t know who the KISS guy is. That is all.

Walks with Gretl

This is our Bernese Mountain Dog on a winter wonderland walk with me in one of the many trails we are so fortunate to have around our neighbourhood.

More about me.

As a matter of time these days, pastimes are irregular, stolen moments that offer mental breaks away from thinking about work or family. It might mean a short walk with our dog (or dragging her on garbage truck days), watching a bit of TV, or screaming at clouds over a Twitter post.