Bailey ParnellFounder & CEO

About Bailey

Bailey Parnell is the Founder & CEO of SkillsCamp and was named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in 2016. Bailey is a dynamic TEDx speaker with over 3 million views, an award-winning digital storyteller, and a businesswoman with a talent for helping people develop the skills they need for success. Her work and expertise have been featured in Forbes, CBC, FOX News, Flare Magazine, and more. ‍

Bailey’s company SkillsCamp is a soft skills training company that works with businesses and educational institutions to help their staff and students develop the essential skills needed for personal and professional success – skills like personal branding, stress-management, emotional intelligence, and you guessed, it, public speaking! Before this, she built up her career bringing digital student engagement to Canadian higher education through her work at Ryerson University – models that she had travelled the world speaking and sharing.‍

Bailey did her Masters in Communications and Culture at Ryerson University with research focused on social media’s impact on mental health, the results of which have been shared at the World Youth Forum in Egypt and created the basis for her signature 5 Steps Towards #SafeSocial. She also recently launched this into its own organization called #SafeSocial. She is an honors graduate of the RTA School of Media majoring in Media Production and double-minoring in News Studies and English. ‍

Through her skillful storytelling, confidence, research, and humour, Bailey has audiences laughing, engaged, and walking away with skills that shape their life. Bailey frequently speaks about social media and mental health, soft skills, intergenerational understanding, and being a woman in business. She guest lectured my first MBA class at 21 and has since spoken to over 100K people across the world. Previously, she has worked in social media marketing at CBC and Bell Media; assisted instructors in Seneca College’s Social Media: Graduate Certificate Program; taught English abroad, and has worked as a local news reporter on Rogers TV. Though the rest of her family is from Nova Scotia, Bailey was proudly born and raised in Brampton, Ontario, and now lives in Toronto.

Fun Facts

  • I enjoy wine (and most things that pair well with it)! Cheese is my favourite food.
  • I have 5 sisters and we’re very close!
  • I went to a performing arts high school and majored in vocal music.
  • I fought competitively in judo for most of my childhood.
  • I taught English abroad in China for a summer.
  • I love good TV! Critical discussions about film and television are a pass time.
  • I thoroughly enjoy “thought experiments”.

Teaching Philosophy

Being good at something doesn’t mean you should be teaching it. I strongly believe that how you deliver content to learners is as important as what you’re delivering. When I teach, I strive to make it a safe space where students can bring their whole selves. No matter what you’re learning, students should feel safe participating and taking risks. Similar to when I do public speaking, I believe it is not the responsibility of the student to automatically be interested and understand. I believe it’s the responsibility of the teacher to earn the attention and get you to learn. To do this, considering learning styles is very important to me.

Speaking

Bailey often speaks on a number of topics including her entrepreneurship journey, being a woman in business, social media and mental health, and more.

Media & Awards

Bailey has made many media appearances on local and international TV shows, radio shows, podcasts, blogs, and more.

TEDx Talk

Bailey gave a TEDx talk about the impact of social media on our mental health. The talk has already been viewed millions of times and is growing every day!

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