BY J.M. LEE
Natalie has always been drawn to leadership. As a young girl, she was labeled ‘bossy,’ but behind every bossy girl is a girl with executive leadership potential. Leadership was always a part of Natalie—bringing people together and making things happen, long before she understood what that meant.
At eighteen, she moved to New York to study performing arts at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She returned to Vancouver to attend Capilano University, taking Acting for Film and Television. There, she rallied film students to collaborate on her written short film.
“I began producing music videos, which led to short films, and into feature films,” Natalie says. Her short film Inconvenience, directed by John Penhall, premiered at VIFF, received seven nominations, and won a Leo Award. E’ANX (The Cave), directed by Helen Haig-Brown, premiered at TIFF and screened at Sundance, Berlinale, and ImagineNative—nominated for Best International Short Film at Sundance. As a development executive at Waterfront Pictures, she helped bring feature films to life.
Later, as a mother, she pivoted into television to build a career with more stable hours. She took on roles in production management for Food Network’s World’s Weirdest Restaurants, HGTV’s The Stagers, and CMT Canada’s CMT Star.
Maker of Monsters: The Extraordinary Life of Beau Dick, a documentary she co-directed, wrote, and produced with Latiesha Fazakas, won the Cultural Current Award at the Victoria Film Festival, was an Official Selection at VIFF, released in Canadian theaters through Cineplex, and is now airing on CBC Gem.
As her work evolved, so did her focus. After a personal experience, she began questioning the impact of social media platforms on well-being and connection. That concern led her to found Tribela — a safe, community-driven social media platform designed to empower users, prevent online harm, and give people full control over their digital experience.
She returned to school for Computer Science, Finance, and Leadership at Harvard, Yale, and Oxford.
Natalie found incredible support in female entrepreneurship through programs like The Break Fellowship and Hive Female Founders. This shift from film to technology has been the most considerable risk of her career.
“I was told that what I was building was too ambitious and complex. Refusing to accept the current social media model was the only way forward, so I self-financed the project to make this vision a reality. Throughout my career, I have seen the biases women face in leadership, especially working mothers. I was once told that I almost didn’t get hired because I had a child. For years, I felt I had to hide my family life to be taken seriously, working twice as hard to prove I was as dedicated as my male colleagues.”
Over time, Natalie realized that authentic leadership is about changing the systems that force women to make these impossible choices.
“True inclusion happens when diversity exists at the top, shaping leadership in a way that naturally flows through every aspect of an organization. When leadership is genuinely diverse and inclusive, it doesn’t require a checklist; it becomes ingrained in a company’s culture, decision-making, and values. Real change happens when inclusion is a foundation, not an afterthought.”
It wasn’t easy for women during her mother’s time. Still, Natalie’s mom provided a home for the family. She gave Natalie unconditional love, where young Natalie felt safe enough to take risks, strong enough to push forward, and supported enough to believe she could achieve anything.
“That kind of love is powerful,” Natalie says wistfully. “It’s the reason I have always believed in forging my path, no matter how impossible it seemed. She taught me that real strength is about resilience — knowing that you are never alone, no matter how hard things get — and holding on to faith. Inclusion is not making space at the table but redesigning that space entirely. When diversity exists at the top, it shapes leadership that naturally flows through every aspect of an organization. It doesn’t require a checklist; it becomes ingrained in a company’s culture, decision-making, and values. The strongest women in history did not stay silent to keep the peace. They spoke up, challenged the status quo, and paved the way for those who came after them.”
Natalie wants to create a world where social media is a tool for empowerment, not harm. She wants to challenge the industries that say “this is just the way it is” — and prove that we can build something better.
