The story behind Career Story Project
It was the ‘90s. I was in Whistler, BC, taking a ‘gap’ year after university to ski. I discovered pretty quickly that I wasn’t great at being a ski bum! While my (now) husband worked night shifts so he could ski all day, I landed a job in a public relations department at Blackcomb Mountain and did freelance writing for ski and tourist magazines on the side.
I still got a lot of skiing in, but I wasn’t really having what one would call a ‘gap’ year. That
professional drive, or maybe ‘overdrive’ steered me through both corporate and public
sector public relations roles. Over the years, as I walked down hallway after hallway, and navigated cubicle mazes of every shape and size, I couldn’t help feeling that there was something missing.
But I didn’t know where to begin.
Flash forward to 2001. I'm back in Whistler, at a conference, listening to a leadership coach
speak about this emerging profession. As she spoke, I got goose bumps. I turned to my
colleague and whispered, This is what I’m meant to do!
That feeling was confirmed the next morning when I went for a run down a path I used to
take many mornings years before. I ended up sitting cross-legged on the end of the wharf at Alta Lake, gazing up at the snow-capped mountains. In this moment of stillness with only a
mother duck and her ducklings to keep me company, I realized I could no longer ignore the feeling inside.
My career was no longer fueling me and it was time to move on. I wanted to follow my passion to write. And I wanted to figure out how to support other professionals to tune in to their own talents to enjoy greater career success. It was time to make every day count.
At Career Story Project, you could say my job is to guide high-performing professionals to make every day count—and be worth counting.
Meet Career Story Project’s Founder, Karen Kelloway
Author, Executive Leadership Coach and Consultant, Leadership Speaker
Each of us has a career journey—a career story—that shapes us and inspires others. Over the course of more than 20 years coaching, consulting, and leading, I have developed my way of turning career opportunities and corporate strategic plans into moving stories. So emerging leaders can deliver impact in their organization, inspire their teams, and build legacies that last.
As the Founder of Career Story Project, my role is to guide high-performing professionals to create a happily ever after for their career—in their current position and beyond.
And as an award-winning author of both children’s literature and business books, I know how to craft narratives, shape career trajectories, and tell stories that move and motivate action.
Certified Expert, Proven Experience
“Karen is thoughtful, practical, respectful, organized and always eager for mutual benefit. My best recommendation is that I've engaged her twice—and will no doubt do so again.”
Organizations welcome my relatability and commitment to engaging teams with thought
provoking exercises that help create more meaning in their work and develop stronger team
performance.
Leaders welcome my respectful, focused, action-oriented approach that gets at the heart of
a challenge and works through it until resolved, enabling them to lead with courage and
clarity.
- Core Strengths® Certified Facilitator
- Certified Canfield Trainer, the Success Principles™
- Myers-Briggs (MBTI® certified Level II practitioner Psychometrics Canada Ltd.)
- Level 2 Legacy Leadership® facilitator through Coachworks International
- Program lead for my trademarked NAIL IT!® Career Management Workshops & Seminars
- Certified Executive Coach, Royal Roads University, British Columbia and Professional Certified Coach (PCC) the International Coach Federation
- Bachelor of Public Relations, Mount Saint Vincent University, Nova Scotia
