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Draft:Avery Swartz

Avery Swartz

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Avery Swartz is a Canadian technology educator, author, and entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of Camp Tech, a technology and AI skills training company she established in Toronto in 2012.[1]. She is the author of See You on the Internet: Building Your Small Business with Digital Marketing[2]. Swartz is a regular technology contributor on CTV's Your Morning[3]. She co-leads AI Skills Lab Canada, a national program addressing the AI gender adoption gap, which received co-investment from DIGITAL, Canada's Global Innovation Cluster for digital technologies[4].

Early Life and Career

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Swartz has a background in theatre with a BFA in Technical Theatre Production from Toronto Metropolitan University (then Ryerson University)[5]. She operated a web design studio from 2007 onward, working with small businesses, arts organizations, and not-for-profits[6]. She taught Digital Publishing at Toronto Metropolitan University (then Ryerson University) and Web Design at Humber College[7].

Camp Tech

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Swartz founded Camp Tech in August 2012 in Toronto[1][8]. Camp Tech initially offered half- and full-day in-person workshops for adults in web and digital skills. Between 2012 and 2019, the company expanded to Toronto, Ottawa[9][8], Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, and Vancouver[10][11]. In 2017, Camp Tech designed and delivered the original digital marketing skills training for the Starter Company Plus boot camp in Toronto, which led to the creation of the Ontario Digital Main Street initiative[12]. Camp Tech became the founding training partner when Digital Main Street expanded province-wide in 2018[13][14]. Between 2019 and 2024, Camp Tech delivered 312 workshops through Digital Main Street, upskilling 21,226 small businesses across Ontario[15][16][14][17]

In 2025, Swartz became co-lead of AI Skills Lab Canada (AISLC), a $2.4 million national program to help women, trans-femme, and non-binary entrepreneurs adopt AI[18]. It was part of DIGITAL's $15 million investment across 16 Canadian AI-based training and CareerTech projects[19].

Swartz and Camp Tech led the Early AI Adoption Lab portion of the AI Skills Lab Canada project, with cohorts in North Bay, Halifax, and Whitehorse[20]

Publications

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Swartz’s book, See You on the Internet: Building Your Small Business with Digital Marketing, was published by Page Two Books on March 10, 2020[2]. It has been featured on Blinkist[21]. In addition, the book was published by Thai Ha in 2020 in Vietnamese[22].

Media Career

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Swartz is a regular technology contributor on CTV Your Morning[23][24][25]. Her segments have covered topics including AI adoption, drones and employment[26] and parenting apps[27] She has also appeared on BNN Bloomberg[28][29] CP24[30] and CBC News and Radio ( Radio2 Radio3)

Between 2016 and 2019, Swartz wrote 13 bylined columns for The Globe and Mail's Report on Business section, covering technology topics for small businesses, including podcasting[31] cybersecurity, GDPR,  and the Shopify-Mailchimp integration breakup[32].

In addition to her bylined Globe and Mail columns, Swartz has been quoted as an expert source in the newspaper on topics including web accessibility[33], AI in classrooms[34], and student technology[35]. She has been quoted in Chatelaine[36], Today’s Parent[37] and Inc. Magazine[38].

In September 2020, she hosted Season 2 of the A.I. Meets World podcast, a collaboration between Microsoft and The Globe and Mail Content Studio. Guests included Jim Balsillie, Michael Geist, Bianca Wylie, and Caitlin MacGregor[39]

Advocacy

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DEI in Canada's Tech Industry

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In February 2025, Swartz co-authored the "Innovation Includes Everyone" open letter with Laura Gabor and Sarah Stockdale, calling on Canada's tech industry to uphold diversity, equity, and inclusion values[40]. Nearly 1,000 tech and innovation leaders signed the letter, including Arlene Dickinson[41]. The letter received coverage in The Globe and Mail[42], BetaKit[43], The Logic[44], and HRD Canada [45][46][47]. 

  1. 1 2 "Camp caters to adults looking to sharpen their digital skills". The Globe and Mail. 2014-08-07. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  2. 1 2 "See You on the Internet". Page Two. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  3. ↑ "Gender gap in A.I.: Harvard study suggests women adopting A.I. tools less than men". CTV News. 2025-07-25. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  4. ↑ "AI Skills Lab Canada". DIGITAL. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  5. ↑ "Students just wanna dance". The Eyeopener. 2001-11-21. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  6. ↑ Varriano, Franco (2016-05-11). "Hack To Start Ep. 96: Camp Tech founder & CEO Avery Swartz | BetaKit". Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  7. ↑ "Speaker Details: CPB Canada IGNITE 2025 Conference". ignite.cpbcan.ca. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  8. 1 2 "Camp Tech is coming to town! · OttawaStart.com". OttawaStart.com. 2015-04-07. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  9. ↑ Contributor, Ottawalife (2015-10-15). "Ottawa Tech Workshops Help You Stay Ahead in a Digital World - Ottawa Life Magazine". www.ottawalife.com. Retrieved 2026-06-10. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  10. ↑ Narvey, Jonathon (2015-07-30). "Camp Tech pitches its tent in Vancouver | BetaKit". Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  11. ↑ "3 great computer, web and tech classes in Vancouver to register for | Daily Hive | News". Daily Hive. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  12. ↑ Zubairi, Amira (2017-06-06). "Ontario and Toronto gov'ts launch grant program for digitizing small businesses | BetaKit". Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  13. ↑ Cepeda, Monina (2017-06-06). "Digital Main Street Partners with Province and City of Toronto to Help Main Street Businesses go Digital". TABIA. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  14. 1 2 OBIAA (2019-10-24). "Ontario Main Street Small Businesses Achieved Digital Transformation Success in 2019". OBIAA. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  15. ↑ "Camp Tech Inc". Digital Main Street. 2017-04-16. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  16. ↑ "Campaign-in-a-Box". OBIAA. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  17. ↑ Green, Claire (2024-03-27). "Digital Main Street: Boosting Small Businesses with Digital Marketing". Burlington Economic Development and Tourism. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  18. ↑ "AI Skills Lab Canada". The Forum. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  19. ↑ Riehl, Alex (2025-06-05). "DIGITAL Innovation Cluster providing $15 million across 16 Canadian AI-based training and CareerTech projects | BetaKit". Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  20. ↑ Contributor, Ottawalife (2025-07-15). "Combatting the Emerging Gender Gap in AI Adoption in Canada - Ottawa Life Magazine". www.ottawalife.com. Retrieved 2026-06-10. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  21. ↑ "See You on the Internet Summary of Key Ideas and Review | Avery Swartz". Blinkist. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  22. ↑ "Digital marketing cho doanh nghiệp nhỏ". Thái Hà Books (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  23. ↑ CTV Your Morning (2025-08-21). Back-to-School Tech Must Haves | Your Morning. Retrieved 2026-06-10 – via YouTube.
  24. ↑ "When was the last time you cleaned your phone or other daily tech?". CTV News. 2026-01-09. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  25. ↑ Avery Swartz (2026-02-13). Top Travel Tech: Gear and Gadgets to Pack On Your Next Trip. Retrieved 2026-06-10 – via YouTube.
  26. ↑ CTVNews.ca, Meredith MacLeod- (2017-06-09). "Drones likely to transform, not replace, jobs: tech expert". CTVNews. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  27. ↑ Staff, CTVNews ca (2017-06-19). "5 apps that can make the early days of parenting easier". CTVNews. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  28. ↑ Lev, Elianna (2025-07-26). "For women, the increase of AI use in the workplace may affect their careers: Harvard study". BNN Bloomberg. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  29. ↑ Wonderen, Joe Van (2026-01-13). "Here's the best way to keep your phone and other tech devices clean, according to an expert". BNN Bloomberg. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  30. ↑ Thompson, Kayla (2026-03-18). "National summit on AI, culture openly discusses potential threats to Canadian artists". CP24. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  31. ↑ "Podcasting is the new blogging". The Globe and Mail. 2016-11-18. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  32. ↑ "Search Results". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  33. ↑ "Businesses under pressure to make websites accessible". The Globe and Mail. 2020-03-09. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  34. ↑ "From blackboards to algorithms: the rise of AI in Canadian classrooms". The Globe and Mail. 2024-12-12. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  35. ↑ "What students should keep in mind when shopping for a laptop". The Globe and Mail. 2023-08-01. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  36. ↑ Dion, Andréanne (2025-10-27). "Is The Oura Ring Worth It?". Chatelaine. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  37. ↑ Persaud, Christine (2021-08-13). "How to buy a laptop for kids". Today's Parent. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  38. ↑ Eaton, Kit (2025-07-29). "Women Are Using AI at Work Less Than Men. That's a Problem". Inc. Archived from the original on 2025-08-09. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  39. ↑ "Season 2 of the AI Meets World podcast takes a deeper look at the opportunities and challenges of AI – Microsoft News Center Canada". news.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  40. ↑ "Innovation Includes Everyone — What in the Tech". What in the Tech?. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  41. ↑ McLauchlan, Madison (2025-02-24). "DEI rollback is the "wrong direction for Canada," open letter says | BetaKit". Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  42. ↑ "Hundreds of tech leaders condemn Shopify diversity rollbacks, defend DEI in open letter". The Globe and Mail. 2025-02-25. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  43. ↑ McLauchlan, Madison (2025-02-24). "DEI rollback is the "wrong direction for Canada," open letter says | BetaKit". Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  44. ↑ McIntyre, Catherine (2025-02-24). "Open letter calls on Canadian tech leaders to resist DEI backlash". The Logic. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  45. ↑ "Letter condemning DEI pushback reaches over 200 signatures from Canadian tech leaders". Human Resources Director. 2025-02-26. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  46. ↑ CTV Your Morning (2025-03-06). Open Letter Asks Canadian Tech Leaders Not to Abandon D.E.I. | Your Morning. Retrieved 2026-06-14 – via YouTube.
  47. ↑ Olive, David (2025-03-01). "David Olive: Canada's tech leaders are condemning efforts to erase DEI — and that very Canadian response will help their long-term success". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
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