“There are fewer rules than you think.”
Dr. Linda Carson
Overlap would not be Overlap without the influence of Linda. She has been our loyal friend, mentor, colleague, teacher and advisor since before our very start.
Dr. Linda Carson was best known for her outstanding contributions to interdisciplinary teaching and creative collaboration. She is one of the few individuals to be awarded degrees from three different faculties at the University of Waterloo: BMath (1985), BA (Fine Arts, 1990), MSc (Kinesiology, 2004), and PhD (Psychology, 2013), as well as earning an MFA from the University of Saskatchewan (1993).
Linda was the primary proposal writer, program designer, and curriculum developer of the Bachelor of Knowledge Integration program. She developed numerous courses designed to assist students with the transition to academia, to enrich existing program offerings, or to provide new opportunities for creative collaboration. She had a passion for improving access for students, especially those from marginalized groups, and was a mentor and advocate for countless students, faculty and staff.
We met Linda in our pre-Overlap days, when we worked at a design agency. At the time, a couple of our interns spoke so glowingly of ‘Linda Carson’. This prompted Brock to reach out and introduce himself to this highly-regarded, creative and intelligent person who clearly he needed to meet. Brock and Linda met over beers at Ethel’s Lounge in Waterloo. From that moment - a magical friendship was born.
Linda encouraged us to start Overlap and helped us to find and amplify our voice as a start-up. In those early days, Linda brought the gravitas that we needed as a new entity. She developed early content - training & learning modules, Overlap processes, proposal development and project outputs that blew clients away. The beauty of Linda’s content is that it has always stood the test of time and her words are absolutely everywhere at Overlap.
Linda's Ignite Waterloo Lecture
One of the many gifts of Linda was her eye for spotting talent. For Linda, it wasn’t about top grades - it was about finding the problem solvers and collaborators. Her passion was for developing people who truly had a learning mindset. Linda was the force behind the University of Waterloo’s Knowledge Integration (KI) Program, and in more recent years, focused her energies at UW’s Stratford Campus. In her teaching capacity, she was able to introduce us to top talent and we’ve had the joy of welcoming so many of Linda’s students into the Overlap family over the years. Our hearts go out to this vast network of people that are part of Linda’s lasting legacy and experience.
As Overlap matured, Linda’s role became far more about developing our people. She was a key part of our Executive team, helping us to think through our own challenges and opportunities. She actually loved being part of quarterly results and working on the mechanics of the business - but her real love was for our people.
We were so very privileged that Linda chose to give her limited time outside of the University of Waterloo to Overlap - one day a week was a true gift. We are all thankful for the front-row seat, week-in and week-out, experiencing the masterclass that was Linda Carson.
We are committed to making Linda proud. She dedicated so much time, energy and love for Overlap. We have always been in awe of Linda and her choice to help us build this special company and Overlap community.
Linda was diagnosed with ALS in the summer of 2020 (the year she coined ‘The Year of Big Suck’). She faced ALS head-on and embraced the love and support that so many people shared with her.
Make a Contribution
Two student awards at the University of Waterloo have been set up in Linda’s memory:
The Linda Carson Memorial Interdisciplinary Award will be awarded to full-time undergraduate students (from any Faculty) based on the excellence of an interdisciplinary project that has been completed for academic credit.
The Belonging Award will be awarded to support students who may feel, for whatever reason, like they do not belong in post-secondary education.
Overlap is committing a donation over a five-year period and we encourage anyone to also support this new Endowment through a donation of any size.
