Curriculum vitae.
Founder, CEO, and advisor in sustainability and technology. Self-taught in code since age ten; building energy-efficient, accessible web infrastructure for nonprofits, businesses, and changemakers from Vancouver, BC.
Contact
- linkedin.com/in/gabrieldalton
- me [at] gabrieldalton.com
At a glance
- Founder & President of Oasis of Change, Inc. (soon Chair of the Board).
- 2025 City of Vancouver Impact & Innovation Award recipient.
- TEDx speaker on AI and digital sustainability.
Experience
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Founder & President, Oasis of Change, Inc.
Founded a Vancouver-based not-for-profit advancing digital sustainability and digital accessibility through web development, grants, and policy. Reduced website carbon, energy, and water use by up to 98% on individual projects. Reporting to the Board of Directors.
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Digital Marketing & Generative Search Optimization (GEO), Plastic Bank
Advanced visibility across search and generative AI platforms to fight plastic pollution and poverty through better discoverability and brand accuracy in AI responses.
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Digital Accessibility, AccessibilityChecker.org
Helping organizations meet WCAG 2.2, the Accessible Canada Act (ACA), the ADA, and Section 508 in shipping product, not just on paper.
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National Coach (Fellow), The Dais at Toronto Metropolitan University
One of three selected coaches, coaching a group of 20 Youth Champions across Canada on Screen Break, Canada's first nationwide initiative for phone-free classrooms.
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Website Advisor, Stanley Park Ecology Society (pro bono)
Working directly with the Executive Director to apply sustainable practices to two SPES-owned websites, enhancing performance and accessibility. Planted 225+ trees across four countries in alignment with organizational sustainability goals.
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Professional Photographer, Unsplash
Contributing photography in support of global access to high-quality, royalty-free visuals. Work has received 9.1M+ views and 56,880+ downloads, featured on Figma, Typeform, Google Slides, Medium, Notion, and Buzzfeed.
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Youth Advisory Group (TAG), Vancouver Public Library
Serving on the Youth Advisory Group at the Vancouver Public Library, providing a youth perspective to support more engaging and inclusive library services.
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Product Marketing Manager Intern, Formaloo
Selected as 1 of 8 (and youngest) participants in Formaloo's Product Marketing Program. Built campaigns, analyzed customer data, and developed growth strategy in close collaboration with the CMO.
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Youth Accessibility Leader, Service Canada
Worked with nonprofit organizations to apply for grants of up to $12,000 to improve accessibility and remove barriers for people with disabilities.
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Founder, EcoSearch
Led a team of 20+ to build a sustainable search engine that plants trees. Managed a $120,000/year Google Ads budget, joined the AWS Startup Program, and received recognition from NASA's former administrator.
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SEO Expert & Web Developer, ViRA360
Worked directly with the CEO on SEO content, website usability, and eco-friendly development practices.
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SEO & English Content Specialist, Refoorest
Grew Refoorest's digital presence through content and SEO strategy, supporting the team in planting 835,000+ trees.
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IT & Digital Communications Specialist, St. Paul's Anglican Church
Built and managed the website, maintained legacy computers, and implemented security systems with backups while overseeing building operations (calls, doors, emails). Reduced website emissions by 83% (from 1.34g to 0.22g of CO₂ per visit) by minimizing data transfer, switching to renewable-powered infrastructure, and applying emissions estimation methods from tools such as Website Carbon Calculator. Cut hosting costs by 89.7%.
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Chief Sustainability Officer & Head of Digital Strategy, Mittler Senior Technology (pro bono)
Led the Sustainability Department and worked directly with the CEO. Built a sustainable, accessible website, planted 123+ trees, and migrated to an AWS-hosted custom platform, improving performance and reliability.
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Chief Technology Officer, The King George Times (pro bono)
Developed a modern, sustainable website for the school newspaper, generating 3,000+ views post-launch and expanding student voices across the King George Secondary community.
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Digital Sustainability Consultant, SustainableWWW (pro bono)
Advised on website sustainability improvements to reduce digital environmental impact. Led efforts to plant 150+ trees across Kenya, Madagascar, Tanzania, and Uganda through projects including Eden Reforestation.
Education
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British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT)
Business management and nonprofit management.
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King George Secondary School
Graduating 2026. 3.76 / 4.0 GPA.
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The Knowledge Society (TKS), Alumnus '25
A program admitting 10 to 15% of 42,000+ applicants. Often described as Olympic-level training for innovators.
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HarvardX
Completed Harvard's Buddhist Studies course, taught by Charles Hallisey. Sparked further independent study of Pali, Tibetan Buddhism, and Theravada teachings.
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buildspace, s5 Alumnus '24
Graduated in the top 7.4% of the S5 Nights & Weekends program. Co-developed EcoSearch as the cohort project.
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International Baccalaureate (IB), Middle Years Programme
Alumnus of the IB MYP (grades 6 to 10), with strengths in computer science, English, science, and social studies.
Honours & recognition
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Arnie Zucker Community Leadership Award
Presented to King George Secondary graduates who demonstrate community leadership, volunteerism, and academic achievement. A scholarship toward post-secondary education.
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Carrie Samoil Award for Excellence in Community Leadership and Volunteerism
Recognizes graduates with extensive volunteering experience, community spirit, leadership, mentorship, and a strong academic record. A scholarship toward post-secondary education.
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Award for Personal Achievement and Community Involvement
Awarded to King George Secondary graduates for involvement in extracurricular activities, volunteerism, and academic achievement. A scholarship toward post-secondary education.
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Impact & Innovation Award
Presented by the City of Vancouver Awards of Excellence, a civic recognition program held every four years. The sole youth recipient in 2025, for contributions in science, technology, and sustainability.
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Sustainable Technology Week (civic proclamation)
Worked with Mayor Ken Sim and the City of Vancouver to officially proclaim Sustainable Technology Week, putting the environmental cost of the web on the civic agenda for the first time.
Selected speaking
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Consulate General of Ireland, Vancouver
Keynote at the October Business Breakfast: “Digital Sustainability in the Age of AI”, on what the web and AI cost in energy, carbon and water, and what anyone can do about it.
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TEDx École Mission Secondary
A TEDx talk on AI, attention, and the cost of the web.
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URL to IRL, Toronto Metropolitan University
Youth panellist on the intergenerational panel at the Ted Rogers School of Management. Audience of 120+.
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Vancouver Emerging Technology Showcase
Panellist and moderator at UBC Robson Square. Audience of 250+.
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BC Screen Time Roundtable, The Dais
Contributed to discussions on responsible technology use across British Columbia.
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TransLink, Executive Team & Board of Directors
Private briefing on what the web costs at the scale of a major regional transit authority, and what to do about it.
Technical skills
- Web & development: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Tailwind CSS, Bootstrap, Alpine.js, UI/UX design, front-end performance optimization, Core Web Vitals.
- Hosting & infrastructure: Cloudflare, domain & DNS management, Dashnex (AWS), AWS, Wix, WordPress, GoDaddy, Formaloo, ClickFunnels, Canva, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, GitHub.
- Analytics & SEO: SEO / SEM, generative engine optimization (GEO), AI optimization (AIO), website accessibility compliance (WCAG 2.2, ACA, ADA, Section 508), Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Google Ads.
- Sustainability & reporting: Google Lighthouse, GTmetrix, Ecograder, WebsiteCarbon.com, Beacon, Betterweb.eco.
- Cybersecurity: Cloudflare WAF (Web Application Firewall), DNS security, SSL/TLS, data privacy practices (Google Workspace / Microsoft 365 admin security).
Soft skills
- Leadership & strategic planning.
- Collaboration & mentoring.
- Adaptability & creativity.
- Nonprofit management.
- Attention to detail.
- Public speaking.
Selected projects
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Hotspot-aware cooling for AI data centres
Worked alongside Microsoft on a precision flow optimization study for thermal efficiency. Recommended hotspot-aware cooling that could cut energy use by 15 to 20% and save $2.4B by 2050. Reached the semi-finals.
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Meet Sven, conversational AI for support
Recommended a conversational AI system to handle 70% of inquiries, cut response times to under 5 seconds, and save up to $512M annually. Reached the semi-finals.
Industry leaders I've worked alongside
- Microsoft, student consulting on cooling for AI data centres.
- IKEA, student consulting on conversational AI for customer support.
- Service Canada, Youth Accessibility Leader.
- Plastic Bank, digital marketing and generative search optimization.
- Vancouver Public Library, Youth Advisory Group.
- The Dais at Toronto Metropolitan University, National Coach (Fellow).
- AccessibilityChecker.org, digital accessibility.
- Formaloo, Product Marketing Manager Intern.
- Stanley Park Ecology Society, Website Advisor.
References
Verified letters and commendations are available on request: me [at] gabrieldalton.com.