Get To Know Us
Our Mission
We amplify the voices of the people and organizations that make the world better
Our Origin Story and Beyond
In 2009, ConnectAd founder Simon Choy found a summer job in the digital marketing industry where he learned to manage Google Ads. His work with for-profit companies gave him an appreciation for how complicated campaigns could get.
Later that summer, he discovered the Google Ad Grant program, but was surprised to find out that nobody was out there helping nonprofits. Agencies serving for-profit companies were everywhere, but why wasn’t anyone assisting nonprofits in taking advantage of $10,000 per month in free ads?
Always having had a passion for social enterprise, he decided to be that person and opened ConnectAd in 2010 with the mission of helping nonprofits.
Since then, ConnectAd has remained committed to working with nonprofits in North America (Canada and U.S.) and beyond, managing their Google Ad Grants and more.
Sixteen years and counting, we are proud to say we’ve helped more than 600 nonprofits get the most out of their Google Ad Grant and digital marketing efforts. In that time, we’ve helped nonprofits connect with supporters, raise millions of dollars online, and expand their reach through thoughtful digital marketing.
Along the way, clients have recognized our work by submitting ConnectAd for industry recognition programs, including small business awards and the Google Ads Impact Awards. We are grateful to our nonprofit partners for the trust and collaboration that drives our mission forward.
Our Team
Meet our friendly and passionate team of nonprofit digital marketing experts! At ConnectAd, our team is made up of more than marketers and strategists. We are moms and dads, volunteers, community members, and people who care deeply about the world around us. Many of us give our time to local causes, serve on boards, and support grassroots initiatives in our own neighborhoods. That lived experience shapes how we work. We understand the passion behind mission-driven organizations because we share it.
When we partner with nonprofits, we bring not only expertise and strategy, but also empathy, integrity, and a genuine commitment to making a positive impact together.
Simon Choy
Founder & CEO
Steph Vesely
Director of Client Services
Stella Tran
General Manager
Annie Hinan
Team Lead
Claire Frizelle
Team Lead
Jenna Bucholtz
Team Lead
Nathaniel Roizen
Account Executive
Adrian Schaap
Senior Account Manager
Ricardo Jimenez
Senior Account Manager
Jessica Thiele
Senior Account Manager
Sarah Ahmed
Account Manager
Jackie Allan
Account Manager
Mehek Shahani
Account Manager
Nikki Torkos
Account Manager
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Senior Account Manager
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Senior Account Manager
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Account Manager
What Our Nonprofit Partners Have To Say About Us
Land Acknowledgement
At ConnectAd, we recognize the land on which we work as the traditional territories shared by the Anishinaabe Nation, the Haudenosaunee, the Senecas, the Huron-Wendat, the Petun, and is the present-day treaty lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit. “Tkaronto,” meaning “the place in the water where the trees are standing,” is now home to a diverse community of First Nation, Inuit, Metis, and non-Indigenous peoples. While our work is rooted in the digital space, we recognize the ways in which our physical presence on these lands upholds colonialism and reproduces the dispossession of Indigenous people.
We commit to working and learning more about how we can prioritize upholding the treaties of these lands, and invite others to consider how they may contribute to Indigenous-led movements toward true reconciliation.
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