FOUNDERS AND OWNERS
Kimberley and Rob Wahl co-founded Symbols in 2006, and continue to co-own and co-manage Symbols to this day.
Kimberley Wahl
Director of Education
Kimberley mentors and trains our tutors, oversees lesson quality, creates multisensory tutoring materials and manages student intake and scheduling. She holds a BA in Sociology from UBC, is a certified Orton-Gillingham remedial tutor, and holds several additional certificates in multisensory tutoring, including the two levels of math, colour-coded grammar, multisensory typing and others.
In addition to her work within Symbols, Kimberley serves in an official advisory capacity to the board of the BC Learning Centers for Children with Dyslexia, a non-profit group that offers free OG-based tutoring for families unable to afford private help. Kimberley is also a founding member of the m̓am̓ikáas group, a non-profit organization that is helping Indigenous literacy for children of the Haisla Nation near Kitimat. She also serves as a tutor mentor for CATT, the Canadian Orton-Gillingham accrediting body.
Kimberley lives in Vancouver with her husband Rob, and their three wonderful daughters Grace, Valerie and Madeleine.
Rob Wahl
Director of Business Management
Rob is responsible for designing, implementing and managing the business and administrative functions at Symbols. This includes oversight of accounting, marketing, technology and human resources. He holds a BCom and MBA, both from UBC, where he also worked for several years in his previous life as a Network Administrator and then an IT Auditor.
In addition to his work at Symbols, Rob sits on the board of the Terminal City Club, where he is also a member. The Terminal City Club is a world-class private members business, social and fitness club in the heart of downtown Vancouver.
Rob loves to cook, ski, play squash, work out in the gym and spend time with family and friends. He also spends his time on seemingly-never-ending home improvements, and being involved with his daughters' ski racing programs.
Rob lives in Vancouver with his wife Kimberley, and their three wonderful daughters Grace, Valerie and Madeleine.
ADMINISTRATION
Aisling Ely
Office Manager
Aisling (pronounced ASH-ling) is usually your first point of contact with Symbols, whether you're a new parent inquiring about our services, a parent of one of our existing students, or one of our tutors. Aisling keeps a close eye on everything that arrives in our Concierge inbox, whether it be an email, voicemail or website inquiry, and she promptly responds directly, or forwards the message to the appropriate person. She's there to help answer questions, reschedule lessons and solve problems big and small. Aisling is super friendly, incredibly helpful, and helps to keep Symbols running smoothly.
Aisling moved to Vancouver from Ireland 10 years ago. She holds a BA (Honours) in Art & Design and a Higher Diploma in Education. Aisling is also a former Symbols tutor! She worked at our Vancouver location for 4 years prior to returning to Symbols in her current Office Manager role. She enjoys adventuring around with her little family, baking, painting, happily working from home with her two girls and fitting in playground time! She lives in Vancouver with her husband Michael and two daughters Anna & Maeve.
OUR TUTORS
Meet Some of Our Wonderful Tutors