Van Lai-DuMone

Van Lai-DuMone is the founder of worksmart Advantage, where she actively works to rewrite the way we apply curiosity and creativity in the workplace. Inspiring brave thinking in clients, Van helps teams break through conventional approaches to challenges with her Creative IntegrationTM methodology.

Van brings over 20 years of corporate and start-up experience into designing and implementing learning and development programs for her clients–including Google and LinkedIn. She has served several non-profit organizations including NRDC, The Honor Foundation, and Skirball Cultural Center.
Van studied psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara and earned her MBA from Pepperdine University. She is a TEDx Speaker and author on the topic of curiosity. Her first published book, What if Pigs Can Fly? A Practical Guide to Follow Your Curiosity to Impractical Possibilities - is both a guide for those who are looking to take action on the ideas that tap them on the shoulder, and a tribute to her mom, a Vietnamese refugee who became one of the first 20 licensed Vietnamese manicurists in the United States, trailblazing what is now an $8.3 billion dollar industry. All starting with curiosity!