Monique Kavelaars

Monique Kavelaars brings over 15 years of experience supporting high-performing teams—first in elite sport and now in corporate environments. An Olympian and Canadian National Team épée fencer, she competed at the World Championships, Pan Am Games, and Olympic Games.

Monique spent more than a decade living abroad and working as a High-Performance Coordinator with professional sports teams, helping foster the cultural shifts required for sustained success. Today, she brings that same energy and expertise to organizations aiming to strengthen leadership, boost team cohesion, and create the conditions for meaningful collaboration.

As Third Factor’s Director of Assessments and Team Coaching, Monique works to ensure we use the right assessments in the right way to effectively drive insight and development in the leaders we support. She also designs and facilitates leadership development programs, team workshops, and coaching experiences for executive and corporate teams, partnering with global organizations across North America, Europe, and Asia.

Monique has a degree in psychology from York University, and extensive certification in assessment tools including Insights Discovery, The Five Behaviours of a Cohesive Team, and Neuro-Linguistic Programming for Sport. She’s known for her energizing presence, clear facilitation style, and her ability to create safe spaces where teams can do their best thinking together. Her work is rooted in a practical, “let’s get things done” approach that helps teams quickly identify challenges, improve communication, and align around shared goals.

Monique continues to contribute to the Canadian Olympic community, most recently serving as an Athlete Mentor at the Tokyo 2020 Games, and currently serves as Vice President of the Canadian Fencing Federation. She lives with her husband and two kids and is now more likely to be found refereeing kitchen debates than international bouts. She speaks conversational Swedish, drinks strong coffee, and believes a little humour goes a long way in helping teams do great work together.