Ingrid Gayle

As the founder of STEM the Gap Academy (formerly Girl Boss Chess), it comes as no surprise that Ingrid Gayle is committed to her students’ success, both in class and in life. She is best known for her positive and engaging spirit and for her unique ability to teach chess through dynamic and playful storytelling.

Beyond chess, Ingrid’s values revolve around two central themes: helping others and creating meaningful communities. She is a highly motivated entrepreneur that obsessively focuses on improving the lives of others.  Before delving into the world of chess, in fact, she graduated from George Brown College’s ‘Child and Youth Worker’ program and was the woman behind a string of successful business ventures. Ingrid has run multiple successful start-up businesses in the past, including a New York based Boutique Personal Training/Yoga Studio as well as a Baby Carrier company, which she founded after spending many years as a babywearing educator herself.

Ingrid became a professional chess educator in 2016 and went on to teach chess for six years, through the Toronto District School Board, before launching Girl Boss Chess in 2021.  Girl Boss Chess came into existence when Ingrid Gayle and her partner Patrick Kavanagh came to realize that an empowering space, specifically for girls, to grow their potential and confidence through chess did not exist…and they decided to make it happen!

With the rebranding and the launch of STEM the Gap Academy in February 2023, Ingrid and her team now not only offer online classes in chess, but also in coding, website creation, math and science to help girls develop an understanding across a multitude of disciplines and give them an edge in their futures. Interweaved in the fabric of our teaching is our empowering methodology and no-nonsense approach to misogyny that prepares girls for the current reality of injustice that exists. This is so they are prepared for the pushback and resistance that any change inspires, with resilience, confidence and a growth mindset so that they can learn and progress following every experience, not just the positive ones.

Ingrid Gayle is the proud mom of two girls and looks forward to empowering girls through chess worldwide, one girl at a time!