Educational Consulting

I help individuals and organizations navigate their learning needs

Educational Needs Analysis

Is training and development
really needed?

I have worked in organizational learning and development for two decades, and have learned one thing above all else — it is easy to say this person or group needs training, yet it is entirely different to conduct a needs assessment and educational gap analysis to determine if improving knowledge, skills, or beliefs will really “fix” whatever the “problem” may be.

Working across nonprofit, higher education, and healthcare sectors, I have engaged in formal needs analyses for management and leadership development programs, new hire orientations, technology integrations, and for mentoring and coaching programs. All came after we conducted a needs analysis to determine whether the proposed solution would actually work within the organizational settings.

Want to talk about it and see if I can help?

Learning Design & Development

Do you need professional development, but not sure how to begin structuring it?

Organizational learning does not follow a “build it and they will come” model. Quite the opposite.

Effective learning programs come only after they are planned, with effective learning objectives that can be measured to see if they actually make a difference. They require project management plans to ensure content is developed or purchased in an effective way. Communications across all stakeholders needs to be scheduled, and then actually done, to ensure all are on-board with the learning initiatives.

None of this happens through magic . . . it all happens through informed and intentional effort, especially when done by somebody who has had enough experience to distinguish between using best practices and not being distracted by shiny new objects that claim to work wonders without any concrete history of success.

Want to share some ideas and and see if I can help?

Training Implementation & Evaluation

Ready to implement and evaluate your training solution?

Training or professional development implementation, where we actually see the training or coursework happen, is where most people experience the learning event. It is here that all the initial planning is realized, with robust knowledge and skill development and transfer.

This is followed by evaluation to see if people learned what they needed to fill their gaps, and also for the organization to determine if this expenditire in time and resources was actually worth the efforts.

I have managed training program implementaion, both live in-person as well as through remote or distance facilitated or elearning solutions. This includes robust evaluation metrics to demonstrate levels of success.

Perhaps you need help in this area, from conducting this work to consulting about efforts that are already underway?

Education Needs that are . . . Unconventional?

Do you have Organizational Learning Needs that are not easy to articulate?

Does your organization have some capacity building needs that may not be easy to articulate?

Perhaps you are interested in implementing a knowledge management or wiki solution? Open education something to explore? Institutional research? Board development or startegic assessment?

Know this . . . in my work as a Wikipedian-in-Residence, Director of Training and Knowledge Management, and Director of Institutional Research . . . there are few things related to building or measuring human or organizational capacity that I have not directly worked with.

Want to discuss a novel need related to improving knowledge, skills, or perspectives?

Is there more to life than work?

 . . . Want to Pursue your passions and need some coaching?

I am a lifelong learner who has studied entirely new areas to fills gaps between what I knew and what my new or developing interests led me to desire. This included studying literature, management communication, religion, nonprofit management, small business administration, social media marketing, and even the writing of poetry.

None of these were part of my undergraduate or professional training, and all of them started with my asking the question, “I wonder . . . what if I . . . ?” Others around me at the office may not “get it,” but that’s ok — we are talking about my life . . . or rather YOUR life here!

This is where educational coaching can be very helpful.

Need help studying or finishing that Thesis or Dissertation?

. . . Need a confidence boost or cheerleader to hold you accountable?

I know what it is like to have dreams of learning yet struggle with confidence issues. Look, I get it. I didn’t complete my PhD on my first attempt (it took me 4 tries and false starts first!). I worked full-time while doing my studies, struggling with imposter syndrome and comparing myself with everybody else while moving forward.

I learned a lot along the way, and really want to help you see you are not alone, and yes, you can succeed, too!

Want to discuss?

Let’s schedule time to meet