Testimonials
Hear what our clients have to say about working with us
We’re proud to work with clients who are committed to making an impact in their communities, changing the way they work, and turning their visions for the future into reality. We work with goal oriented C-Suite executives, key decision makers, CEOs of business associations, Chambers of Commerce, networks, and coalitions across urban and rural communities.
“Alison has played a pivotal role in the success of our strategic planning project. From the outset, her leadership set a clear and inspiring direction, ensuring that all team members understood both the scope of the project and the broader vision. Her deep expertise in the industry, paired with a nuanced understanding of best practices and required standards, brought a level of professionalism that enhanced every stage of the process.
Her exceptional ability to create a collaborative environment where all voices were heard was a standout feature of her approach. She actively promoted open communication and ensured that feedback from all stakeholders—regardless of their role or background—was equally valued. This inclusive approach not only elevated the quality and comprehensiveness of the plan, but also strengthened the team's cohesion and commitment to the project.
Alison’s ability to blend strategic insight with a genuine dedication to equity and teamwork makes her an exceptional consultant. She is the thoughtful, skilled, and inspiring leader that we needed to collectively move our organization forward and into the future. --- Five Stars!”
- Tiffany Ford, State Director, ND SBDC.
“Working with Alison during our strategic planning process was a truly positive experience. She has an impressive ability to connect with staff at all levels, creating a collaborative and inclusive atmosphere that made everyone feel heard and valued. Her knowledge of the ASBDC Accreditation process provided valuable insights that informed our strategic efforts. This understanding, combined with her industry expertise, strengthened our overall planning approach. Throughout the process, she was a reliable and insightful partner to the leadership team. Her strategic thinking, along with her approachable and supportive style, helped us confidently move forward in making key decisions.”
— Marnie Schuschke, Associate State Director, ND SBDC.
“The South Coast Development Council hired Alison Hart to update our strategic plan, and the experience exceeded our expectations. Alison’s expertise, experience, and facilitation skills brought structure and clarity, and turned insights into actionable and achievable goals. The process was engaging, respectful, and productive.
Because of our positive experience with her, we then invited Alison to present a nonprofit board training session for our board members and as well as three other local nonprofits. Her presentation was clear, practical, and impactful. She equipped board members with the essential tools and knowledge to fulfill their roles and strengthen our organizations.
Alison’s professionalism, depth of knowledge, and ability to connect with her audience make her an invaluable resource for any organization looking to enhance its strategy, governance, and more. We highly recommend her services.”
- Lexie Woodward, Executive Director, South Coast Development Council
William Gerry, Boeing Global Technology
“In my lifetime, in all the meetings of diverse groups I’ve been part of, I can’t think of a more safe, inclusive, and cohesive environment than what I experienced during meetings facilitated by A. Hart Associates. The seed you planted is still alive and growing and will continue to prosper thanks to your careful cultivation.”
— Teresa Knight, Columbia County Arts Guild & Columbia County Tourism Initiative
“We were lucky to have found A. Hart Associates to facilitate our Vision, Mission, and Core Values revision. Alison's exceptional ability to connect with our Board members, encourage innovative thinking, and establish consensus among participants was invaluable. The result was the development of value statements that authentically reflect our identity and a deeper understanding of our individual motivations for involvement. We were so impressed with the process that we enlisted A. Hart Associates to also facilitate our Board training!”
- Nigel Bocanegra, Executive Director, California Farm Labor Contractor Association
“I’m impressed by Alison Hart’s professionalism. Her work was crucial in the creation of the Oregon Manufacturing Innovation Center R&D—the first board, the organizational structure, philosophy, and decision-making process. OMIC R&D was a large group of stakeholders from industry, academia, and government with the common goal of a new organization. Alison guided stakeholders in finding a way to advance, despite their diverse ideas and approaches. She believes that collaborations should be based on trust, truth, and facts. She has a pleasant way of encouraging such a culture in an organization.”
— Renjeng Su, D.SC, Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science, Portland State University
“We hired Alison Hart to facilitate a major rework of our Strategic Plan, essentially beginning from scratch. Alison exceeded everyone's expectations. The amount of legwork she put into understanding our company and developing the skeletal outline for the plan was a huge difference-maker. She is highly skilled in using detailed words and phrases that clarify and help prioritize every objective. This was extremely valuable as we hammered the brainstorming ideas into concrete actions that our employees were able to set as performance goals, and that our Board of Directors review regularly.”
— Thomas D. Prevish, Ph.D, P.E., C.E.M., President, Northwest Engineering Service, Inc.
“My organization had the pleasure of working with Alison to help us elevate our Board Recruitment process. We had phenomenal results right out of the gate! With Alison’s guidance, resources, and encouragement, we attracted six incredibly diverse, professional, talented, and progressive-thinking individuals who will definitely shake-up and grow our once stagnant non-profit. Alison is the consummate professional who truly cares about the health and success of nonprofits and their Executive Directors. I’m incredibly appreciative of the opportunity and look forward to moving the needle with Alison again in the future.”
— Jan Whitney, Executive Director, Parkinson Association of Northern California
Laura Edmonds, North Clackamas Chamber of Commerce
“Alison is incredibly gifted at leading groups of stakeholders through complex processes. She ensures that everyone is heard and included while maintaining forward progress toward group alignment and consensus. She helped us prioritize our efforts and hone in on a strategic plan that is ambitious, yet achievable. We are already on track to achieve our most critical goals thanks to her insights and guidance.”
- Mark Gregory, State Director at Oregon Small Business Development Center Network
“Thank you for being a rock, the foundation of our retreat, a guiding force towards our ‘why,’ and a gentle breeze to keep us on track.”
— Samara Phelps, Executive Director, Clackamas County Tourism & Cultural Affairs
“I have had the pleasure of working with Alison Hart during the formation of a public/private partnership that became a nonprofit organization. She helped our group define our mission and vision statement. Alison assisted us in capturing what mattered most. These core values will drive our thinking and anchor our team. Alison has substantial experience with nonprofit startups. She is wonderful at coaching and training board members about ethics and protocols. She facilitates the creation of governance, policy, and successful organizational structure. She emphasizes the criticality of understanding what is important to an organization and creating strategy to fulfill the organization’s mission.”
— Kaitlyn McNaughton, Blount International
“It has been a true gift working with Alison Hart. What makes her unique is that she has an intuitive understanding of the human element. Alison’s dynamic energy complements her expert ability to design processes assisting groups in determining their purpose and goals. She clearly communicates with empathy and is confident in speaking the truth about the elephant in the room leading to great forward movement for an organization. She works with the highest level of integrity and lives up to what she says she is going to do.”
— Brenda Turner, President of the Board, ASK
“CSDA engaged Alison to help us strengthen the Board’s and committees’ strategic thinking capabilities. She is highly skilled at moving the organization to higher thinking and in helping the Board embrace their duties of Oversight, Insight and Foresight. Alison is highly knowledgeable of association management practices and was able to draw on their wealth of experience in guiding us through this work. We were able to create a new vision for this association as well as the industry we work in and look forward to continuing that work with Alison.”
— Greg Wilson, CAE, Executive Director, Child Support Directors Association of California
“I am so excited to implement our new strategic plan and to use it as a tool at board meetings. This is not going to sit on a shelf! We are already beginning to use it as a guide for making decisions. The inspiration you brought to us was priceless and I can’t thank you enough!”
— Angie Waiss, Executive Director, Skamania County Chamber of Commerce
“A. Hart Associates sparked transformation within our organization and helped us re-discover what we were meant to be. Alison assessed our organizational dynamics, challenges and issues and helped facilitate tough, honest, and open communication with our staff and board of directors. We highly recommend A. Hart Associates for their critical insights, expertise, and invaluable experience.”
— K’Lynne Lane, Executive Director, Condon Chamber of Commerce
“I serve on three Boards that have worked with Alison for Board training and strategic planning. I would highly recommend her for designing and delivering presentations for any kind of organization in the private or nonprofit sector as she has the knowledge of both. Alison is able to streamline pertinent information as well as provide great value. She comes well prepared with an understanding of the organization and its needs. All of our Board members, at one time or another, told me how much they enjoyed Alison and learned from her. When you meet Alison and work with her, you will find that she is a winner.”
— Lavonne Wilson, Dalles Retirement Village & Dalles Chamber of Commerce Board
“As much as I like having meetings in person, I really enjoyed the online version. The quick access to polls and chats added color to the conversation without disrupting the flow. You ran a great meeting, and it’s much appreciated”
— CFA Society of Los Angeles Board Member
“Alison facilitated an exceptional experience for our organization’s Board of Directors and adapted our annual self-assessment to an incredibly useful, interactive tool. I cannot recommend Alison's services enough for organizational leaders seeking to transform the culture of their volunteer leadership team."
— Aaron Gregory Smith, Executive Director, U.S. Bartenders’ Guild
“I was pretty apprehensive about leading a board of directors retreat via Zoom during the pandemic, but working with Alison assuaged all of my fears and we had an amazing and productive 2 days together. She was able to keep all of the board interested and engaged, and created a fun and interactive environment for us to get our work done!
We had a challenge this year with a fairly new board with only a few experienced members. Alison helped us align as a group and see the big picture for our organization with both our short and long term goals, and worked with us with various exercises to get everyone up to speed and on the same page moving forward. Her methods were thought-provoking and allowed us to all have clarity on the purpose and objectives of our association so that we can move forward with well-defined objectives and impactful outcomes.
I am excited to continue our work together and looking forward to seeing how we as an association can continue to grow under their guidance.”
— Dr. Aliza Cicerone, California Naturopathic Doctors Association, Board President and Legislative Chair
“I’ve participated in at least 5 in-person strategic planning sessions over the years with the board. I can honestly say that we had the most engaged and efficient planning session EVER. EVERYONE was able to contribute through polls, the chat, small breakout rooms and in a general session. The variety of ways that Alison provided the board to give feedback gave anonymity and played to the individual communication strengths of the entire board. I was worried about Zoom fatigue but it didn’t happen. The day was thoughtfully planned out with a variety of activities and just the right amount of breaks. It was such a success we brought them back for a board assessment and governance training.”
— Laura Carney, Chief Executive Officer, CFA Society Los Angeles
A selection of our clients
SBDCs we have served
Case Studies
Inspiring stories of success
It’s incredible what organizations can achieve by articulating their visions, aligning stakeholders, building and executing meaningful strategies, and leveraging effective partnerships. Learn how our clients have moved mountains with support from A. Hart Associates.
Make your vision a reality.
We’d love to learn about your goals and share some fresh ideas about how to achieve them during a complimentary 15-minute transformation talk.