Testimonials

~ Vision with Val Workshop participants, January/March 2021

• Val Swan is amazing. She is a very positive, “bright” person with a genuine friendliness about her. Val knew her topic and material well and was able to adapt her theories and ideas with expertise. She has great interaction skills and continually asked the “who, what, where, and when” type of questions regarding the different topics and scenarios that she presented and consequently created responses, discussions, and an excellent amount of participation throughout the day.
  
  
• Val seemed to have “good read” on us as a group and used our time together well. She kept the energy level up and did a great job listening to our comments and facilitating our participation and learning.
  
  
• Very knowledgeable and excellent presenter. Quickly established good rapport with audience. Masterful facilitation of exercises with good interjection of observations and comments to make group comfortable with the discussion and promote participation.
  
  
• Extremely effective facilitator. Beautifully executed.

 ~ Organization Workshop participants from University of Illinois at Chicago Health Quality & Patient Safety Division

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Ms. Val Swan epitomizes the outstanding qualities strived for in exceptional, well-rounded, and forward-thinking leaders. Her consummate ability to educate, encourage, engage, and empower anyone that crosses paths with her came through to me within the first 5 minutes of my speaking with her… I got the feeling she was invested in my success. Her innate ability to establish a positive relationship with anyone and everyone is unrivaled! Throughout my three-year leadership fellowship program, it became apparent to the program fellows that Ms. Swan is a special gift to the world. With her sanguine personality, unparalleled listening ability, excellent communication skills, and follow-through, Ms. Swan was our go-to-person. She is creative and a dedicated mentor to many, including some of the less fortunate of society. She has and will continue to have a lasting impact on vulnerable populations and humanity as a whole. She is intentionally inclusive in her thought processes, and passionate about social justice and human dignity. Ms. Swan’s attention to the nuances necessary to maximize positive outcomes for individuals, community and society are superb. She is a jewel in the world of healthcare, community, and leadership development. Without reservation, I enthusiastically avow that Ms. Swan is poised to take any organization or group that she decides to partner with to new and higher heights.

~ Dr. Rita Adeniran, President and CEO at Innovative and Inclusive Global Solutions, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Val provided extraordinary service on my quest to improve my CV and personal website in order to qualify for top level hospital administration positions. Val was a joy to work with, not only providing valuable insight on the subject, but more importantly LISTENING and absorbing my requests as a client.

~ Kevin Riddleberger, Chief Strategy Officer, Co-founder at DispatchHealth, Louisville, CO

I have worked/partnered with Val for over 3 years. During our partnership Val has displayed a strong personal commitment to successfully delivering program after program. Val is extremely reliable and can be counted on no matter what the task may be. She has the ability to find quick solutions and make sound decisions to deliver. Val believes in building relationships to enhance everything she does. I look forward to working with Val year after year, and experiencing her creativity to elevate her programs to the next level.

~ Andre D’Amour, General Manager at Benchmark Resorts and Hotels, Colorado Springs, CO

I highly recommend Val for anyone needing a bright, capable person who represents your business like it was her own. Val managed the Barnes & Noble Cafe which I made into my office-away-from-home, and she was a big reason I did so. My wife and I always enjoyed stopping in here to shop, have a coffee and snack, and occasionally chat with Val, who is a very engaging and talented person. Val kept the trains running on time, ensured that the (usually) young staff was well-trained and polite (something that changed noticeably when she left), and knew the names and favorites of her regulars. All of these traits are qualities I look for in managers and help my clients instill in their key people. Communication and organization are two of the most important, yet least-taught leadership skills in any field. Val has them in spades.

~ Curtis Guilbot, Executive Coach & Consultant, Austin, Texas

What participants are learning:

• Value of considering perspective from all vantage points before jumping to conclusions of any negative intent. Improving relationships by giving the benefit of the doubt, being empathetic, and slowing down to avoid knee jerk reactions. Appreciating the daily challenges of senior leadership and making more extensive efforts to reach out and offer solutions to advance organizational goals. Since this event I have initiated a discussion on autonomy within our team and asked staff to share their thoughts and ideas of changes that would make a difference to them with improving job satisfaction. They were very appreciative of even having the conversation and came up with some ideas we are going to trial.

• This workshop brought power gradient, privilege and the resulting perspective/morale home in a visceral way. Very effective. Will make it a practice to “jump” into the other two perspectives when engaged in interactions with my staff and outside the department. It brings another layer to my interpersonal approach.
  

Val was very positive, encouraged everyone, super kind, sweet, understanding, and a great LEADER. I learned a lot about leadership and conflict resolution. ~ Kareena Gor, Young Women’s Leadership Institute participant

–       Leaders can do amazing things

–       Helped me understand what to do during conflicts and it really helped

–       Always be yourself.

–       I learned not to judge others and be true to myself.

–       Don’t be scared to be yourself!

–       I learned to be a better leader, a better person, and a little about myself

–       I felt compassion, inspiration, hope and courage

–       I learned new leadership skills, how to be more creative

–       I learned to be more open minded

–       I experienced how to be a leader and how to help people become one

–       I’m taking away a new ability to want to help others

–       I think from now on I will look at everything differently than how I did before

–       I am taking away a better understanding of myself and my leadership abilities