I am grateful to each of these people who've offered me a gift of kind and generous words about my work . . .
"Nicole is a “practical visionary.” with a deeply inquiring mind. She is fearless and open at investigating new ideas and perspectives, and furthermore, sees synergies and opportunities everywhere from combining sometimes quite different ideas or sectors.
This personal openness, combined with her empathetic insights into people, and impeccable communication skills in many mediums, gives her the ability to connect with many types of people and weave very interesting events and experiences for diverse audiences.
Nicole has the ability to create something quite remarkable from almost nothing – a skill she has developed from following her restless and compassionate insights into unconventional projects where like-minded people can come together to move a progressive agenda forward. Nicole can find and create meaning for her team and participants in situations and projects where many others would only perform mechanically. And after decades of doing this work, she has developed a formidable network of innovative and leading minds who all look for opportunities to work with her.
~ Mark Holland MSci, RPP, LEED
President, Holland Planning Innovations Inc.
www.hollandplan.com
"I was so impressed with the program of Living the New Economy that I went to Vancouver for the week and attended almost all 21 sequential events. It was after that that I got to know Nicole personally as well, and supported bringing LNE to Victoria in 2013.
I also appreciate her work with the Healing Cities Institute (HCI) Society that she co- founded. It has influenced my work in a municipal leadership role. I like the notion that we can heal a city to the point that it, in turn, can be healing for those who live in it that is part of the basis for HCI.
I know Nicole to be creative, innovative, dedicated, caring, visionary and just plain smart. She can hold a big picture vision and still attend to the details, indeed, this is one of her best qualities. She is emotionally insightful and cares about the well-being of the people and environment around her.
Although I know Nicole primarily through the events she's organized, I also know that she applies her skills and capacities well in other contexts. One recent venture outside of event organizing is pro bono work assisting the local Lekwungen people with their language revitalization. She is learning the language, lək̓ʷəŋin̓əŋ, herself and helping them write grant proposals and with the execution of the work."
~Lisa Helps, Victoria Mayor, Victoria, BC, Canada
www.lisahelpsvictoria.ca
"Nicole is someone I would work with on any project at any time. If she says something will be done, I know it will be done. If she is upset, she will share it. If I have feedback about her performance that isn't going to feel great, I can trust she'll hear it.
She has brought me into Victoria for the Marketing for Hippies workshops I've led and her Living the New Economy events a number of times and has been a dream to work with each and every time.
Nicole treats herself well. She treats others well. She's one of the most impeccable, kind, creative and together people I've ever met."
~ Tad Hargrave, Owner
Marketing for Hippies: Helping conscious, green and local businesses to grow
www.marketingforhippies.com
"I experienced firsthand Nicole’s outstanding professional, interpersonal, technical and organization skills, including management and production of large and complex conferences and events, meeting and workshop facilitation, public speaking, and project management and coordination. Nicole is a deeply creative and passionate professional with immense capacity for collaboration, empathy, listening, and working closely with others to integrate multiple perspectives into a single whole. She is a strategic thinker with very strong communication skills and capacity for balancing depth with clarity."
~ Joaquin Karakas MA(P), RPP, MCIP
Senior Urban Designer, City of Victoria
"I first met Nicole when she invited me to present at Living the New Economy in Victoria, BC, of which she was the founder and coordinator. At every turn she met me with integrity and compassion, as well as handling the nitty-gritty details of making the whole conference come off tremendously successfully.
As the founder and president of a small company that has survived and grown over the last 15 years, I can tell a quality team player when I see one.
Since that time I’ve gotten to know her, and realize that she has a gift for organizational, visionary and strategic thinking, as well as being able to deal with the nitty-gritty of what it takes to get something big done through chopping wood and carrying water.
Beyond her excellence in what she does, I just plain like her. She’s warm, she’s open-hearted, she’s strong and clear. And just great to spend time with. I’m grateful to consider her a friend as well as a colleague."
~ Mark Silver, M.Div., Founder and Healer
Heart of Business Inc.
http://www.heartofbusiness.com/
"Nicole is a “practical visionary.” with a deeply inquiring mind. She is fearless and open at investigating new ideas and perspectives, and furthermore, sees synergies and opportunities everywhere from combining sometimes quite different ideas or sectors.
This personal openness, combined with her empathetic insights into people, and impeccable communication skills in many mediums, gives her the ability to connect with many types of people and weave very interesting events and experiences for diverse audiences.
Nicole has the ability to create something quite remarkable from almost nothing – a skill she has developed from following her restless and compassionate insights into unconventional projects where like-minded people can come together to move a progressive agenda forward. Nicole can find and create meaning for her team and participants in situations and projects where many others would only perform mechanically. And after decades of doing this work, she has developed a formidable network of innovative and leading minds who all look for opportunities to work with her.
~ Mark Holland MSci, RPP, LEED
President, Holland Planning Innovations Inc.
www.hollandplan.com
"I was so impressed with the program of Living the New Economy that I went to Vancouver for the week and attended almost all 21 sequential events. It was after that that I got to know Nicole personally as well, and supported bringing LNE to Victoria in 2013.
I also appreciate her work with the Healing Cities Institute (HCI) Society that she co- founded. It has influenced my work in a municipal leadership role. I like the notion that we can heal a city to the point that it, in turn, can be healing for those who live in it that is part of the basis for HCI.
I know Nicole to be creative, innovative, dedicated, caring, visionary and just plain smart. She can hold a big picture vision and still attend to the details, indeed, this is one of her best qualities. She is emotionally insightful and cares about the well-being of the people and environment around her.
Although I know Nicole primarily through the events she's organized, I also know that she applies her skills and capacities well in other contexts. One recent venture outside of event organizing is pro bono work assisting the local Lekwungen people with their language revitalization. She is learning the language, lək̓ʷəŋin̓əŋ, herself and helping them write grant proposals and with the execution of the work."
~Lisa Helps, Victoria Mayor, Victoria, BC, Canada
www.lisahelpsvictoria.ca
"Nicole is someone I would work with on any project at any time. If she says something will be done, I know it will be done. If she is upset, she will share it. If I have feedback about her performance that isn't going to feel great, I can trust she'll hear it.
She has brought me into Victoria for the Marketing for Hippies workshops I've led and her Living the New Economy events a number of times and has been a dream to work with each and every time.
Nicole treats herself well. She treats others well. She's one of the most impeccable, kind, creative and together people I've ever met."
~ Tad Hargrave, Owner
Marketing for Hippies: Helping conscious, green and local businesses to grow
www.marketingforhippies.com
"I experienced firsthand Nicole’s outstanding professional, interpersonal, technical and organization skills, including management and production of large and complex conferences and events, meeting and workshop facilitation, public speaking, and project management and coordination. Nicole is a deeply creative and passionate professional with immense capacity for collaboration, empathy, listening, and working closely with others to integrate multiple perspectives into a single whole. She is a strategic thinker with very strong communication skills and capacity for balancing depth with clarity."
~ Joaquin Karakas MA(P), RPP, MCIP
Senior Urban Designer, City of Victoria
"I first met Nicole when she invited me to present at Living the New Economy in Victoria, BC, of which she was the founder and coordinator. At every turn she met me with integrity and compassion, as well as handling the nitty-gritty details of making the whole conference come off tremendously successfully.
As the founder and president of a small company that has survived and grown over the last 15 years, I can tell a quality team player when I see one.
Since that time I’ve gotten to know her, and realize that she has a gift for organizational, visionary and strategic thinking, as well as being able to deal with the nitty-gritty of what it takes to get something big done through chopping wood and carrying water.
Beyond her excellence in what she does, I just plain like her. She’s warm, she’s open-hearted, she’s strong and clear. And just great to spend time with. I’m grateful to consider her a friend as well as a colleague."
~ Mark Silver, M.Div., Founder and Healer
Heart of Business Inc.
http://www.heartofbusiness.com/