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Kathy Sturgis, PhD
...creating momentum for positive change
What Our Clients Are Saying
"We value Kathy's objectivity, perspective and unflappable optimism about what we can do and achieve together. A valuable skill is her ability to listen and decipher strategic vision of the CEO and translate into the areas of organizational development, communication and facilitation. Over the years, we have relied on her strength in these areas to support our growth as an organization. We view Kathy as a strategic partner and an integral member of the USO of NC family."
John Falkenbury, President, USO of North Carolina
"Kathy brings a depth of clarity to all that swirls around us." ~Church Pastor~
"Thorough, efficient and effective from start to finish, Kathy facilitated our strategic planning process superbly. Her passion and positive energy is inspiring to all who work with her. I hope our paths cross and an opportunity presents itself for us to work together again."
Trude Bate, Board President, Community Volunteer
"Kathy was so deft, brilliant, flexible, engaging, challenging in a good way, and got amazing consensus around the table from a really tough group of people. Just watching your interactions with everyone, treating everyone as if they had the most important thing to say. I immediately thought -- I need Kathy to help me to turn around my team."
Strategic Planning Participant
"I consider Kathy a coach and strategic partner that enabled me to change the entire culture in my office....I still have people ask me how I changed the culture, service, attitude of the office in such a short time. She seemed to understand exactly my dilemma, situation, team dynamics, and even better had a plan or process to get the group to change."
University Executive and Long-Time Client
"As a facilitator in strategic planning and team building, Dr. Sturgis is masterful. Without a doubt, she is the best facilitator that I have witnessed and she has been a trusted collaborator as we have discussed organizational changes that we are experiencing."
Advertising Agency Executive
"As a leader, I have enjoyed working with Kathy - she gets it. She quickly grasps difficult information; she approaches each task/problem with a can-do attitude and is able to work well with all organizational levels and constituents. I view her as a critical adjunct strategic planner on my staff and a winner by all measures."
Nonprofit Executive
"Dr. Sturgis is dynamic and refreshing. Under her direction, we were able to safely identify the 'elephant in the room' and discuss specific actions that we will take to improve our communication."
Pharmaceutical Executive
"Kathy is dedicated, passionate and energetic for the work of nonprofits and spent countless hours leading and supporting our goals around developing a strategic plan. She went above and beyond what we originally intended for her work with us and seamlessly helped us through the process. I have had the pleasure of working with Kathy in multiple capacities with different organizations and she always delivers the highest quality."
Sarah Crawford, Owner, Willow Strategies and Southern Regional Director, Single Stop
"When Kathy first began assisting us, we could not imagine all the ways she would help us grow. She helped us refine our firm’s vision, and to aggressively begin implementing that vision. For any firm or organization that needs to define or redefine its strategic vision or purpose; do a better job of communicating its value proposition to its clients or members; get its employees to buy into the firm’s vision and to expand themselves and fulfill their own hopes and aspirations; in general to finally do all those important things that keep getting postponed and crowded out by the urgent things – call Kathy."
Gerald Townsend, CPA/PFS/ABV, CFP®, CFA®, CMT, Owner, Townsend Asset Management Corp
“I value my 1:1 coaching time with Kathy. She has a knack for asking the right questions and has a unique ability to help me tap my own inner wisdom. Combined with her guidance, I leave our sessions revived and ready to take action.”
Coaching Client
"Kathy has worked with our leadership team for the last year and a half. Not only do we enjoy working with Kathy, but she has helped us improve our departmental culture. We love and benefit from the learning modules that she prepares for our team."
Telecommunications Executive
"Kathy has a unique ability to engage and establish personal connection with large groups. She recently gave the keynote at our convention with 1,000+ people and we left energized, hopeful and were filled with new ideas."
Leader, Pilot International Annual Conference
“Dr. Sturgis really gets it! Her ability to put difficult concepts into understandable, useable and practical applications is outstanding. What I have taken away from her presentations has helped me improve my organization’s performance and my own personal performance.”
Workshop Participant
Additional Comments
Strategic Planning
"We have engaged in strategic planning for years but had a refreshing experience under Dr. Sturgis' direction. Kathy and her team coached us through preparation of our 3-year strategic plan. As a result, we now have a living document that is well-developed and that sets us on a clear path for the future."
"Dr. Sturgis is a skilled facilitator and I truly appreciate her abilities to not only keep everyone moving forward on an organized track, but to recognize and expand on new, unique, and significant issues that arise in the process. We value her collaboration and input over the last several years and her unique abilities to help us move forward.”
"Thorough, efficient and effective from start to finish, Kathy facilitated our strategic planning process superbly. Her passion and positive energy is inspiring to all who work with her."
Meeting Facilitation
"Kathy made everything so appealing, open, and effective. I think we have a long way to go, but we were all talking and communicating in an honest, transparent way. And I do feel refreshed!"
"We have appreciated Kathy's ability to facilitate difficult discussions and bring creativity to our processes and meetings. The entire USO of NC team responds to her positive approach which yields outstanding results."
"We had some difficult dynamics that you navigated the group around and we always kept our eye on the team’s improvement, goals and aspirations. The team building exercises were terrific. I also appreciate your wonderful sense of humor and creativity. We are a tough group but you were able to communicate with us better than any consultant, facilitator that I have ever encountered."
Team and Individual Coaching
"My entire team values Kathy's versatility and ability to engage and motivate our employees to stretch themselves in new directions."
"Kathy has worked with our leadership team for the last year and a half. Not only do we enjoy working with Kathy, but she has helped us improve our departmental culture."
"I still have people ask me -- how did I change the culture, service, attitude of the office in such a short time. It was through collaboration with Dr. Sturgis."
"Kathy has helped me find new confidence and a clear path forward. She has a unique ability to listen, advise and assist."
Other
"Kathy has an unwavering positivity. She is flexible and is consistently professional towards team members regardless of their company status."
"Kathy is innately positive. Kathy treats each team member with the respect, concern and skill. Her attention to each group is impeccable."
"Kathy has the unique ability to bring out the best in the people she is working with."
"Dr. Sturgis is smart, engaging, thoughtful, resourceful and has worked with organizations going through changes of all types."
"If Kathy had not been involved, there are so many things we’ve accomplished that simply would not have happened."
"Kathy is a trusted advisor."
"Kathy has set us on a course for tremendous success."
"I believe that Kathy’s knowledge of and passion for leadership will positively impact any organization she is a part of."
"Kathy has an optimistic and creative spirit that washes over the group and makes it all seem possible – and she is helping us create a path to reach our vision."
Our Clients
We have supported the success of many organizations in areas like strategic planning, organizational development, training and coaching (leadership development training, change management, communication, public speaking, facilitation skills, team building, etc.). Our clients have included NC Works (Department of Commerce), USO of North Carolina, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, the North Carolina Military Affairs Commission, Girl Scouts - North Carolina Coastal Pines, Brown University, North Carolina State University (Chancellor's Office, Office of the General Counsel, School of Veterinary Medicine and many more), Tammy Lynn Center for Developmental Disabilities, Novo Nordisk, IBM, Honeywell's Space and Strategic Avionics Division, Habitat for Humanity of Wake County, Raleigh Wake Human Resources Management Association, Capital Area Workforce Development Board, Capital Area JobLink, Raleigh Chamber Music Guild, North Carolina Master Chorale, Classical Voice of North Carolina, the Gregg Museum of Art & Design, Cary Academy, Athens Drive High School Boosters, Saint Giles Presbyterian Church, Hayes Barton United Methodist Church, Watts Chapel Missionary Baptist Church and so many others.
We have successfully delivered motivational keynotes and presentations to many organizations over the years.
Some of our clients have included Pilot International, Habitat for Humanity - International, United States Tennis Association, Kappa Delta National Sorority's National Leadership Training School, National Association of Professional Organizers, Healthcare Business Women's Association, Wake Technical Community College's Small Business Center, Raleigh Realtor Association and many more.