I found this to be the best organizational experience I’ve been involved in (and there have been many). Categorizing and prioritizing the mission, goals and actions of the group, throughout the process, enabled a real structure and focus for launch. Real volunteers stepped up to provide committee structure to move the process forward. Thanks Jessica!
CATHY HARRELSON, PRESIDENT, ST. PETERSBURG SUSTAINABILITY COUNCIL
Facilitating with Ms. Stempien is a pleasure! She helps the group get to where they need to be. Jess’ calm demeanor and thoughtful way of communicating lighten the work and make it more enjoyable.
Carol Lippincott, Ph.d. , facilitation professionals llc
I’ve had the honor to work with Jess as co-facilitator on several projects. While her strengths lay in executing and getting the work done through strong process facilitation methods, it’s her positive and gentle nature that help foster harmony and collaboration among the group. She authentically shows up for each group she works with honoring individual and group creativity to build common ground and create actionable steps to move the group forward. I welcome future opportunities to work with Jess and recommend her approach and style to any group.
Tara tvedt www.squarepegcoach.com
I never knew strategic planning could be so fun until Jessica showed us! It can be challenging to plan projects three or four years out while trying to gain consensus in a large group. Jessica led our Florida State Agricultural Response Team (SART) of 25 plus partner agencies, government and non-governmental, to explore a vision and process that always focused on our SART mission. She helped us navigate through big-picture ideas as welll as the challenges we need to work through together to achieve our goals. Jessica facilitated our workshops with fun pictures, icebreakers, interactive tools, and fun breakout sessions; it was really refreshing. Through Jessica’s facilitation and workshops, she helped Florida SART create a concise strategic plan that we can achieve and modify easily for the next three years. Jessica took us all by surprise how fun this could be. I received a lot of positive feedback from our SART partners, too, about her facilitation style; no one ever felt bias or pressure. The workshops helped our SART partners connect and build relationships…that’s what this is all about.
leianna tucker, florida department of agriculture and consumer services, division of animal industry, emergency program manager
Jess co-facilitated a strategic planning retreat for my organization. She led the development of an action plan, which was the culminating part of the 2-day retreat. She demonstrated a keen ability to keep the group focused while also ensuring that everyone’s concerns were heard and taken into consideration. When the group got bogged down, she asked probing questions, listened, and helped us to find synergy and points of agreement. Jess’ demeanor was always calm, professional, focused, and supportive as we worked through a difficult and extremely important process.
Jessica Ireland, Extension Program Manager, University of Florida School of Forest, Fisheries, & Geomatics Sciences