At True North, we focus on the journey. We create roadmaps. We passport ourselves to new and unique places – from inside the workplace to outside the box. I feel so proud to be able to work with such distinctly talented individuals. I’m thankful to all those who have so willingly shared their vulnerabilities with me – allowing me to listen, to coach, to speak, and to guide.
“Ida is a true professional. She provided relevant training material and always kept the learners in mind to ensure they walked away with practical tools and techniques. In my role as her point-person at Penn State University, I reviewed her material for instructional soundness and copyright compliance and worked with her for the logistics of the assignment. She was receptive to suggestions and researched many ideas on her own. The program evaluations were consistently high. The participants routinely commented, ‘Ida's the best instructor they've ever had. She listened to us, responded to our questions, and engaged us. She's fantastic!’”
– Diane Brown, Retired Manager of Workplace Learning & Performance, The Pennsylvania State University
“Ida provides exceptional coaching and facilitation services. She is highly skilled (through training, education, and experience) and is customer service minded, collaborative, and inclusive. These attributes allow her to customize her approach to ensure that she meets the needs of each individual client. In addition, she is continuously looking for opportunities for growth for herself and her programs, which drives her to not only meet but exceed the expectations of her clients.”
– Kristi Hampton-Thurston, FDA Senior Advisor for Organizational Strategy
As a leader, I believe that relationship-building is essential. It fosters an environment of confidence and creates that framework of communication and trust – which are key to a leader’s success. I feel privileged to share my passion and commitment with others so that I may help to inspire the creativity and innovation that we all have within us.
“Ida was a tremendous help to me in 2 separate settings. First, she was an outstanding, high-energy coach/facilitator for a large group leadership development training event of which I was a part. Subsequent to that we developed a coach-client-client-coach relationship sharing information with each other in our passion of helping others reach their potential through executive coaching. Second, I later enlisted Ida’s help to lead an off-site seminar for my subordinate supervisors including personal assessments. It was a great help to have an “outsider,” so to speak, come in for the team and not just give additional perspective, but reinforce my formal/informal internal leadership program for them.”
– Bob Dubek, Colonel, USAF(ret), Area Chief, National Background Investigations Bureau.
“Thanks for two very interesting days of training. This course made me think about whether I am in the best position in relation to my values.”
“Like every team, ODI needed a good team-building tune up where we could re-connect and learn more about one another. We also needed to talk about how we might better avoid the silos that develop when employees are working on specialized areas. Ida helped us re-engage and discover new information about the talent and know how on the team. We were also able to leave with a plan to ensure that we engage every employee during staff meetings and other office messaging.” – Office of Diversity & Inclusion
So often, the paths we take toward our destination are lined with interesting, eye-opening, and character-building experiences that define who we are and lead us to fulfill our purpose. My greatest reward comes with knowing that I’ve helped individuals to grow, expand their realm of opportunity, and deeply transform their lives.
“Dear Ida, you can’t possibly understand how impactful your guidance and instruction has been to me over these last several weeks. I felt lost, discouraged, hopeless, and even angry at times—like I was sitting on the tip of an arrow of a bow held by someone else, going in the wrong direction—fast—and helpless at stopping it. But your guidance and assignments helped me understand myself better—what I want for my career and my life, what strategies I could use to help me self-reflect so that I could more effectively interact with my colleagues and others, what others have to say is just as important/relevant and to really listen to that, what values are most important to me and how to align those values with the work that I do each day, and to feel good about what I have done in my life. These were not only job lessons, but life lessons. Now I feel more equipped to deal with any job-related challenges, and even many personal ones.”