“I heard about Sue long before I met her. Her reputation for thoughtful, high quality work preceded her. I was very pleased to be able to work with Sue on a number of projects. She is a leader in the field of workplace learning and evaluation – two areas in which we have limited expertise. Her extensive knowledge and experience and her broad range of skills have brought a depth to our projects that would not have been possible otherwise. Sue’s thoughtful, collaborative approach, coupled with her strong communication skills, immediately builds trust in any group. Her professionalism adds strength to the projects she is involved in. I particularly appreciated Sue’s incredible patience and willingness to mentor less experienced or younger staff. The NWT Literacy Council has benefitted greatly from Sue’s expertise. I highly recommend her work.”
Helen Balanoff, Former Executive Director, NWT Literacy Council
“Sue has worked as an external project evaluator, workplace education mentor and strategic planner for Ilitaqsiniq - Nunavut Literacy Council for the past nine years. Sue’s excellent guidance for made-in-the-North applications of workplace and adult education has supported Ilitaqsiniq to develop and deliver meaningful initiatives for Nunavummiut. Sue’s approach to work as an evaluator mirrors our holistic work processes and places the highest value on outcomes for program participants. She makes project evaluation interesting, fun and meaningful. Sue compliments evaluation work with the creative use of her beautiful photographs.
Sue brings the whole of herself to her work with others. She is a dedicated and loyal colleague and a rare and wonderful combination of professional and personal. Sue's calm countenance and warm sense of humour are ever present – in smaller community-based projects to large complex pan-territorial work with multiple stakeholders. Our clients appreciate Sue’s skills and engaging professionalism. Community members appreciate her genuine interest in the North. Elders value her gentle and respectful approach. We always look forward to more opportunities to work with Sue.”
Cayla Chenier, Projects Director/Acting Executive Director, Ilitaqsiniq - Nunavut Literacy Council
“Sue has been working with us pro bono on a project focusing on understanding better how to improve the engagement of our field workers. From drafting the survey, interviewing our staff, consolidating the information, to writing the report and giving recommendations, it has been a pleasure to collaborate with Sue. Very quickly and easily, she was able to grasp our needs, MSF culture and our goal with this survey. I really appreciated her professionalism, rigor and ability to summarize. Thank you very much for all your work, Sue! I hope we will be able to work together again in the future.”
Aude Jeannot - Project Facilitator, HR Dept - Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Canada
“We were introduced to Sue Folinsbee through the Northwest Territories (NWT) Literacy Council. I am so glad they suggested she work with us. Sue added a whole extra element by capturing through her own photography work hidden elements within the classes. As well she encouraged us to take lots of photos during all the workshops we held. This proved to be a wonderful added feature that has helped show the uniqueness of our program. With her help, our program now has the opportunity to greatly expand to aid with implementing sustainable farm and garden projects in the NWT. Thank you so very much Sue!”
Jackie Milne, President of the Territorial Farmers Association
“Over the past year we had the opportunity to contract Sue Folinsbee to provide a review of the family literacy structure in Saskatchewan. Sue's professionalism, outstanding research and communication skills and her ability to synthesize a vast amount of information resulted in clear recommendations to strengthen family literacy work within our province. Throughout the project Sue was unwaveringly thoughtful, collaborative and a pleasure to work with. We thank Sue for her excellent work on this project.”
Lisa Erickson, Former ED, Saskatchewan Literacy Network, 2012
“For two years the Essential Skills Ontario was responsible for a complex workplace demonstration project that had numerous stakeholders including business associations, labour groups and training organizations. As the project’s lead, Sue’s leadership and knowledge proved to be the cohesive element throughout. Ultimately, the project surpassed each of the stakeholders expectations and did so both on time and on budget. It is Sue’s unique vision and inclusive methodology that was one of the key factors in the project’s success.”
John MacLaughlin, Former Business and Research Manager, Essential Skills Ontario
“Sue is an experienced researcher, an outstanding project manager, and an engaging educator. She combines broad vision, deep understanding, and excellent communication skills. She's just the best there is!”
Nancy S. Jackson, Retired Professor, Adult Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto
“I have known Sue Folinsbee since the early nineties...Her work at that time was always ground-breaking and showed a remarkable capacity for understanding and responding to broad systemic conditions and needs. Over the years, I have kept abreast of her research and writing because she remains a leader in this field and her areas of inquiry are always on the cutting edge of thinking. I have had the opportunity to experience first-hand her project management, including the key areas of diverse stakeholder management, communication, activity planning and research. Her work has been exemplary and I would highly recommend her services.”
Sandi Howell, Former Coordinator, Workplace Education Manitoba Steering Committee
“Thank you for your pro bono contribution towards the drafting of a Talent Management Strategy for Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Canada. You have been integral in supporting me on this important work from the early stages of brainstorming through to getting concrete ideas down on paper in a coherent way. Your excellent listening skills have been key in drawing out ideas, picking up on trends and finding ways to capture them concretely in a written document. Your skills in communication and layout of information helped to bring clarity by distilling complex topics down, and present them in a more simplified and coherent fashion. Your empathy and humanitarian spirit aligns well with the nature of our work. I would be happy to recommend you to others who require similar work done, and I hope to collaborate again with you in the future.”
Tiffany Moore, Director of Human Resources, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Canada
