“Nicola has worked with us in our earliest stages of change efforts around diversity, inclusion and our evolving culture and business. Her role with us has been multiple: strategic thought partner, coach, meaning maker, consultant, designer, educator and facilitator. She brings a valuable combination of characteristics to her engagements: knowledge, experience, empathy, play, discipline, rigor and a perspective that encompasses the whole system we are seeking to influence and change. Her guidance pushes us to identify and anchor all actions in cultural and business objectives. She partners with deep integrity and respect, enabling her to meet leaders where they are while challenging them toward greater growth and development. She actively demonstrates great care for our brand, business and people, as she challenges us to edge forward on this journey toward a clearer path for sustainable success.”
Janice O’Rourke
Senior Leader Development and Organizational Learning
L.L.Bean Inc.
“Nicola has a true gift for connecting with people and tapping into what connects us as a team. She helped us shine a light on what was working and how together we could lift each other up.”
Alece Montez
Director of Programs
Orton Family Foundation
“I had the very fortunate opportunity to have management/leadership coaching with Nicola in my role with a growing non-profit organization. Nicola is brilliant on so many different levels, it's remarkable. Her combination of sensitivity; intuitiveness; passion; work ethic; authenticity; creativeness, intellect, and insightfulness combined with real life experiences, purpose and focus are unmatched. She supported and empowered me to realize my strongest attributes and areas for growth to fulfill an important role for my organization and I believe not only our staff, but the communities we serve are benefiting. She is a true leader with a pure heart that exemplifies the type of person I aspire to be.”
Danielle Diamond
Director of Field Operations
Socially Responsible Agricultural Project
“At the Portland Museum of Art, we hired Up With Community to help guide our work around Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusivity. Nicola Chin was enlightening, motivating, and uplifting. Her energy, style, and ability to explain complex issues help move us forward as a staff, together. She becomes your mentor, your confidant, and your friend while all the time leading you towards a path that is sustainable and thoughtful. Most importantly, she helps you create a responsible path for your institution to move forward confidently.”
Elizabeth Jones
Deputy Director and Director of External Affairs
Portland Museum of Art
“I worked with Nicola to design and then participate in a day long bias workshop. She was thorough and probing in her preparation for the workshop, always clear that this was about what we as a board needed and wanted. She was especially effective at flagging issues and places where there were options, and using google docs we were able to keep track of those. On the day of the workshop she easily won the trust and confidence of the board. She uses humor and compassion to put people at ease, yet she also shows up clearly in charge, and with a deep well of experience. Throughout the day she met people where they were, and continually reflected back to us that this was our process."
Susan Bates
Vice President
ACLU of Maine Board
“Nicola has been able to understand our organization, the communities we work, our strengths (!), and our challenges through inquiry, reflection, and asking the right questions. She has challenged us to be our best selves while honoring our identities and values, and helping us build common language around justice and equity in our work and in our communities. She's provided us with tools we can use today at the same time as thinking about the big picture tomorrow. And she's done this while laughing and bringing joy to work that is really, really difficult. It feels like Nicola is actually in this work with us and that our successes are her successes. I appreciate her leadership, wisdom, commitment, courage, guidance, and discipline in our shared work of building community and demanding justice across Maine and beyond.”
Ian Yaffe
Executive Director
Mano en Mano
“Nicola has been phenomenal – helping us rethink our strategic direction, guiding us in strengthening Board leadership, and supporting us with equity training that will help us diversify our Board."
Craig McEwen
Board Chair
Restorative Justice Institute
“We worked with Nicola to help us increase our understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion as team. Through exemplary coaching and thoughtful team exercises, we were able to deepen our knowledge as a staff and better understand how we could appropriately support job seekers and employers. Nicola was instrumental in leading us through this work, and we look forward to working with her again in the future.”
Jason Judd
Program Director
Educate Maine
“Working with a diverse group of high school age students who are grappling with big questions about race and bias has the potential for explosion. In our afternoon retreat with Nicola, she adeptly taught students big concepts and challenged their assumptions without making them feel defensive. She did not back away from their pointed questions. She would pause--sometimes for a long time--to think before she spoke. I noticed that even some of our most strident students respected her thoughtful approach. Our group moved forward because of Nicola's expertise on the subject and her willingness to put in the time and do the homework needed, so she could tailor the presentation to our specific needs. There was nothing "stock" or gimmicky about our day. It was learning designed for our group at exactly the place we were at and aimed to move us further along our path to understanding.”
Sue Stein
Teacher, RaAW Advisor
Waynflete
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