Client Comments
BC Cancer Foundation
"Wendy Bradley is the best organizational development person I have encountered — with the added benefit of being a fundraiser who knows the business inside and out.”
Doug Nelson, President and CEO
Human Early Learning Partnership
"Wendy's guidance was fundamental to the Human Early Learning Partnership becoming one of the world's leading inter-disciplinary research networks within five years of its inception. In a complex research environment, Wendy helped us define a coherent Mission that everyone agreed with, and a Strategic Plan that genuinely focused our efforts."
Clyde Hertzman, Director
BC Children's Hospital Foundation
"One of the best decisions I made in my first 100 days as the President and CEO of BC Children’s Hospital Foundation was to engage Wendy Bradley.
Wendy helped me to listen to, work with, and re-design the Foundation for a fresh start. She tailored her approach to fit our needs, combining interviews, in-depth analysis, workshops, generative dialogues, and collaborative tools to ensure everyone in the Foundation could take part.
With Wendy’s guidance, the Foundation’s leadership, staff, board, and partners collaboratively re-imagined some of the most fundamental aspects of our business. She helped us create an effective organization designed to be more focused, flexible, and dynamic; ready to proactively partner with and help advance BC’s highly complex healthcare environment."
Teri Nicholas, President and CEO
"If you select Wendy Bradley to introduce you to organization design, be prepared for one of the most stimulating and transformative experiences of your career.
Wendy helped us to re-organize and successfully complete our $200 million Hospital Campaign, and went on to help us re-imagine a comprehensive Shared Strategic Vision for the Foundation, analyze our operations in light of it, and make significant strides in re-designing our board and staff structures, partner relationships, culture, and strategic planning process.
It is possible to make best practices better!"
Debora Sweeney, Chief Strategy Officer
McLaren Housing Society
"I am so happy we made this happen and that Wendy led us through the superb material to ‘organize ourselves whole.’ At different times, the workshop was draining, provocative, uncomfortable, and thrilling – a great experience! It certainly is clearer now how much work we have to do, but I am delighted we have a roadmap, and have built some common energy, interest and commitment within our team."
Peter Regier, President of the Board
Sauder School of Business
UBC
"When working with Wendy you know that you are getting a tailored approach for your organization's specific needs. Her fresh perspective and commitment to leadership and collaboration benefits everyone she works with.
Wendy has a talent for establishing trust with all people throughout an organization. Wendy helped to lead a team I was on through a significant transition which provided a everyone with a clear and shared vision, common language and an excellent groundwork for success."
Sheila Biggers, Assistant Dean, External Relations
Vancouver Foundation
"When I began to plan for developing a strategic plan for Vancouver Foundation and thought about who to bring in to lead us through it, it was only natural I would think of, and ultimately choose Wendy Bradley.
Wendy helped the staff bring their ideas out in the open for discussion and safe debate, and we ended up with a product that they “owned”. It was their strategic plan – not some consultants that we brought in to deliver to us.
A strong belief in ongoing education, she got the staff excited about learning more about organizational development and strategic planning with the various articles and books she summarized or encouraged us to read. She made it fun work! I would highly recommend any organization working with Wendy – she brings a magic to planning and development."
Faye Wightman, President and CEO
Development Office, University of British Columbia
I’ve always enjoyed working with Wendy –– she has the gift of simplifying exceedingly complex work while making it intriguing, collaborative, and even fun.
Following UBC’s 1990’s major Capital Campaign, Wendy’s advice and Strategic Fundraising Model helped me create a 5-year plan to shift UBC’s highly centralized Development Department to a decentralized, faculty-focused model –– while we continued to raise millions of dollars without missing a beat. No small feat! And over the next number of years she went on to help many, if not all, of UBC’s faculties prepare their own houses for fundraising success.
Shannon vonKaldenberg, Director of Development
Vancouver Police Foundation
"I was skeptical but she tamed the beast! We now have a roadmap for the future that will guide this organization in the coming years."
Peter Brown, Chair
Arts Umbrella
"Our work with Wendy helped us express the most important strategic elements of a plan in a concise, easy-to-understand document. It is always easy to write reams of material that confuse and obfuscate the essence of an organization’s mission. With Wendy's help, we made it past all the rhetoric. Now, we find ourselves with a comprehensive document that continues to be our anchor and ensures we are grounded in the work we do.
Our Strategic Vision document is my main source of guidance, even as we review our progress annually to build out annual operating plans – the Strategic Vision Document is what I always come back to."
Lucille Pacey, President and CEO
Vancouver International Writers and Readers Festival
"I have had the privilege of working with Wendy Bradley several times; first with the board of the Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival and, most recently, with the Board of the Governors of the Koerner Foundation. Wendy’s presentations are dynamic and inspiring. She is not your ‘ordinary’ facilitator and does impeccable research before embarking on the work she is requested to do."
Alma Lee, Founder
Alberni Valley Museum
"Wendy Bradley has a special place in my heart as the person who worked with us to create a revenue generation strategy and to develop the strategic plan which we continue to follow. Wendy helped us make sense of, and maximize the potential of, our diverse groups of partners and our complex organizational structure. We continue to be guided by her teachings as we work to implement a fundraising program."
Jean McIntosh, Director
UBC Faculty of Medicine
"I have worked with Wendy many times over the years and have always found her to be an inspiring coach and mentor. She is an excellent thinking partner, who motivates you to step back and evaluate problems thoughtfully and strategically.
Wendy draws on best practices – she is passionate about organizational readiness and challenges her clients to focus on the foundational work that will ultimately provide the greatest benefit and long term sustainability."
Cindi Valensky, Special Advisor to the Dean
Strategic Planning & Issue Management
Haida Gwaii Museum
"The strategic visioning workshops led by Wendy Bradley for our board and staff gave us an extraordinary methodology to stay connected to the heart of our work, as described in our Strategic Vision. We are able to return to it again and again for inspiration, courage and refreshment in a time of growth and transition.
The strategic planning model she created with us has enabled us to maximize our collaborative potential through partnerships with individuals, artists, teachers, and other museums and institutions that share common interests. Our work with Wendy helped us to see our organization within a web of relationships to be nurtured and encouraged. This is resulting in new and inspiring public and educational programs as well as new fund development opportunities in a time of decreasing government support for arts and culture."
Nathalie Macfarlane, Director
“It is not business, it is not government, it is the social sector that may yet save the society.”