Jennifer Barrett worked closely with the international Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration (CCVA) for over 2 years. She helped us greatly increase our marketing and social media capacity, guiding the work of committees & providing strategic leadership for the staff and Board. As Executive Director, I worked with her (long-distance!) very closely. Her competence, reliability, and passion made her an extraordinary member of our team.
Katie Campbell, former Executive Director of the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration (2015-2017)
Enlisting Jen to lead our staff retreat was a game changer. She is a very adept facilitator providing the perfect balance between structure and space to enable full team participation. Jen synthesized the many ideas shared that day into a working document that led to a very successful, self-determined staff reorganization. If you’re looking for a great listener and collaborative problem solver to help your team break out of a rut, I highly recommend that you give Connect Consulting a try.
Maja Clark, Executive Director, Donkey Mill Art Center (2019)
Jennifer and I have worked closely for many years on HANO projects, ranging from trainings—live and virtual—to communications, to program design. One of the true pleasures of working with Jennifer is her genuine nature and honest feedback. She’s been my thought partner many, many times and the end result is ALWAYS better because of her contributions. Another thing I value about working with Jennifer is that she’s very intuitive. I’ll start asking a question and before I finish, she’s usually figured out where I’m going with the conversation and started to offer great suggestions. She gets the nonprofit ecosystem in a way that few others do. Smart, funny, down-to-earth and a truly good person, Jennifer is on my list of “love to work with” colleagues!
Jennifer Cornish Creed, Director of Professional Development, Hawaii Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations (2014-2020)
We invited Connect Consulting to assist the State Division of Forestry & Wildlife Kaulunani Urban & Community Forestry Council with a visioning process. Jennifer’s thoughtful preparation, astute listening skills, and calm presence were critical for moving our Kaulunani Urban & Community Forestry Council to the next level of connection; identification of roles and responsibilities; and next steps together as a group. I recommend Jennifer wholeheartedly!
Heather McMillen, DOFAW Urban & Community Forester, Hawaii State Department of Land & Natural Resources (2018)
“Jen never fails to deliver quality professional work. She has that rare ability to jump into any project and deliver the exact support and connections you need even if you weren’t sure what you needed to begin with. She helped our organization launch a volunteer citizen science program by providing superb volunteer management and marketing support. We couldn’t have done it without her!”
Jolie Wanger, former contractor, Smart Trees Pacific (2016)
Working with Jennifer Barrett is always a treat! She is incredibly responsive, and always patient. She has also been very supportive – working with us to identify and realize our goals, even as they continue to evolve. With Jen, it doesn’t feel so much like she’s a consultant, but a member of the team and a true partner. She comes with a ton of experience in a wide variety of areas – communications, strategic thinking and planning, fundraising, and so much more. I highly recommend her!
Elia Herman, The Dolphin Institute (2018)
Jen is an extraordinary partner as a social media consultant for nonprofits. I sought out her expertise for a nonprofit client of mine that needed an overhaul of its website, and she delivered a beautiful, WordPress-powered site as her final product. Jen’s deep experience in the nonprofit community informs her approach to consulting; she understands on an intuitive level the need to develop points of engagement for a nonprofit’s audience. She infused the client’s website with a sense of purpose and passion, and developed a highly professional website while being sensitive to the organization’s budget. Both the client and I were very pleased with the new website’s fresh look, organized format, and informative content.
Jen goes above and beyond by taking the time to educate her clients as she completes her project work. Her approach allows clients to gain a better understanding of the “black box” that social media often seems to be, leaving them not only with an improved social media presence, but more knowledgeable about underlying systems and processes as well. She is self-directed, detail-oriented, and an all-around pleasure to work with. I’d highly recommend Jen to any nonprofit seeking to strengthen its social media presence.
Joyce Lee-Ibarra, Founder & Principal, JLI Consulting (2013)
Jen is clearly an experienced trainer and WordPress aficionado. I particularly liked our ability to communicate together so well. She ingested my novelistic email descriptions, and responded so fittingly and perceptively to what was both in and between the lines. Working with what we know vs. what they know, is sometimes difficult for certain experts. I found her process and methods precisely in line with our needs, not to mention my personal style, and significantly more efficient than other consultation/training/technical relationships we have had. I can only compliment how well this project was handled.
Red McDonald, Operations Director, Family Programs Hawaii (2013)
Jennifer is a very creative leader who understands the bigger systems issues, but can also get down into the weeds with you, offering great technical assistance and strategy for positive impact.
Lisa Maruyama, President & CEO, Hawaii Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations (2020)
I have worked with Jennifer Barrett in a number of capacities throughout my time in the nonprofit sector here in Hawai’i. We have served on a board together, worked together on projects, and she has provided client services to me when I worked at a nonprofit provider. Jennifer is fantastic. Among her best characteristics that make her great to work with if you are her client or colleague – she has impeccable integrity, a strong work ethic, an empathic way of connecting with those who are struggling, the ability to have hard conversations when hard conversations are needed, and she maintains the kind of authenticity that is required when helping folks through challenging times as well as good times. Additionally, she is simply good at what she does and has over the years, fine tuned what she wants to work on and what she doesn’t so that if she chooses to work with you, she is fully invested in the work.
Jan Harada, Executive Director, H.T. Hayashi Foundation