Words from Clients
- Usha Pillai, Consulting Partner, Your Carbon Steps, LLC
“I cannot say enough good things about Alex! I consider him to be a godsend. I found him when I was at a low point in my career. After six months of coaching, he has made me see myself in a very different light. That shift has already created major changes and brought back meaning to my life.
Sessions with Alex are very different from timed therapy sessions. He actively engages with you and asks perceptive, contextual questions. In the process of answering these questions, he helps you to tap into deep insights and inner strengths. I went into each session as though I was talking to a wise friend. I left each session feeling hopeful and rejuvenated.
Before committing to the sessions, I wasn’t quite sure about the six month schedule but now I know I absolutely needed that time. Just like crash diets rarely work, it takes time to solidify the mind shifts that are needed for coaching to be effective. Even though I consider myself to be introspective and highly self-aware, I very much needed Alex’s gentle guidance to help me see my limiting patterns and stay on course.
I cannot recommend Alex enough. Anyone who is feeling stuck will benefit greatly from his coaching. It is truly life changing and the best investment I ever made.”
— Usha Pillai, Consulting Partner, Your Carbon Steps, LLC
— Will Weiss, Founder at More Human Internet, Chief Operating Officer at Dream Sports Africa
“Alex is a truly transformational coach. In working with him you will have an unconditionally supportive mentor who, through deep compassion and wisdom, will help you channel the best version of yourself based on your own terms.
Alex provides a nonjudgemental space for you to work through situations that you’re currently facing as well as beliefs and patterns that may be holding you back. In the detailed notes you receive after each session you will find amazing insights filled with guidance as well as thought-provoking questions and resources that leave room for continued self-exploration and growth.
Working with Alex has enriched my daily life, relationships, and career in too many ways to name; I cannot recommend him highly enough.”
— Will Weiss, Founder at More Human Internet, Chief Operating Officer at Dream Sports Africa
— Tara Mack, Executive Director, Education for Liberation Network
“Alex is smart, committed, supportive and has decades of leadership experience. When I am working with him on a project, his contributions make that project better. He has helped me grow both personally and professionally. I can’t imagine a better person to help organizations and individuals build on their strengths.”
— Tara Mack, Executive Director, Education for Liberation Network
— Jeffery Perrin, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology, Lesley University
“Working with Alex completely debunked any preconceived notions I had about what a coach was or is. I figured coaches sort of had their formula for success or their recipe and impose that upon you or directed you in that direction.
Alex was completely different. He what I would say takes a human-centered approach to coaching. His approach investigates the relationships between work, personal life, relationships, past history, fears, and blockages around moving forward. And he really sees those all as working together as part of the larger picture and that we can’t actually just separate a career from everything else. And so in that way, I see his approach as being very holistic, and this was really refreshing and a gratifying way to work with him.
Alex is an amazing listener. He is compassionate. He’s empathic, he’s a strategic thinker. He is everything you would want to have in someone who you’re opening up to about something such as a career choice or a lifestyle change. Alex is also an amazing note taker. He listens and takes copious notes and sends them to you with his feedback and insights, which is really very helpful. I can’t recommend Alex highly enough. He’s really transformed the way I think about not only my work, but also my life and my relationships and the interconnections between all of these pieces. I highly, highly recommend Alex.”
— Jeffery Perrin, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology, Lesley University
— Tara Mack, Executive Director, Education for Liberation Network (Copy)
“I've gained so much from my sessions with Alex, particularly from his emphasis on finding a way to lean into my authentic self. This led me to a whole new way of seeing the world and my place in it. By listening and reflecting back what he heard from me, Alex supported me to identify my work values, my unique strengths, and how I can best use them to make an impact and create the experiences I want to have in life doing what I love.”
— Joanna Welborn, Communications Arts Director, Student Action with Farmworkers
- College Student
"I first engaged with Alex in an effort to harness my mind into a controllable, oiled machine that could yield high output, productivity and most importantly not get in its own way. What I discovered was an extremely intelligent, kind, caring person that was able to very deeply understand where I was coming from, establish trust, confidence and inspire me to create my own change. Change inspired by Alex is change that lasts forever because he helps you to build your own foundations. Alex inspires you to understand the why, and the how, but also encourages you to go out and practice - to move from theory to habit.
Alex really is a full service package for any mixture of your personal and professional development requirements. And ultimately, if you’re prepared to put in the work for yourself, he is the perfect vehicle to move you forward and create real change."
- College Student
– Keisha Farmer-Smith, PhD, Director of Programs and Quality Assurance, Family Focus Inc.
“I have had the pleasure to partner with Alex Poeter on inter-generational, social justice work with the Chicago Freedom School for 5 years. Alex is committed to collaborative and participatory community based work with multiple stakeholders. He is an excellent facilitator and organizer – with the ability to garner resources and support multiple voices in consensus building and decision making processes. Institutions, community groups and folks that are seeking a thoughtful, committed and inclusive consultant need look no further.”
– Keisha Farmer-Smith, PhD, Director of Programs and Quality Assurance, Family Focus Inc.
– Brian Brady, Executive Director, Mikva Challenge
“Alex Poeter was one of the wisest and most strategic nonprofit leaders in Chicago for over twenty years. He was a leader in Chicago’s community organizing community, and he built a strong organization with numerous high quality programs and services for both youth and adults. Alex has a leadership style that is centered on focused listening and clear analysis, and he is skilled at collaborating with diverse groups of individuals and organizations. Alex is rooted in social justice values and empathetic of the many challenges nonprofits and their leaders face. He is also a very creative problem solver who anticipates trends and understands how to marry big ideas to clear action plans.”
– Brian Brady, Executive Director, Mikva Challenge
– Kathy Emery, PhD, SF Freedom School and SFSU
“I was invited to give a weekend workshop in Chicago by Alex and several of his fellow steering committee members in the summer of 2006. They were in the final planning stages of creating what would become the Chicago Freedom School. I was asked to give a one-day workshop to student organizers and a one-day workshop to the steering committee on the topic of the relevance of the 1964 Freedom School History and Curriculum to activists and organizers today. The weekend was impeccably organized — every detail of the completely full weekend was planned and executed to perfection. Alex impressed me with his ability to both “step-up” and “step-back” among his peers. He made sure that he never dominated the conversations and activities, yet he made sure that his fellow participants stayed on topic and provoked deeper discussion at appropriate moments. He made me look good!
His humor, charisma, intelligence andpassionate commitment to social justice infected every conversation I had with him or witnessed during my stay in Chicago.That weekend was one of the most memorable and profound experiences I have had as a professional, in large part because of Alex.”
– Kathy Emery, PhD, SF Freedom School and SFSU
– Leigh Patel, PhD, Writer, Sociologist, Educator
“Having worked with Alex for years, I remain steadily impressed with his abilities to perceive and articulate short and long-term needs in a deeply caring manner. If you are looking for a loud superstar, keep looking. If you are looking for a caring and thoroughly competent coach to help you break out of what’s holding you or your organization in harmful patterns, you’ve found him.”
– Leigh Patel, PhD, Writer, Sociologist, Educator
– Juergen Scheer, Programmer & Consultant
“I have partnered with him professionally on a number of projects. I had the chance to see him launch his professional career more than two decades ago in Chicago when he founded and led his first organization. He has been continuing to create successful organizations and projects ever since, including projects I have been involved in. His calm and analytic approach to challenges and his way of reaching consensus in making decisions together have been valuable assets. Alex creates a very nice and comforting work environment. All in all he is the best business partner I have had so far.”
– Juergen Scheer, Programmer & Consultant
– Lisa Rodriguez, Chicago
“Since I was a teenager I had the pleasure of working with Alex in many different capacities. Alex was the Executive Director at the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council where I was a youth leader. As a youth leader Alex always pushed me to exceed far beyond what I thought my capabilities were. He challenged me to stand up for what I believed in and helped me become a strong leader in the community. With Alex’s guidance and support I was able to grow as a leader more than I thought ever possible.”
– Lisa Rodriguez, Chicago
– Melinda Wiggins, Executive Director, Student Action with Farmworkers
“Working with Alex Poeter has proven to be invaluable to our staff’s ability to move forward in a positive way with mentoring and coaching young people, creating a healthy environment in which our staff and students can thrive, as well as creating an easy to use outcome-based evaluation system and infrastructure for our organization.”
– Melinda Wiggins, Executive Director, Student Action with Farmworkers
– Regina McGraw, Executive Director, Wieboldt Foundation
“In my first ten years at the Wieboldt Foundation Alex started not one but two community organizations. It is most difficult to start one – it takes energy, intelligence, and focus. To start two is exemplary.
Alex processes these three qualities and used them to train the local leadership of these diverse organizations, and to enlist and nurture the participation of of a large number of neighborhood residents, organizations and institutions. He also enabled local residents to develop an agenda and devise strategies, and provided a social justice framework to the field of community organizing. The older I get the more I realize that one of things that holds low-income people back is shame – shame that they have lost their homes, shame that they can’t find a job with a living wage, shame that they can’t count on their local schools to educate their children.
Alex is uniquely qualified to educate and encourage people in such a way that they feel both supported and more powerful. This demands patience, resilience and a deep understanding of human nature – three other qualities that Alex showed in all of his work in Chicago.
I would recommend Alex to anyone who needs someone with any of the qualities mentioned above. I sincerely know that you will not be disappointed.”
– Regina McGraw, Executive Director, Wieboldt Foundation
– Nadeen Bir, Program Director, Student Action with Farmworkers (SAF)
“I have found my coaching sessions with Alex Poeter to be impactful. After an hour long session, I go from being overwhelmed to feeling empowered with a clear directive of how to move forward. When I can process an issue I am having with Alex, I find that I can solve my own issues and be a more effective worker and team player.”
– Nadeen Bir, Program Director, Student Action with Farmworkers (SAF)
– Nicole Jurek, Founder, Local Circles
”I started working with Alex at a time when I realized that I had outgrown my job but was unfocused about what I wanted to do next. It was important to me to find a coach who could mentor me from a place of experience. Alex is an expert listener and skilled coach. He helped me create my career vision and clarify my values. Alex helped me identify my strengths and replace obstacles with new ways of thinking. Working with Alex gave me the courage to develop my own path in order to fill a community need that is not being addressed by anyone else. It was a privilege to talk with Alex on a weekly basis and I consider my time with him to be one of the best investments I have made.”
– Nicole Jurek, Founder, Local Circles
– Aurora Meneghello, Founder, Repurpose Your Purpose
“Alex is an outstanding coach. I continue to work with him as I build my business and career, and our sessions are the highlight of my week. What sets Alex apart from other coaches is his ability to deeply listen and connect with the underlying thoughts and issues holding a client back. He is also one of the most skilled note takers I have ever seen in action! After each session, I receive a detailed email summing up what I shared and we discussed, with additional thoughts, insights and recommendations. These are incredibly helpful to implement the next steps and I have been keeping all of them, since the very first one. Alex has a gift for coaching and consulting, and combined with his extensive learning and knowledge, he can help anyone move past inner and outer barriers and start the life they intend to live.”
– Aurora Meneghello, Founder, Repurpose Your Purpose
– Kristen Atkinson, PhD, Visiting Professor, UIC
“Alex is a dynamic, thoughtful and values-driven leader. In our work together at the Chicago Freedom School, Alex always impressed me with his insightfulness, honesty and dedication to social justice. He is trely collaborative in his approach and excels at building genuine partnerships with individuals, groups and organizations. He is knowledgeable about the dynamics of community and organizational development and skilled at putting that knowledge to work for strategic purposes. And, not insignificantly, he does this work with joy, always knowing how to make those around him smile.”
– Kristen Atkinson, PhD, Visiting Professor, UIC
Organizations & Instituitions
While this is a select group of testimonials, for a complete list of Organizations that Alex has provided training, consulting, and / or coaching services click below: