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"I've done workshops WITH Christina Merkley's services, and I've done them WITHOUT. And I am here to tell you, having her present to encapsulate everything going on in the room made a huge difference in knowledge comprehension and retention. Not only did we spend time ahead of the event to pre-prepare massive wall charts (which look mighty impressive, I might add), but she also patiently coached me in how to make the best use of them. Her work put a frame around the information I wanted to get across, and since so many of us respond visually, her graphic recording made it easy to follow along. In fact, not only the participants in my events, but also the speakers were blown away at adding this valuable visual dimension most events simply don't address. She has a real gift of pulling out the nuggets of the message and tying them together smoothly. As a recent follower of the Law of Attraction, I have to add as an unexpected bonus of working with Christina is that her positive spin made a lasting difference in how I react and respond to things. Hiring her took my event to a whole new, more powerful level."
Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero, Red Hot Copy, Van Nuys, CA
"I've witnessed Christina Merkley in over a dozen strategy, training and project management venues. Her background in business, strategic visioning, and organizational development gives her critical insight into business and strategy linkages that would be very difficult for most people to grasp, let alone represent graphically. Her work allows participants to grasp relationships of information that are impossible to communicate in traditional written reports or minutes of meetings."
Jeannie Patton, CEO, Utah Association of CPAs and Past Project Director, National CPA Vision Project
“The BBC has employed Ms Merkley in London because she is quite simply the only person I know who has the ability to record discussions using the graphic process she has perfected. She has an extraordinary ability to capture the sentiment and dialogue of a group.”
Bob Nelson, Head of Organisation & Management Development, British Broadcasting Corporation, London
“I have worked with Christina Merkley on several occasions and have hired her to work for my clients. She has demonstrated exceptional skills in graphic artistry, meeting facilitation and business acumen … dynamically tracking interactions, conversations and the subtleties of senior executive meetings.”
Dave Donnan, VP of Consumer Industries, AK Kearney, Inc, Chicago
“The process Christina employs is exceptional. Her listening and tracking skills are superb! Without a doubt a great resource as our industries transform from the Industrial to the Information Age.”
Peter Gordon, Leader, Change Leader Network, Lucent Technologies
“I’ve worked with Christina on over a dozen consulting and change management projects since ’97. She’s exceptional … reactions to her work have ranged from happily impressed to outright awe. On a particularly high-level e-business strategy workshop for a Fortune 20 client, a member of the Dow-30, the executives’ collective opinion was that her abilities “allowed us to see things we’d been trying to see for weeks.”
Ken Weitzel, Managing Director, Future Foundry, LLC (former Principal, National Organizational Change Practice, CSC Consulting Group, a unit of Computer Sciences Corporation)
“In the last decade, the visual Strategy industry has grown from non-existence to being considered best practice by many corporations. By far the most difficult aspect of this growth has been sourcing people with the right mix of skills to do the work. Christina is without a doubt at the forefront of a rare and gifted group.”
Darren Addison, MD, Inter Action Strategic and Cultural Communication, Sydney, Australia
“Christina is truly a gifted facilitator; intelligent, talented and her spirit is so gentle. Her time has come of age … I believe her process of coaching/facilitating/recording others to awareness and success in their personal/professional realms is a cutting edge learning opportunity!”
Cathy McKenzie, Faculty, Royal Roads University, Leadership & Training MA Program, Victoria, BC
“Christina’s talents for reading a group’s energy and utilizing her range of tools and models to help create insight and growth are awesome. She is one of those unique facilitators that can help you see things you haven’t seen before without you even knowing its happening. Her work visually, creatively and intellectually is first class. I would work with her anytime, anywhere.”
Gordon Rudow, CEO, Bonfire Communications, San Francisco, CA
“We sought Christina's help at a moment of real challenge for our company. Lucky enough to prosper, we were beginning to feel the strains of corporate growth and needed to redefine our focus, locate our identity, and choose a future. Using a compelling method and a powerful set of tools, Christina helped us find our direction. The team emerged with a shared big picture of our future, specific and measurable action plans, and a renewed energy and sense of commitment. Did it work? Yes! I recommend her work to my colleagues regularly.”
Brady O. Bruce, Senior VP, Marketing and Business Development (formerly) NightFire Software, Oakland, CA
“Working graphically motivates participants to think outside of the box and actually ‘see’ their discussion. Brings things to life; allows the group to more easily wrap their arms around it … they can see it, talk about it, change it, add to it and then see it again. Very powerful tool!”
Sheera Rosenfeld, Focus Group / Panel Coordinator, Health Technology Center, San Francisco, CA
“Christina’s style is such that her depiction is the star, rather than herself. She accomplished staying personally ‘invisible’ though still friendly and accessible when approached. Wonderfully responsive to the group – great humor in the depictions and easy to follow. A terrific partner in our work!”
Jane Roxbury, Forum for Regional Associations of Grantmakers, Washington, D.C.
“Without a doubt Christina has a gift for graphic recording. While working with us on various large workshops, she supplied us with the graphic tools to visually represent concepts to a broad array of people who might not have otherwise comprehended the extent of our programs.”
Arlene Rodriguez, Director of Community Program, Golden Gate National Parks Association, San Francisco
“Christina’s got presence, professional grace, and the artistic touch of a natural. She is a superstar!”
Jim Channon, Arcturus, Adventures in Social Architecture, Hawi, Hawaii
“As head of a conflict management consulting firm I’ve used Christina’s services to help facilitate meetings where one or more government groups is trying to “start-up” new policy initiatives or partnerships with industry. The visual medium is a powerful communication and agreement-building tool – she’s world class at this challenging activity and a delight to work with.”
Douglas Brookman, President, Public Solutions, Baltimore, Maryland
“My company provides consultation to companies and human service organizations in Europe. I’ve worked with and known of Christina Merkley for years now. She’s a person of immense talent, extraordinary ability and is one of the top graphic recorders in North America and Europe. She is also a very nice person!”
Don Braisby, Braisby & Associates, North Wales
“Christina provided me with amazing instruction, encouragement and kindness when I took my first steps into the world of graphic recording. I'm the staff graphic recorder and visual tools designer for Global Business Network (www.gbn.com), working in a variety of settings (e.g. strategic planning sessions, scenario planning workshops, focus groups), on a wide range of topics (e.g. future of executive development, consequences of cultural change), with our clients and member organizations. Christina's warm personal style and the strong breadth of her experience and knowledge made all the difference as she introduced me to a truly wonderful world of visual practice and colleagues.”
Lynn Carruthers, GBN, Graphic Recorder and Visual Tool Designer, "Where Research Meets Art"
“Since meeting her in 1997 I have often referred my clients to her, something I only do with a very small circle of highly trusted individuals. She consistently exhibits a special sense of teamwork, commitment, creativity and intelligence and has exceptional graphic recording and artistic talent. Christina’s unique combination of personal integrity and professionalism make her a great asset to our specialized industry.”
Leslie Salmon-Zhu, Graphic Recorder & Originator/Host, Annual Conference of Visual Practitioners
“I sought out Christina’s expertise for a day of one-on-one training and mentoring. Her overview of the possibilities of a marker and paper was brilliant. The best part was actually getting ‘up to the wall’ and expressing my own unique style. She was patient of my ‘learning curve’ yet challenged me when needed. I now feel more confident and equipped to transfer my new drawing and recording skills into my own consulting and coaching practice. A well spent investment.”
Darlene Samer, Independent Consultant, Whistler, B.C.
“I brought Christina in to graphically record a circle dialogue I was leading with emergency room nurses. Graphic facilitation is a great way to visually capture what participants are saying: both verbally and non-verbally – it captures and validates the true emotion of what is being voiced. Not only did the graphics confirm what was really being said, they also created a tangible image of it – helping others see the bigger picture of the problem being discussed – a first step in finding solutions to complex conflicts.”
Jane Grant MA, Nursing Instructor, University of Victoria / Camosun College, Victoria BC
"Graphic Facilitation is for me the old adage 'a picture is worth a thousand words'. Memories, actions steps and vision flood my mind when I revisit my graphics. If you are considering Graphic Facilitation, have no fear! So many will benefit from the stories and vision caught in images - businesses and non-profits alike."
Steve Doerksen, Church & Community Youth Worker / Worship Leader Whiterock, BC (Royal Roads University, MALT candidate)
“Seeing the visuals created as focus group participants shared their stories was exceptional. Pictures truly are worth a 1000 words!”
Sue Keenan, Executive Director, BC School Sports, Burnaby B.C.
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