Consulting
- "Barry amazed us while consulting with us on rethinking
our marketing approach and web site to make them more effective.
We are a business consulting firm and yet, he really helped us
to see more objectively some flaws in our own plans and work.
We were impressed!" - Byron Miller, President and principal
consultant, Value Enhancement Strategies, Inc.
- "Barry's help, advice, and information was very much appreciated.
His organizational understanding and ability to quickly adapt
his work to our needs was of great benefit to our work."
- D. Hobson, Ernst & Young, LLP, New York
- "Barry was a critical contact for us in developing the
mentor program we needed. He helped us to design the program so
as to more effectively achieve our goals." - Bruce Salazer,
McGraw-Hill, Dallas Texas
- "Dear Barry, this is just a quick note to thank you for
the time and effort you put into our program and the development
of our standards. We appreciate all your help during your several
days visit here and in supporting us afterwards as well. The feed
back and advice you provided us was well received and very valued.
You have been such a help to us! Thanks again." - Kathy Rainone,
Program Coordinator & Fellow, Rhode Island State Dept. of
Education
- Advising the deputy director regarding a new mentoring program
addressing improved performance and retention. - "We contacted
Mr. Sweeny because of how positive some of his previous clients
were about his information and services. We are glad we followed
their advice and chose to work to him. The information he provided
us was excellent and his guidance was just what we needed. We
even traveled to the US to attend his training in New Orleans."
- Nicholas Tang Ning, Singapore, Ministry of Education
Keynotes
and Presentations:
- "Thanks so much for your presentation to the group in Los
Angeles. It was so on-target! As you were speaking,
my co-chair and I looked at each other and whispered 'This guy
its just what we needed!' We've decided, we are not the only ones
who were impressed with your message. There have been so many
positive comments that we would like you to be our keynoter
at the national conference next year in Atlanta."
- Dr. Leslie Huling, Co-Chair Assn. of Teacher Educators, Mentor
SIG.
- "Barry, I want to thank you for the outstanding presentation
you provided at the Houston TX Focus Conference. I heard numerous
positive comments from your audience before we headed back to
Austin and also excitement about your ideas and strategies. We
were very pleased. During the presentation, it was easy to see
that the participants were engaged in your topics. Thank you ever
so much for all the effort and thought you put into it to adapt
to our special needs. I'm really glad that I now know about all
the resources you provide. You WILL be hearing from me again."
- Ruth Ann Marsh, State-Wide Mentor Coordinator, TX School for
the Blind and Visually Impaired, Austin, TX
(PS - Barry was invited back and did another training
at their state-wide conference the next year too.)
Program
Evaluation
- "Barry, we knew after our first meeting with you that your
work was going to be much more helpful than our previous consultant.
Now that we have your final evaluation report, we are so glad
you've been the external evaluator. The report looks great and
Marge, Beth and I are impressed and pleased with the work you
have done in the evaluation. You gathered the data we needed and
provided us with the feed back we wanted to improve our impact
and our planning for next year. Thank you so much!" - Adrianne
Roggenbuck, Program Coordinator, The Professional Development
Alliance
- "When our ESC was awarded one of eleven of the TxBESS Pilot
Grants, we had to start the program from scratch. We immediately
decided not to hire additional staff persons who would need over
a year to become expert in mentoring and induction. Further, I
was not a mentoring expert and I needed BIG help right away! I
discovered Barry Sweeny, had several email and phone conversations
with him, interviewed him face-to-face while he attended a nearby
conference, and hired him on the spot.
Barry worked for us as a trainer and consultant,
and as MY personal mentor, spending over 130 days in our region
over two years. His expertise and professional manner made
the experience both highly productive and a personal joy.
Barry was instrumental in helping us avoid many
problems and detours and in making our first year an immediate
success. He was also a critical aid to me in so many ways, including
development and use of needs assessments, the year-end reports,
and proposals for funding of the next phase of the three year
state pilot.
The second year, after realizing his value
to the project, we dropped our original program evaluator,
and we expanded his responsibilites even further to include
development and conduct of our external program evaluation. You
should see the excellent process he used and the clear data patterns
he displayed! Ask him also to see a copy of the final product
he produced! We were more than satisfied with everything he did
for us!
Even though we paid him quite a bit for this work,
we always got back much greater value than what we felt we bought!
Our staff and the participants in our program were very pleased
with Barry's work and support. Hiring Barry was one of my smartest
decisions and I continually recommend him to others I meet."
- Ms. Zoe Windley, TxBESS Program Coordinator, ESC Region XI,
Fort Worth, Texas
Writing
- Redesign of Program Processes
- "Thanks so much for your help in this difficult time of
change in our organization. I was frantic about my own job, changes
in our whole work process and management structure, and cost cutting,
to the point where I wasn't sure what to do next. You really brought
clarity and the kind of expertise and gentle nudging that I needed.
The four Growth Process Variations we developed have given me
the quality standard I needed to respond to these changes in a
positive, yet best practice focused way. As a result, I am more
clear about my role on the National Management Team in shaping
the direction we are moving to ensure that whatever results will
still be effective." - The Northern US Area Director, World
Relief Corporation, USA Ministries Division, North Area
Training
(Right After the Initial Mentor Training)
- "Mr. Sweeny, thank you so much for sharing your expertise
with us at our recent mentor training and for giving us the direction
we wanted to get our program off on the right foot. At least for
now, you have answered all our questions, and had the foresight
to address issues of which we were not even aware yet. I personally
appreciate your ability to adapt what you do to suit our specific
needs and setting. We will definitely be calling on you again
in the future!" - Dr. Marion Gooding, Program Director. College
of Nursing, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC
- "Our sincere thanks, Barry for the ways you adapted to
suit our needs, and the great training. We especially valued your
demonstrations of the effective mentoring strategies and the developmental
assessment and planning model you provided. Our teams felt very
prepared to be effective mentors." - SWSC Project Manager,
University of South Dakota School of Medicine- Sioux
Falls, South Dakota
Mentoring
Individual Program Managers
- "As the mentor coordinator for a brand new mentoring
program with over 700 mentors, guides, and proteges, I learned
quickly that you may have only one chance to get it right. Thank
goodness I discovered Barry Sweeny and listened to his advice!
- First, I used Barry Sweeny's advice as my guide
for creating in one year what I believe is a very effective
mentoring program. Everyone in our district is thrilled with
the program we created. The time spent learning from him was
the best investment I ever made.
- Second, Barry taught me several great strategies
for evaluating my program and how to use this data to defend
it. He helped me to plan proactively and to see that accountability
is sustainability. Thanks to Barry's wisdom, insight, and advice
the mentoring program in my district has weathered challenges
and restructuring when every other program was cut back. I am
so grateful.
- Finally, Barry is an exceptional role model
of what a mentor should strive to be."
- Mary Hasl, Mentor Coordinator, Poudre School
District, Fort Collins, Colorado
- "Wow, Barry! You gave me all that I needed and more!
It is like you are reading my mind. This only goes to prove that
you are very experienced and therefore, very insightful about
just exactly what a program and program leader need. I have grown
so much from our work. Thanks again, for all the input."
- Fern Cohen
"I attended Barry's mentor training in Albuquerque New Mexico,
hoping that, afterwards on my own, I could somehow adapt the information
to my own needs and the company which I lead. I gained so much
more than I expected. The information I received was absolutely
terrific, is better described as "wisdom", and has been
very useful for the applications I had in mind. Also, Barry volunteered
to meet with me after the training to help me consider how to
adapt his models and processes to our business. He helped me analyze
my situation and plan for more than an hour! So often we see people
in the business world pulling others down instead of helping others
learn and develop their skills. Barry is a wonderful exception!
He quickly got to the heart of my situation with
his great questions and he seemed to already understand the unique
issues we face in our industry. It was amazing to see how easily
he did that. He helped me plan the specific ways I could use what
his training had provided, and he gave me several insights into
myself as well. I will use Barry's valuable information in our
annual Strategic Planning Process where I plan on introducing
a mentorship/development program for our organization. Barry has
really made my life easier.
I strongly recommend Barry to anyone in any setting
who needs to develop a "high impact" mentoring program."
- Barbara Ricci, Operations Manager, IMagic Business Solutions,
Espanola, New Mexico.
"I cannot thank you enough for your answers to my questions
and your great advice about mentoring. You have given me many
ideas that I want to explore more. I really appreciate your willingness
to share your expert knowledge. As I continue to work in mentoring
I know that I will continue to call on you for your sage advice
and mentoring for ME. Thanks again!" - Jeanna Weldon, Program
Coordinator, Athens, Georgia.
