Pronouns
she/her/hers
What do you do as a consultant/coach?
As an organizational midwife with over 25 years of experience, Monique organically weaves the wisdom of earth-based traditions with sound organizational change theory to create holistic transformation for individuals and organizations. Her love for the natural world is integrated into all that she does and she invites her clients to tap into their inner knowing as they transform and expand in ways that are electrifying, unpredictable and imperative. This transformation births healing and deeper connections for clients. At the core, her work is as a healer and she is honored when she is invited to be of service to clients. This core, combined with being a black, queer, US-born woman moving through the world with an invisible disability, allows her to center empathy and compassion in her work with individuals.
Through Banyan, she designs and facilitates high impact processes that are goal focused and flexible according to the dynamics and emerging needs of the organization. While working together, she intentionally shares tools and skills in order to build organizational capacity and reduce organizations’ reliance on outside consultant support. The ultimate goal is for the client to learn how to continuously develop their own organization. Our collective work is grounded in helping the clients make significant, measurable shifts that result in lasting culture change. Banyan’s projects fall predominantly within these areas:
- Leadership Development and Coaching: We support board development, leadership teams, and executive transitions. We also provide individual coaching to people at all levels of the organization.
- Team Effectiveness: High performing teams increase impact, engagement, and satisfaction. We support internal teams (staff and board), as well as cross-organizational teams via coalitions and strategic partnerships.
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: We bring a trauma-informed equity lens to all of our work. When enacted, this value means that we identify, assess, and work to eradicate organizational barriers to equity so that our clients actualize their ultimate vision of social justice. Our approach encourages organizations and coalitions to become inclusive of and responsive to differences at all levels of systems.
- Strategic Planning: We ensure relevant and dynamic strategic plans by designing processes that reflect clients’ unique needs and resources. We facilitate one-time planning sessions and full-fledged strategic planning projects. Strategic planning may include organizational assessments; mission, vision, and value statements; campaign and program strategy; infrastructure development (policies and procedures); sustainability planning; and implementation support, among others.
- Workshops: We provide custom designed workshop in all of the areas mentioned above and more.
What is your approach?
Monique approaches each client knowing that a fascinating, and often hidden, narrative shapes how the client functions. She asks questions, timed thoughtfully and provocatively, which move client-partners to their next level of excellence. She partners with leaders and teams, helping them to develop strong practices that solidify their collective purpose and vision. Once grounded and anchored in their power, she moves clients to the next stage of development to set meaningful and attainable goals and create conditions for collaboration and success. This collaboration increases the emotional and social intelligence of the team and individual – the most important factors in creating vibrant, productive, and sustainable systems. In short, relationships matter.
As an architect of relationships, she works to fortify the core of the organization and align organizational missions with resources and outcomes.
She integrates research, “best practices,” and wisdom from the natural world to customize each partnership. Projects are designed to allow organizational uniqueness to surface in order to be explored and strengthened. She believes in solid incremental progress and designs the work to intentionally build the capacity of the individuals, teams, and organizations we partner with.
Participatory Action Research is the foundational theory that underscores all of her work. PAR actualizes her deeply held value that people who are impacted by change should be involved in influencing that change. PAR involves four steps:
- Discover and Assess: The first step in the process is to gain a deep understanding of the group’s history and current situation. With an intersectional lens as a foundation, she collects information from an array of stakeholders through a combination of sources: individual interviews, focus groups, surveys, and observation. Individual interviews provide the most in-depth information, create the most trust in us as facilitators, and build the deepest buy-in to the project. Focus groups come next, with surveys being the least personal, yet most efficient. She works with clients to determine the most appropriate method of connecting with different stakeholders. In addition, she reviews relevant documents and utilize data already collected.
- Plan: During structured time together, she shares findings and work with the group to determine what the findings mean for them. Through a facilitated process, the team makes sense of the findings, brainstorms, and then prioritizes next steps. Having the right people in the room for those conversations is vital to success, and she works with the clients to safeguard an inclusive process.
- Implement: Planning has no impact without implementation. For this reason, she builds implementation support into the work plans. Implementation support is determined by the outcomes of the assessment and planning sessions. Implementation can include coaching, mind/body/spirit exercises, and small and large group activities.
- Evaluate: Evaluation is critical to organizational learning and growth. She implements formal and informal evaluations throughout the project and make adjustments as needed.
How has your experience/background contributed to your work?
Monique began her work in social change as a fundraising professional over 25 years ago in the LGBTQ community in Washington, DC where she has successfully authored multi-million-dollar grants and cultivated long term relationships with donors and community members. While she enjoyed that work, it became clear to her that her gifts and skills would better serve her communities as an organization development consultant and coach. Upon her completion of her master’s degree in organization development at American University in 2008, Monique combined her fundraising skills with her OD training to support social change organizations throughout the country.
Relevant certifications or trainings
Monique is a featured activist in The Spirit of Social Change: Love, Hope, Faith and Joy in Intersectional Activism and published author in Spirited: Affirming the Soul and the Black Gay/Lesbian Identity and W.I.T.C.H. – Women in Tune with Conscious Healing. She earned a Master’s degree in Organization Development from American University in Washington, D.C., where she was awarded a Segal-Seashore Fellowship for her commitment to social justice. She has a coaching certificate from the Teleos Leadership Institute and a certificate in Women’s Leadership from the Hartford Seminary. She is also a lifelong student of energy healing and is a Reiki Master.