Testimonials from clients:
Wilderness Awareness School"Steve provided a comprehensive review and update of the Risk Management Plan and Employee Handbook for Wilderness Awareness School, an established outdoor school for youth and adults in the Puget Sound area. This included an assessment of our existing handbook and risk management plan and extensive updates to ensure legal compliance and organizational effectiveness. His expertise in the field and experience with a variety of programs produced a highly relevant and effective policy and procedure update. He wonderfully blended a professional work ethic and extensive knowledge with an empathy and compassion for our unique organizational culture. I would highly recommend Experiential Consulting to any organization."
Passages Northwest
"Steve Smith joined the Passages staff in 2008 as our Summer Program Specialist and I must admit I had some reservations about how a male would fit into our all female staff. Any concerns I had dissipated almost immediately. Steve integrated himself fully yet respectfully into our community and it became clear that having a positive male role model and ally would be beneficial not only to our female students but to our staff as well.
While on staff Steve assisted in the development of a standard course curriculum, a long range staffing plan and a holistic training model to match our desired programmatic growth.
As a course director he was committed to a high quality student experience. Our rock climbing program in particular reaped the benefits of his expertise. He collaborated with our program staff to create an outcome based skills training and actively fostered the development of our field staff’s technical skills through assessment, instruction and by facilitating the exchange of valuable feedback.
Steve employs excellent judgment, he has an eye for systems and an uncanny ability to synthesize experiences and draw out the nuggets of learning.
Many times during the summer I would seek out Steve’s advice knowing that his opinion was grounded in years of experience. He is a visionary and a critical thinker – a combination that can’t be beat.
I look forward to a continuing relationship between Steve and Passages Northwest as I know we will continue to benefit as an organization from his expertise.
Stacy Mercier-Earlywine
Program Director
Outward Bound
“Steve Smith and Experiential Consulting are an incredible value
added to any organization. Steve has worked effectively with a wide
variety of clients to help them develop leaders, improve trainings and
training systems, manage change, hire and develop staff, and improve
risk management. Steve is inquisitive and asks probing questions to
asses how organizations are managed in order to work with them
effectively. In my work with Outward Bound, whenever I have issues with
regards to staff training and development, Steve is the first person
whom I seek counsel from. Steve's expertise, experience, dedication,
and integrity help him stand above all other consulting services. If
you have any questions with regards to Steve Smith and Experiential
Consulting, please feel welcome to contact me.
Steve's Top
qualities:
Great Results
,
Expert
,
High Integrity"
Mike Armstrong
Program Director
Outward Bound, Oregon
http://outwardbound.org
"I have known Steve since 1998. During his time with Outward Bound his influence has been widely felt.
Steve has worked as a Lead Instructor, Course Director, Trainer, Program Manager and Staffing Manager. His hard work earned him the 2002
Field Staff Excellence Award for Outward Bound.
His wealth of knowledge spans the core components of Experiential Education...Interpersonal, Educational and Technical skills. He is the consummate professional and his extensive experience in Experiential Programming provides him a broad knowledge base to work from. At O.B. he has been integral in development of our training curriculum and assessment processes.
Steve's vast practical experience in institutional settings provides him an exceptional ability to bring the latest industry standards to any program."
Rite of Passage Journeys
"Over the course of 2007 and 2008, Steve Smith provided a comprehensive HR audit for Rite of Passage Journeys, a rapidly growing wilderness program in the Puget Sound area. This audit included a top-to-bottom assessment of our HR procedures, assistance with the refinement of systems to ensure compliance with the law, and most importantly, assistance in developing a long-range plan to ensure that growth is done in a systematic way that supports our staff. Steve also supported the development of our field staff training system, manual development, establishment of risk management systems, and board training. His clear expertise in the field and experience with a variety of programs made for highly relevant, efficient, and effective systems overhaul. His strong abilities as a communicator made him a pleasure to work with, and very effective at providing training and consulting at every level of the organization, from work with interns to work with the board. As ED of a nonprofit with limited resources to use for consulting, I would recommend Steve Smith to organizations of any size that wish to establish the best practices and create an environment that will retain staff over the long term."
Darcy Ottey
Executive Director
Rite of Passage Journeys
riteofpassagejourneys.org
"Steve Smith has provided a wide range of consulting services for our not-for-profit over the past two years. He has worked directly with our executive director to develop our human resources management and our Board of Directors' Safety committee to assess and manage our program's risks in the field. We have been extremely impressed with his insight, thoroughness, and communication skills. I highly recommend his services!"
David Moskowitz
Board of Directors, Safety Committee Chairman
riteofpassagejourneys.org
Reality Sports
"Thanks so much for your time last night delivering our custom Outdoor Trip Leader training. Each
topic was enlightening and helpful. You presented clearly and effectively,
using great examples and conversation-starters that helped us to think
critically about each situation. It is obvious that you are proficient in risk
management, procedures, educational outcomes, and many other areas. I really
appreciate your help in making our program safe and effective."
Brian Peterson
Executive Director
Reality Sports
http://realitysports.org
Conservation Northwest
"Steve completed a fellowship for our Cascades Citizen Wildlife Monitoring Program in 2008. As Steve joined our crew, we were going through quite a workload combining three individual volunteer wildlife monitoring programs in Washington's Cascades into one unified program. His field experience, dedication, and initiative truly helped us to create a very successful program.
Steve spent time on the phone, on computers, and testing in his own backyard to make sure our teams had the best equipment that we could afford. He helped our staff to create a field protocol for all volunteers, and trained our volunteers on the use of our remote cameras. His work ethic and communication skills made Steve a huge asset to our work, and his efforts are still paying off for us today."
Jen Watkins
Conservation Associate
Conservation Northwest, Seattle
http://conservationnw.org
EarthCorps
"Like many non-profits we felt
consulting
was out of our price range and not within our modest budget. However, Steve
is
an affordable, versatile and talented consultant who will work hard to
produce
a meaningful training that resonates with staff. He takes time to learn
the culture and the personalities of the organization. This allows him
to
build a training that engages staff – his enthusiasm for risk management
is really transparent. He is an elegant facilitator who knows how to
keep
the audience thinking and involved. He understands that program people
need to learn experientially through activities and conversations that
engage
their minds, hearts and life experiences. Steve facilitated a serious
incident review for our organization. He brought a great balance of
storytelling, humor, empathy, and objectivity that allowed us to look at
the
systems in our organization that could be strengthened in order to be
the best
at what we do and be ready for the future."
Su Thieda
Program Director
EarthCorps, Seattle
http://earthcorps.org
"Steve brings energy, excellence, and experience to
his outdoor education risk management and human resources consulting
work. His work and understanding in these fields give him perspective
and depth that is systems oriented and takes into account the specific
needs and culture of an organization. Steve is a thoughtful and hard
working individual who can help people and organizations create their
desired change."
Tamra Dickinson
former HR Director, Pacific Crest Outward Bound School
Current: Wellness Coordinator, Clackamas County