Testimonials
“I’ve worked with Alan for over two decades on matters of state and federal tax and budget policy, social change philanthropy, money matters, class privilege, and organizational leadership and transition. He is a thoughtful, compassionate listener and coach who has personally wrestled and discerned on the topics of his coaching. With his unique experience in the worlds of progressive social movements, courageous organizational leadership, philanthropy and personal liberation, I would choose Alan as the person to accompany me on any personal journey or organizational transition effort.”
Chuck Collins
Program Director, The Program for Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies
“Alan was extremely skilled at listening, asking generative questions, and reflecting my verbal and nonverbal communications. He both met me where I was at and pushed me to grow. I especially valued the somatic lens he brought to our work. I grew up with a lot of conditioning around a “fight” response and by slowing down and tuning into my body during coaching sessions, I learned how to pause and gain more agency around how I engaged in stressful situations.”
Lori J.
Hewlett Foundation
“For the past three years, I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with Alan in his role as an advisor to the Board I serve on. He has coached the executive leadership team on several key organizational development projects, including equity and governance, action planning, hiring, and the executive director performance evaluation. Alan is a thoughtful, steadying force who always seems to have a framework or path forward for whatever strategic issue the organization is tackling.”
Katie Escudero
Board of Directors, Seattle King County Coalition on Homelessness
“Alan was incredibly helpful helping my wife and I navigate through the daunting landscape of how best to make the world a better place with our financial resources. He brings a well-educated, systematic and non-judgmental approach to his work, and understands the challenges inherent in making decisions about how and where to give money. Alan really helped to get us from start to finish in a productive and expedited manner.”
David L.
Olympia, WA
“My goals going into coaching were to push myself to be more generous and to live up to my own expectations regarding how much to give. Alan enabled me to break things down into bite-sized pieces that did not seem overwhelming. He was part counselor, part cheerleader, and encouraged me at every step. At the same time, he provided feedback that helped me to become clearer about my own intentions. Alan was especially helpful in the joint creation of a mission statement that reflected my values. I provided the basic ingredients, and Alan asked questions that helped me shape and refine those elements into a mission statement that ‘fit.’ Overall, I now have much more confidence in my ability to think clearly about money.”
Carolyn McCoy
Individual Donor
“Alan is a seasoned consultant who has an admirable committment to redistribution of wealth and willingness to use his privilege and resources in service of transformational change. His understanding of power dynamics in philanthropy informs his ability to think out of the box to challenge individual donors and the sector as a whole to re-examine their giving practices.”
Beth Rosales
Retired Philanthropy Consultant
“I worked with Alan as my coach for two years after making the decision to transition out of leading the nonprofit organization I founded 15 years prior. With my transition period as the context, we worked on maintaining my personal and organizational commitments to advancing racial equity through that time of change and uncertainty. We also worked on readying the organization for its next leader. Alan helped me to focus and be accountable, which helped me to navigate my own personal journey as I wound down an important chapter in my career and prepared for the next one. His approach was a perfect fit during an important period.”
Julia Coffman
Former ED of Center for Evaluation Innovation
“Alan’s personal journey in reparative philanthropy is truly inspiring and validates the belief that money can truly be medicine. I’ve had the opportunity to hear Alan share his money story with our Liberated Capital donors and to hear him present on a panel I facilitated at the National Center for Family Philanthropy on reparations. His ability to open his heart to share his story while providing specific action steps and support to donors on their redistribution journeys will continue to help unlock resources urgently needed in the fight for justice. Alan has done the necessary work and is committed to the ongoing healing required to overcome the barriers to give and to support others in giving in the spirit of reciprocity and repair.”