Testimonials
It's been a pleasure working with these clients, so I'm happy to share their feedback with you!“Working with Janine to align my personal values and career goals has been a transformative experience. Janine’s guidance helped me to understand my value in the field, define my brand, and advance my career. Her insightful advise and feedback have given me a fresh perspective on opportunities that I am able to pursue.” – Jessyca Dudley, Social Sector Consultant
“It has been incredibly insightful and empowering to have Janine coach me through a career transition. She has helped me better understand the intersection of my strengths and personal values so that I can lead a more fulfilling and rewarding career. Janine has provided practical feedback as I explore new paths and has been a source of encouragement as I’ve taken on new challenges. She has helped me to see that it is very possible to carve out my own path as a highly talented woman of color so that I can step fully into my power.”
Arianna Cisneros, Social Impact Strategist & Advisor
“Working with Janine has changed my professional life. She is astute in honing in on specific areas of growth through active listening and conscientious probing. Through her expertise and guidance, I was able to not only change jobs but reconsider my position in the field and think through a long-term path to professional transformation. I highly recommend working with Janine.”
Anna Marin, Organizing Director at PASO, Co-Founder at Berwyn Community Action
“Janine is the epitome of a great leader and mentor. She understands the needs of others and develops action plans that will undoubtedly help you succeed. She is committed to ensuring that we are our best selves and are equipped with the necessary tools to do so. While working with Janine, I have become a stronger leader in my role as ED and activist within my community. She’s truly an inspiration!“
Brittany Mostiller
“My team and I have had the pleasure of partnering with Janine this school year on a series of diversity, equity, and inclusion-themed workshops. We described our challenges and she designed a series to meet our needs while also allowing flexibility throughout the process to adjust topics, schedules, audiences, etc. She has facilitated workshops on implicit bias, cultural humility, and personal influence that have helped our team better create brave spaces and foster open dialogue on challenges we face both personally and professionally. She listens to ideas, gently pushes conversations deeper, and incorporates feedback. Playworks is sending a rockstar clap of appreciation your way, Janine!”
Colleen Harvey, Executive Director, Playworks Illinois
“Working with Janine has been one of the secrets to success for our work on centering racial equity at New Moms. Janine is thoughtful, professional, and a trusted partner to our organization. As a CEO, I appreciate her ability to work across levels and positions in an organization. Janine’s ability to understand both board and staff and their needs and desires allows her to help organizations navigate around some of the usual pitfalls. And Janine’s expertise and experience focused on racial equity in nonprofits has made her a tremendous resource to us.”
Laura Zumdahl, PhD, President & CEO, New Moms
“Janine is an excellent speaker and career coach. She has been a speaker for several of my events and she really knows how to speak authentically to a room full of driven, ambitious and powerful individuals. Even in our casual conversations, she can coach me in a way that helps me streamline my ideas and come up with necessary solutions to bring about the best outcomes for my business. Janine is amazing, looking forward to a long future of collaboration!“
Afenya Montgomery, RN, Founder, The iCAN Collective
“Janine is the real deal! I highly recommend anyone seriously considering career coaching to meet with her. Janine brings out the best in her clients by being the solution-oriented cheerleader that we all need. I attribute a great deal of my recent success in leadership and career advancement to the gains achieved during my time working with her.”
Ariel Thomas, MS
“I have been working with Janine for the last 4 months. I am amazed at her strength and intuition. She has been insightful and very helpful in guiding me with self-awareness. Her professional and easy style allows me the freedom to self disclose without judgement. I understand my passion and who I am to a greater degree because of her coaching.”
Dr. Brenda Jones, DHSc, MSN, WHNP, LSSGB
“I’ve known Janine for nearly 9 years. Over this time period we have worked together on projects and in partnership through different companies collaborating on initiatives. At the same time, she has served as a peer mentor providing me coaching and career advice along with doing the same for others. One thing for sure I’ve learned in my career is to surround yourself with folks whom you admire or exemplify qualities you aspire to possess. Janine is kind, confident, persuasive and patient. I admire her ability to assess a situation and provide specific advice, ideas or thoughts on how to approach a situation. I’m excited to see Janine live in her purpose as an executive coach helping others with their pain points and finding solutions to complex leadership or career planning challenges. Please do not hesitate to reach out if I can further assist in providing my experience working with and partnering with Janine. ”
Cody McSellers-McCray, MPH
“I am grateful to have known Janine and highly recommend her as a coach. Janine is incredibly supportive and provided non-judgmental feedback while also challenging the limiting beliefs I held, which were impeding my ability to move forward in my career. While I thought I had a clear idea of my professional goals and hesitated needing a coach, I’m so glad Janine was able to work with me! She offered invaluable perspectives that I wouldn’t have otherwise realized, leading me to make better choices outside my normal pattern of decision-making. Thanks to Janine, I was able to navigate a difficult situation with grace, feel empowered and more confident in my worth, and avoided making a premature career move. I’m now beginning a new role that is aligned with my values, and personal and professional goals. Thank you for everything!”
Natalie Mikat-Stevens, Practice Consultant
“I have worked over a decade with Janine and her passion for helping Illinois families is unrivaled. She helped me to grow in the Maternal and Child Health field by mentoring and providing invaluable guidance on more than a few projects. She has really taught me so much in this field and beyond. She remains one of my closest confidants because she has the ability to help you analyze the answer which is right in front of you. A gifted and nurturing spirit indeed for the people who have been privileged to work with her.“
Tamela Milan-Alexander, MPPA
“I hired Janine as a session speaker for one of my organization’s larger yearly events – a forum that brings together CPS staff who we regard as gatekeepers to bringing in free services to students as a dropout prevention measure. Janine commanded the room with authenticity, transparency, and compassion and did an amazing job of cultivating an environment of support and encouragement. Janine utilized her skills as a career coach to instruct the audience on how to delegate, team build, foster buy-in, and resolve conflict. Janine also brought in elements of leadership development; helping attendees identify their leadership strengths and styles while celebrating their personal wins. Although she has a background in public health and nonprofit management, Janine effectively tailored her agenda to reflect the daily work of those who are professionally embedded in the school system. Forum attendees were extremely appreciative of Janine’s presentation and our organization is excited at the prospect of working with her in the future!“
Zoe Cooper, MPH
Previous clients of Soar Strategies include:
Association of State & Territorial Health Officials
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI)
Center for Tech and Civic Life
City Bureau
Community Memorial Foundation
DePaul University
EverThrive Illinois
Forefront
Foster America
Healthy Communities Foundation
Illinois Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics
Illinois Department of Human Services
Loyola Univeristy
Lyra Health
Mather
National Runaway Safeline
New Moms
NorthShore HealthSystem
Northwestern University
Open Books
Ounce of Prevention Fund
Playworks Illinois
Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago
Rush University Medical Center (West Side United)
University of Chicago
University of Illinois at Chicago
Voices for Illinois Children
Wide Eye
Women Employed
What's the first step?
If you’d like to talk with Janine, please find a time on her calendar for an initial, complementary strategy session.