Praise

There is a human-centered approach to Jenna’s work - making sure people have food, coffee, a chance to let out what is on their mind so they can do their best work - without it feeling mercenary. I experienced Jenna’s desire and willingness to connect people who can help and support each other matched with her dedication to follow-through. It is her follow-through and a can-do spirit that ensures the work moves on even when partnering with busy people and teams. Jenna’s drive and ability to hold space (with thoughtful/emotional questions or comments followed by time or silence) with teams allows people to think, change, and respond. Jenna provided consistently positive and forward-looking support for me as a leader, newly appointed in my role. 

–– Saskia Traill, PhD, President and CEO, ExpandED Schools

In working with Jenna, I experienced her professionalism, thoughtfulness and a sense that she is confident in her approach and findings, but flexible in her delivery and interpretation of those findings. I appreciated her willingness to pivot from strategy to culture, necessarily and seamlessly, throughout the engagement. Jenna explored deep into the culture of the organization… without that depth, I don’t think we would have come to understand the challenges we faced. Jenna is thorough, well-spoken and a pleasure to work with. She exudes care in her dealings with individuals, as if the engagement and the success of the organization becomes personal and her passion; that passion becomes infectious.

–– Brandon Robinson, Board Chair, ExpandED Schools

Jenna is an outstanding leader, consultant, and facilitator.  She is an excellent listener and extraordinarily adept at leading group conversations in a way that promotes their openness and willingness to connect with one another, assuring all voices are heard and various viewpoints respected.  She is exceptional as a guide because she demonstrates a keen understanding and interest in the journey being taken by those she is leading. In our work together, she has constantly modeled authenticity, sincerity, and continually challenged my team to reach beyond their comfort levels.  Jenna has repeatedly helped me to see things differently, making clear and direct observations that have informed and enhanced my leadership abilities over the many years I’ve known her.

–– Sherry Chen, Partner, UPD Consulting

Jenna Shapiro is one of the best meeting facilitators we have ever had at UPD. She is a thoughtful planner and puts a lot of care and effort into crafting meaningful experiences. And she is unflappably positive and engaging when leading large group activities.

This assessment is based not only on the positive feedback expressed by clients and colleagues alike, but also on my own experiences with her. I have worked alongside Jenna in facilitating large group meetings for our clients, and I have been the recipient of her facilitation services when she has led group meetings during company retreats and other internal team meetings at UPD.

I have to admit to a number of eye-rolls when it comes to activity-based group facilitations over the years. I am not at all a “touchy-feely” person, and my own family jokingly referred to me as “Mr. Spock” when I was growing up. All that said, Jenna has converted my thinking. I have watched her work with rooms full of skeptical people and seen them wowed and wanting more by the end of her facilitations. And I have been one of those skeptical people myself. But not anymore.

Jenna has successfully managed many facilitations for UPD, she has helped our other consultants plan effective meetings, and all who have worked with her have learned valuable techniques from watching her in action. In a word, she’s great.

–– Douglass Austin, President & CEO, UPD Consulting

Back in 2016, Hyperakt embarked on a journey to interrogate the influence (or lack thereof) of race in design. At the time, the design industry was sorely behind in tackling the elephant in the room - that designers were largely homogenous (i.e. white) and their implicit (sometimes explicit) biases were creeping into our “social impact” creative work in sometimes innocuous and sometimes toxic ways.

Women’s Brain Trust worked with Hyperakt on a series of conversations at the intersection of diversity & inclusion and design. Jenna was our gracious facilitator. She made space for all voices — the loud ones, the quiet ones, the hesitant ones, and the confident ones. She asked probing questions. She found the right moments to bring her past expertise to the conversation to push it one step further.  Acting as both an invisible GPS and a set of guardrails, she provided firm direction when we needed it and melted into the background when the words found their own momentum.

But facilitation is not just an art, it is a science. Jenna is a subject-matter expert, albeit one that is constantly in learning mode. She has years of research and experiential knowledge on the matter of race and equity. She also crafted the sessions with an eye towards overall goals and objectives, making sure that every conversation laddered up to a bigger theme and idea.

Because of the powerful and productive conversation space she created for our team, Hyperakt was able to find the internal alignment and courage to create better diversity & inclusion policies for hiring, projects, and client relations. Our work - both internally and externally - has changed for the better.  

–– Sruthi Sadhujan, Director of Strategy and Accounts, Hyperakt