What Clients Have to Say

Michael Brown is masterful, savvy, and strategic. He played an instrumental role in advising me and other leaders during Keshet’s early years and has offered invaluable consultation countless times over the years since then. He is a powerful facilitator and strategic thinker; he is also a mentsch through and through. I am grateful to call him my advisor and mentor.
– Idit Klein, Founding Executive Director, Keshet, Boston, MA

Michael was quick to understand and appreciate cultural differences in a country he had not visited before and able to tailor his message accordingly. Michael is an insightful, challenging and fun presenter who started his time with us as a new colleague and finished as a good and trusted friend.
– Brian Smith, Executive Officer, Local Community Services Association, New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

Michael’s accomplishment as the founder and multi-year executive director of the Jewish Organizing Initiative cannot be overstated. He created and implemented a totally original concept, which has had a profound effect on the lives of the participants in the program and upon the well-being of the organizations in which those trainees were placed.
– Michael Sales, Co-Founder, Art of the Future

Michael carefully and skillfully guided my colleagues and I to rebuild our organization and inspire new leadership, which made a big difference. Michael has provided high quality mentoring to me as a dispute resolution professional, providing useful insights and advice that have improved my decision-making as a professional. Michael has displayed a level of personal caring and wisdom while offering real solutions to issues I was struggling with as a professional.
– Peter Shapiro, Just A Start CDC, Cambridge, MA

Michael’s work was thoughtful and engaging. He took the time to get to know our staff and deliver a program based on their needs. Most importantly our staff felt the workshop met their needs. If you are looking for a facilitator who listens well and designs programs for the people in them, Michael Jacoby Brown is a good choice!
– Tim Dean, Education Coordinator, 1199 SEIU MA Division, Boston, MA

Michael helped me understand the fundamentals of effective organizing and critical stages in organizational development. He employs a variety of techniques that engage the trainee in skills development, time management, and personal reflection to grow the individual in a comprehensive way.
– FayeRuth Fisher, SEIU, 1199

Michael was a great trainer, mentor and teacher for the JOI “fellows.” He was also an effective fund-raiser. Michael’s expertise is in organizational consulting, strategic planning and executive coaching for leaders of non-profits. Michael is very hands on and knows how to get things done.
– Michael Frieze, Chairman, Gordon Brothers Group

Michael is a genuine master of organizing tactics. He has a rock solid grounding in a multi-disciplinary understanding of the change process. The coaching he provided for me was tremendously helpful.
– Dave Buck, Cambridge, MA

The workshops and support you provided us in the areas of strategic planning and board development, as well as your continued consulting support through the years have been a tremendous benefit to our residents…
— Paulette Ford, President, Camfield Estates, Boston, MA

Michael was an effective speaker and engaged and inspired the students, helping them think through practical, real solutions to pressing real-world problems.
— Rachael V. Cobb Associate Professor and Chair, Government Department, Suffolk University

When we meet the ‘other’ face to face, our stances shift (Letter to The Boston Globe)
In response to Keith O’Brien’s article “Do the math? Uh-oh” (Ideas, Oct. 20), we should not be surprised that numbers and rational arguments don’t change the minds of people about contentious political issues. What works to change attitudes is developing face-to-face relationships among people who often don’t meet each other. When a group of conservative […]

Getting the Best from Volunteers
By Michael Jacoby Brown By following a few time-proven steps, nonprofit leaders can recruit and retain long-term, valuable volunteers – people who will take responsibility for the organization and play an important role in its success. People who want to volunteer with your organization come with a complex and wide range of hopes, talents, and […]