You made the 3-1/2 hour workshop interesting and engaging.  This experience helped me refresh my leadership abilities and think about situations in a new way.  Thank you for sharing your expertise with us!  Our staff will be better in their roles because of your supportive role.
Participant in Leadership & Emotional Intelligence Workshop
Saint Vincent’s Day Home

Nan’s engaging and approachable demeanor made her LMA Annual Conference session on Mentoring Associates in Business Development dynamic and engaging for the attendees, while her intelligence and experience make it a high-impact learning session.
Betsi Roach
Executive Director, Legal Marketing Association

I know that we wouldn’t have gotten to where we are today without my desire to make some changes in 2012 and your guidance as my coach throughout the year.  As soon as you sat down next to me at the SWE Conference breakfast, I knew you were someone that could have a positive impact in my life.  Throughout your presentation later in the morning, I knew I had to do something to bring you into my realm.  The most important thing you did for me as my coach was to force me to do some critical thinking.  While I spend many hours a day in my job thinking outside of the box and playing out different scenarios and solutions, I wasn’t able to do that relative to my career.  I find that I’m having a much easier time doing it now.  The Assumption Ladder was another tool I found to be really helpful.  Because some colleagues don’t communicate well, I’ve made many assumptions based on the limited information I had.  Now I’m much quicker to ask more questions and develop a better understanding of the situation rather than jumping to conclusions, which is much better.
Jami Hirota, PE LEED AP
Sam O. Hirota, Inc.

In your Conflict Management Workshop for the Dean’s Administrative Council, you were able to remove the defensiveness that often plagues a team approach to conflict management.  You helped us undertand our current personal styles with a focus on how to expand our effectiveness for a variety of conflict situations, and I walked away with a better awareness of the variety of conflicts and the appropriate tools for each.
Carin Knickel
Ass’t. Dean, University of Colorado, Boulder

Nan Joesten has a passion for lawyer development, and it’s contagious.  Our lawyer competencies panel at the ABA Annual meeting was the highlight of my summer, thanks in no small measure to Nan’s efforts.  I have learned a lot from Nan over the years.
Professor William Henderson
Indiana University Maurer School of Law

I owe a great deal of my renewed confidence to having had the opportunity to work with you as my coach.  It was great for me to work with you and gain some new perspective You helped remind me that I am good at what I do.  My lack of goals and leadership had begun to weigh me down and you helped me to reorient toward doing what I knew to be right.  I particularly valued your keen ability to keep after me to answer the “hard questions.”  Thank you so much.
Kimberly Bellinger
John Muir Health Foundation

Nan has an exceptional ability to communicate.  She is a great listener as well as a terrific speaker.  We were fortunate to have her join a panel recently to discuss practical ways to get the benefit of mentoring in your career.  Nan’s commitment to helping others succeed was evident as she engaged audience members and drew them into the conversation.
Board Members
Womens’ Intellectual Property Lawyers’ Association (WIPLA)

Working with Nan as my coach during the start-up of my new business was tremendously helpful. She is precise, intelligent, and discerning, and the result for me was outstanding.
Janell Anderson
True Ascent Leadership

Nan is a tremendous asset to the ABA’s Judicial Intern Opportunity Program team. Her commitment to diversity is outstanding and her contribution to the program is unmatched. She is a terrific leader and works to get others involved and inspired through her positive outlook and motivational skills.
Gail Howard
Director of American Bar Association’s Judicial Intern Opportunity Program

Nan is passionate about talent development, retention, and leadership in the legal profession.  Having worked with her when she was a partner at my firm and chair of our professional development committee, I’ve seen her repeatedly bring people together to identify problems that needed to be fixed, find creative yet practical solutions, and quickly implement changes that build morale, improve motivation, and increase productivity.  She is also at the forefront of efforts to advance women in the profession, both as a mentor to women attorneys at our firm and through her work in the American Bar Association.
Anthony Grumbach
Director of Professional Development, Farella Braun + Martel LLP

Nan has provided valuable assistance with our highly specialized business needs. She has a wealth of knowledge and is always quick to respond, not to mention being so nice and fun to work with!
Julie Hagler Lumgair
Winemaker, Windsor Oaks Vineyards & Winery

Nan is passionate about finding ways for women to succeed. Nan and I co-chaired the ABA’s Woman Advocate Committee, where I experienced Nan’s exceptional organizational skills first hand. I appreciated her ability to draw new members into our committee and to develop creative programming of interest to men and women seeking to increase their career potential, all while maintaining her sense of humor. Nan’s a terrific leader.
Abbe Fletman
Shareholder at Flaster/Greenberg PC

I worked with Nan when I was Executive Director of the Alumni Center at Berkeley Law School. As board chair, Nan was particularly effective at developing and leading inclusive strategies to engage board members and alumni in the school. Her enthusiasm, attention to detail, and excellent meeting facilitation skills were perfectly enhanced by her good humor.
Jane Whitfield
President of Whitfield Consulting

Under Nan’s leadership, and working closely with me and our department chairs, we revamped Farella’s performance evaluation system, developed written competencies for our associate attorneys at all levels, created a written reduced hours policy to allow for greater flexibility for our associate attorneys, and implemented a creative mentoring circle program. She also led the significant changes to our substantive professional development program for our associate attorneys. All of these efforts have led to an improved culture of professional development for our attorneys, which has been instrumental in the success of our law firm’s ability to recruit, retain, and promote our lawyers.
Steve Lowenthal
Managing Partner, Farella Braun + Martel LLP