I first had the pleasure of meeting Nancy fifteen years ago in her capacity as an executive function coach. Nancy coaches children with executive function disorders like ADHD and Aspergers Syndrome, helping them to succeed academically. A few of her clients were taking classes at the Berkeley Chess School and she came to support them. I was very impressed by her ability to keep students calm and focused and enjoying class. Over the years, she expanded her business to serve college students, adults and professionals, and businesses as well. Nancy is a whiz at helping people get organized, like a person who comes to de-clutter your house, except Nancy de-clutters minds!
The Berkeley Chess School was in the nascent stages of a capital campaign to purchase a permanent home for our school. As BCS founder and president, I had solicited donations to support our free chess outreach programs in schools, but our capital campaign had a goal of nearly a million dollars, and I was somewhat daunted by the enormity of the fundraising task. My desk was awash in bankers' boxes and post-it notes, so I made the decision to hire Nancy to help me through this process. Her advice and support became invaluable. She guided me through the transition from chess educator to chess entrepreneur. Her integrity, her sound methodology, her ability to clearly delineate problems with possible solutions, and REALLY LISTEN, with confidentiality and compassion, helped me negotiate the inevitable bumps in the road and make good choices for the school. Today, Berkeley Chess School has an operating budget in excess of a million dollars and we own our own building. I credit my success as a fundraiser in no small part to Nancy's coaching. I cannot recommend her highly enough! read more