Workshops

Suzie has a phenomenal talent for contextualizing topics, embedding them into a common frame of reference and language, whether she is introducing new information or providing a refresher. Her calming presence fosters trust and creates a positive learning environment, keeping everyone engaged throughout the session, whether online or in person. When I talk about training with Suzie, I consistently hear responses of excitement and enthusiasm. She truly makes you want to be there and learn from her.

“Suzie is a great trainer, and you won’t be disappointed! I have worked with Suzie about 6 times now – both for Government and Social Services training and for training developed specifically for not-for-profit organizations. Suzie is really thorough in the planning stages. She will help you set clear objectives and agendas – including what sort of audience participation you want, how the room will be set up – either in person or online, how many breaks, and any key points or alignments that need to be included. She really listens as you decide on the possibilities and pays great attention to detail. Suzie is also fun – and ensures that all participants enjoy the events. There will be an encouragement for self-reflection and learning, alongside lots of time for discussion and questions, together with her humour, humility and expertise, which shines through!”

“We were fortunate to participate in Suzie’s Coaching workshop and a full day of ‘Bridges Out of Poverty.’ The content of Suzie’s training is inspiring, and her depth of knowledge and understanding is remarkable. Suzie is a skilled and engaging facilitator who keeps delivery on track and follows the pace desired by the group. Her background in social services provides a wealth of experience, and she can identify with the challenges faced by working with people from diverse backgrounds.

Suzie’s training has impacted how our staff interact with clients. The Bridges philosophy is now considered and reflected in our program design. We have implemented coach-like interactions in our centres and find them beneficial for our staff and clients.

I highly recommend training with Suzie for any social services program or agency. Her delivery, personality, and knowledge are exemplary. I will send staff to her new training sessions whenever they are available.”

“Suzie is a leader well known for her commitment to helping those facing barriers to education, work, and personal independence. Therefore, it was an easy choice when our Literacy and Basic Skills practitioners were looking for training in coaching. Suzie provided two days of training, separated by several weeks, which gave us the chance to put our new coaching skills into practice. During the sessions, we learned about ourselves and our values. We learned about AND practiced coaching.

Suzie also supported us in applying the Bridges out of Poverty philosophy to our work. It was the first workshop where we had 100% attendance; no one wanted to miss the opportunity to spend two days learning from Suzie. Suzie continues to lead our community of practice, where she checks in, guides discussions, and provides scenarios we can work through. She ensures people have the support and resources they need to continue integrating coaching into their work. This has been a significant step in building our skills and an overall coaching culture. We highly recommend Suzie for her knowledge, facilitation style and commitment to coaching.”

“The training and coaching Suzie provided our emerging leaders through the Rural Ontario Institute’s Rural Change Maker Program was not only transformative but absolutely foundational! It brought us together as a very diverse group of young leaders with diverse lived experiences and inspired all of us toward collective hope, understanding, and the belief that change is possible! That together, we could shape our communities and the world we want to live in.

Suzie developed the curriculum and training tools needed for our emerging leaders in a critical way that underpinned the entire learning process and set us all on a good path forward. Together with understanding, care and hope! I can’t imagine launching our program learning journey any other way or with anyone else as inspiring and knowledgeable!”

“Suzie’s ability to engage with our staff and maintain interest throughout training was exceptional. She fostered an inclusive environment where everyone felt comfortable sharing their thoughts and asking questions. Her openness and willingness to share greatly enhanced the learning experience. Suzie provided real life case studies that were incredibly valuable and allowed for practical job application. Suzie helped bridge the gap between theory and practice, showing us how to implement person-centred support in real-life scenarios. Her long history of Ontario Works practices and her deep knowledge of person-centred supports, in conjunction with her passion for the subject matter, was very evident throughout the training. This inspired confidence to apply these practices within our team and motivated us to apply what we learned. Suzie provided materials and resources that will be valuable as we continue to develop our skills in person-centred support and wrap-around services.

Suzie’s commitment is admirable. She encouraged us to adopt a holistic and empathetic perspective, fostering collaboration with clients while adapting to a coaching and mentoring relationship instead of a fix-it mentality. Integrating this lens into our program will enhance our ability to create meaningful change and build stronger, more resilient communities. Suzie is the change you wish to see in the world.”

“As one of the coordinators of our biennial Eastern Region conference for managers, administrators and practitioners in adult training programs, I highly recommend Suzie as a presenter. We are funded by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development to offer these programs. This past year, we were fortunate to book Suzie Johnson-Smith to lead an afternoon workshop on coaching. The participant feedback was fantastic, and Suzie’s session was specifically mentioned in our surveys. The afternoon timeslot on the second day of a conference is a tough one. People are tired and overloaded with information. Suzie arrived well-prepared and not only engaged the group but also left people with some real concrete next steps. The topic of coaching has proved to be very relevant to our instructors in their program delivery as well as with management and leadership in human resources skill development and a strategy for staff retention.”

“I’m a partner in the largest privately-owned physical rehabilitation clinic in Windsor, Ontario, and one of my roles in the partnership is to maintain our accreditation through CARF Canada. Suzie’s workshops checked all the boxes for comprehensive team building and education, so we hired her for in-person training. Wow, the whole team was blown away! Our past guest speakers/trainers were met with an audience of bored faces, but Suzie kept all engaged, and to this day, the value of her content and the quality of the presentation is still spoken about. What I appreciated the most was the offer of follow-up to our personnel if they had any questions. Suzie provided everyone with her contact information in case they had any further questions afterward, and the feedback was very positive. She is a caring and compassionate individual, and we look forward to having her back for further workshops and training opportunities!”