TESTIMONIALS
I’ve had the pleasure of working with Aline for more than ten years. I’ve seen her provide professional coaching with excellence, integrity and compassion. She has taught leadership skills and developed curriculum that centers race equity, community engagement and strategic thinking. She is a true gem: wise, thoughtful, collaborative, and supportive; she is absolutely an ally in our common struggles for equity and justice. Whether she is working with an individual or a group, she will offer a depth of insight and support that will move people forward in developing and realizing their goals. As a friend and colleague I have personally benefited from her creative and strategic thinking; I’m thrilled for those who will receive the benefit of working with her!
— Michele Storms, Executive Director, ACLU of Washington
I have collaborated with Aline in many capacities and am grateful for her deep thinking and knowledge of leadership development, equity, and community care practices. Her commitment to social justice is deep and unabiding, paralleled only by her passion for cultivating others’ passions and talents.
— Jennifer Werdell, Executive Director, JustLead Washington
Aline is an incredible proponent of equity and inclusion in the workplace, organization, and school. She is the first person I have met who handles these challenging topics on race, equity, cultural competency, privilege, etc. with such grace and skill. Aline does not shy away from challenging people to re-think their privilege and wrestle with how to include others in spite of that privilege. These conversations can often be heated or even offensive, but Aline creates a safe space that people are able to engage in these conversations openly and honestly to work towards improvement. As a woman of color, I have been so encouraged by Aline’s efforts to advancing equity and inclusion. Aline has conducted numerous trainings on this subject, and has encouraged people of color—myself included—to take leadership roles in the training to ensure that the message reaches the audience in a conscientious and respectful manner. These trainings have been received well, and has opened invaluable dialogues in the community.
— Melody Young, Immigration Attorney, Seattle, WA
It is a delight to work with Aline to build capacity and structure within an organization. I worked with Aline in her capacity as a board member at the Seattle Community Law Center in 2013-2014. She brought incredible enthusiasm for organizational development, and delivered on this enthusiasm by driving a discussion about a possible merger, and helping to build organizational infrastructure for a strong fundraising program. Ultimately, it is my experience that no matter what the challenge your organization is facing, Aline can shine a light on a well-designed pathway to action your organization can follow to get results that incorporate equity and inclusion.
— Alex Doolittle, Executive Director, Benefits Law Center
I reached out to Aline in order to gain a more complete perspective on a large open ended public interest project. Public interest work is by its nature complex and requires deep insight into the communities affected. Aline was able to tap her years of experience and gave me critical feedback and guiding questions. Her insight underpinned my approach to the project and led to a dynamic outcome. She approached my questions with openness and challenged me in key ways that improved and expanded the impact of the project. She was able to anticipate the potential pitfalls and assisted me in thinking proactively in order to avoid those risks.
Aline provided me with helpful touchstones that I continued to refer back to as the project continued. Thanks to her insight, I was able to provide a clear direction and vision to others and lead the project to success using her guiding advice as a compass.
— Maggie Davis, Attorney, Portland, OR
Aline helped me develop legal skills, network with key stakeholders, expand my areas of interest, and identify career goals. Aline invested in me, introducing me to others and encouraging me to know the public interest community. As an introvert, I found her encouragement and commitment to my success crucial to my current career in public service. Aline is an amazing professional coach who helps individuals identify goals and take practical steps towards them. As to leadership development, Aline is insightful, experienced, and attentive. Aline listens to students and sincerely believes in supporting grass root efforts. She has implemented practical and helpful trainings on organizational leadership, whether it is training, structure, conflict management, or institutional memory, Aline helps students and professionals navigate these challenging conversations and trains them to have meaningful skills.
— Melody Young, Immigration Attorney, Seattle, WA
I had the pleasure of working with Aline as a career coach and a colleague at the University of Washington School of Law in Seattle, WA. Aline is an experienced, gifted coach. It is rare to find someone who is as committed to her own self-improvement, learning potential, and breadth and depth of teaching tools as she is about helping others to be their best. She believes in bridging the gap between where people are and where they want to be. Aline is also unapologetically unafraid to have frank conversations to help people realize their potential. She is a passionate and contemplative speaker and presenter, as well. Aline uses a combination of humor, inquiry, empathy and various tools and resources to help make a point, get to the crux of an issue, or identify or address a concern. I miss the opportunity to engage with her and learn from her. I am thrilled that she is continuing her work outside of the University in such a way that others will continue to benefit from her passion, support, quizzical nature, and wisdom.
— Dorian Varga, Associate Director at University of Washington
Aline’s compassionate presence made me feel at ease talking about difficult situations, while her big-picture thinking, and strength in strategizing gave me just the direction I needed. She is an excellent coach, with an eye for nuance and a strong understanding of how power dynamics and social identities complicate our working relationships. I particularly recommend her to white folks looking to deepen their racial equity work and become better allies to their colleagues of color.
— Laurie Carlsson, Principal & Owner, Reverb DEI; Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Consultant
We are living in a moment in history when the importance and need for social justice values-based leadership is an imperative. Yet few of us have ever been taught servant leadership skills in school or through our professional training. Aline knows that leadership can be taught, and she knows how to facilitate servant leadership skills learning in ways that are engaging, effective and powerful.
— ada shen-jaffe, Race Equity & Leadership Consultant and Coach; JustLead Washington, Senior Educational Consultant; Sargent Shriver National Poverty Law Center's Racial Justice Training Institute Advisory Committee
Aline helped me nurture my dream of becoming a public service lawyer before that dream had clearly defined contours and before I even knew what a public service lawyer does. I brought to Aline a vague and intuited notion that I wanted to be a public service lawyer, and Aline assisted me in turning that notion into a reality. Aline provided steady encouragement, pragmatic professional pointers, honest feedback, and guidance grounded in her extensive experience in the field. Aline's support was critical to me in attaining my professional goal.
— Alice Jones, In-house counsel for land use organization, Missoula, MT
I consulted with Aline frequently on how to raise the profile of my organization in the local legal community, how to increase our net take from our annual fundraising event, and perhaps most importantly, how to shape our organization to make it better embody our goals of racial and economic equity and inclusion. Aline did a tremendous job giving trainings to our board members which had an immediate positive impact on the conviction and commitment of our board to make equity a central value of our organization and to put on as successful of a fundraising event as possible. I credit Aline’s guidance of our organization with helping to increase the share of people of color who applied for and participated on our board. Additionally, with her consulting, our organization raised enough funds to provide financial assistance to every law student who applied for it for the first time in our 22 year history.
— Kevin Duffy-Greaves, former Co-President, Public Interest Law Association, UW School of Law
I always feel confident that I can rely on Aline for trustworthy advice. Upon meeting her for the first time, she listened carefully and then enthusiastically connected me with an opportunity that was directly in line with my public service career goals. Because of her continuous support and encouragement over a period of years, I am on a path to my dream career. Aline is approachable and kind, and also provides practical and honest insight. I have been grateful to have found such an outstanding resource.
— Rebecca Levine, Public Health Fellow, Atlanta, GA
Aline is a dedicated and caring career development coach. She helped me build a professional resume and cover letter that put my job applications at the top for multiple legal non-profits around the country. She is a very calm, centered person who supported me through the various challenges. Practically, she has given me excellent tips on interviewing, follow up emails, and networking. Thanks to Aline I was able to confidently go into interviews feeling prepared with anecdotes that showcased my strengths and the ability to anticipate questions.
— Alizeh Bhojani, Immigration Policy Manager, OneAmerica, Seattle, WA
With each personal coaching session, Aline helped draw out and refine my professional goals over time. It was obvious to me that Aline took a personal interest in me and my future success. When my partner had to move across the country for a job, I immediately met with Aline who helped make a comprehensive plan for me to start the process of building out a new professional network and apply for jobs on the East Coast. In large part thanks to Aline’s careful career guidance, I secured a job in public interest law that I love within three months of graduation.
— Kevin Duffy-Greaves, Housing Attorney, Brooklyn, NY
Aline is an excellent organizational management consultant, and has helped board members navigate difficult conversations on organizational leadership structure, conflict resolution, risk management, and project implementation. As a former board member of the Center for Human Rights and Justice, I benefitted from her wise counsel in implementing the Immigration Application Assistance Project, analyzing risk management, liability, training, and institutional memory. Her guidance helped board members navigate multiple stakeholders’ interests and has allowed the project to continue to this day. Aline also gave invaluable advice counseling on the International Treaty Monitoring Project, helping identify problems in leadership structure, commitment, and the long term longevity of the project. Aline brought invaluable insight to the project and allowed the team to develop a critical manual for the project to start again in the future. She brings invaluable insight and experience to boards and organizational management. Anyone would be lucky to have her on their team!
— Melody Young, Former Founding Co-Director, International Treaty Monitoring Project and Asylum Application Assistance Project, UW School of Law