Testimonials:

Federated Department Stores
“It is rare to meet someone who completely exceeds expectations in every way. Sondra absolutely did it. Her presentation on unconscious bias received high marks from our Diversity Leadership team for its practicality and direct business-oriented approach.”
- Corliss J. Fong, Vice-President, Diversity Management

Best Buy
“Since your presentation, we have all had a chance for reflection and I can tell you that we viewed it as one of the highlights of the week. The attendees clearly felt that your valuable insights could immediately be put to use on the job – both for themselves and in coaching others. Our committee “old timers” felt this was perhaps the most impactful content they had received to date. I guarantee that I will be extolling your work to others both inside and outside the company.”
- Julie Schlueter, Project Manager, Multiculturalism and Diversity

Talbots
“Wow! Thanks for the great suggestion to bring Dr. Thiederman to the meeting. Her session in the topic of ‘Gateway Events’ was simply terrific! She was dynamic, engaging and supportive and really brought out the best in the group. I am confident that every District Manager learned and grew from the experience.”
- Michele Mandell, Executive Vice-President, Stores

Retail and Hospitality Forum
“Thought provoking. A good reminder that we all have biases that we need to move past. Sondra provided solid suggestions for how to do just that.”
- Program Participant

Network of Executive Women
“You made a complex topic easy to understand and easy to apply while keeping us involved and entertained.”
- Program Participant

Federated Systems Group
“After the meeting, I heard someone say, ‘Sondra is so real.’ This isn’t something you typically hear about business speakers. What made Sondra’s presentations so refreshing and the time spent so valuable was that she invested herself in the program and that made the material personally applicable to us.”
- Program Participant

Stein Mart
“Congratulations on the superb presentation you gave at the Stein Mart managers meeting. You inspired and educated and brought a sense of fun to our audience of over 400 managers. I especially appreciate the time and effort you spent prior to the meeting getting to know our organization and your willingness to be flexible in meeting our needs. Your address made a lasting impression on us all. Also, your presentation set the stage for our own diversity case studies and will tangibly help us resolve several of our diversity challenges. Sondra, you were terrific and I look forward to us working together again in the future.”
- Rebecca E. Steele, Former Director, Organizational Development and Training

Federated Systems Group
“Sondra, you couldn’t have been more supportive as we worked on the content for our Leadership Summit. You built great case studies that really resonated with those in attendance. You were always open to suggestions and made yourself available as needed. You listened to and adjusted your style so that our predominately left-brained management team could connect to your message. To sum it up, I enjoyed working with you immensely and look forward to doing it again in the future.”
- Sallye R. Davis, Director Diversity & Inclusion

Talbots
“Sondra’s latest book, Making Diversity Work, was recently used as the basis for our in-house training on bias reduction. We then had Sondra herself out to address our high-level managers. The information she delivered was invaluable in helping our organization be successful in our very diverse business environment.”
- Terri Smalley, Former Diversity Manager

Talbots
"When Sondra helped design and appeared in Talbots’ video “Customer Service in the 90’s,” she received these comments from the client: “Sondra, your expertise, poise, and comfort with the diversity message of our video added a wonderful dimension to the topic. There is no doubt but that your talent helped to make the project the quality product we were striving for. The video has been well received by our district managers and they are eager to roll it out to the stores within their area. I hope we will have the opportunity to work together again as we begin to look at workforce diversity issues.”
- Terry Smalley, Former Diversity Manager

National Retail Federation
“When Sondra spoke to our Council on Diversity, she did a great job of customizing her material to our industry and to the needs of the group – a combination of Loss Prevention professionals and diversity team members from organizations such as Neiman Marcus, JC Penney, and Macy’s. In addition, she found a way to entertain us while imparting information that will make a real contribution to our retail success.”
- Wendy Penn, Director, Member Services