Testimonials

I am described by my clients as true, present, loving, creative and wise. My life and work are a contribution to evolving consciousness through deep connection to self, others and the whole.

 

“Carmen is a rare find, she has the ability to create truly transformational moments in the classroom.  It has been a privilege to work with such a skilled designer and implementer of leadership development over the past couple of years.” – Steven Teasdale, Group Head of Organisational Development, Change and Transformation, Discovery Limited. 

 

"My journey with Carmen has been nothing short of transformative. When I first started working with her, I was struggling with intense migraines due to stress, lacked boundaries, and had little understanding of how to prioritize self-care. Carmen, with her gentle wisdom and unwavering support, helped me rediscover balance and purpose. She not only taught me how to set boundaries and honor my own needs, but she also guided me in a way that reconnected me to my faith. Her approach was holistic, addressing my spiritual growth alongside my emotional well-being, and as a result, I have grown closer to God and find strength in my faith daily. Her influence has profoundly impacted my life in every role I hold. I am now a happier, more present wife, mother, and counselor, with a renewed sense of self and spirituality. Carmen’s guidance has also enriched my professional life, equipping me with insights and tools to be a better counsellor to my own clients. I am forever grateful for Carmen’s compassion and expertise, and I wholeheartedly recommend her to anyone seeking real change and a deeper connection to themselves and their spirituality." - Maureen Savai- Teacher and MA Counselling Psychology student at Catholic University of East Africa-Kenya

“I have worked with Carmen since 2013, during which time she has designed and delivered multiple leadership processes and programs for blue chip clients across financial services, mining, retail, manufacturing and public sectors. Carmen has a special gift for understanding how personal challenges and blind spots impact the effectiveness and success of leaders and teams. She has designed executive through middle management development programmes to shift leaders thinking, grow awareness and build confidence and skills. Carmen’s insight, empathy and capability, mixed with a deep passion for making a difference in people’s lives and improving leadership performance and business results, has produced user experiences that resonate deeply with the individuals and teams she works with. Almost without exception Carmen receives exceptional feedback from those on her programmes. I have not come across a process facilitator who consistently achieves 100% ratings from participants. Similarly, our client sponsors talk to the improvements in individual performance and re-alignment and purposing of the teams, she works with.  Carmen is a pleasure to work with. Client focused, authentic, creative, reliable and reflective of her own personal growth and learning, she is constantly pushing the envelope to improve the outcomes and impact of the processes she designs and runs. Some of the most creative work I have done has been guided and influenced by Carmen. Carmen is a consummate professional and I have no hesitation in recommending her for any role where she is able to apply her experience and expertise.” – Lindsay Falkov, Associate Partner, EY Canada, Toronto. 

 

“Carmen is driven by a desire to help others reach their fullest potential and evolve towards wholeness. She is also deeply committed to inner work and is constantly learning and growing. Ever since I first met her on a “Woman Within Workshop” in the UK I have been struck by her power, wisdom, depth, her commitment to do both her own inner work with courage and to facilitate the same for others. She is highly intelligent, driven, and well as emotionally aware and intelligent. She is authentic and deeply compassionate. I have a deep respect for her as both a friend and a colleague. She is resilient, compassionate, an excellent listener and has a strong and containing presence. Those who are around Carmen are profoundly impacted by her. She is able to work with teams on the highest of levels and to make everyone feel valued and heard. She is also highly intelligent and innovative, as well as capable; as is reflected in the unique ways she teaches others (from accounting in her early career to leadership and transformational work currently). She has been through much in her life, and as a result has been on a journey of discovery, healing and meaning from a young age. She has explored many healing modalities, all of which will hold her in good stead. She is a deep thinker, courageous, dedicated and disciplined and has achieved much of what she has set out to do in her life. I have no hesitation in my belief of her potential to continue to develop or to recommend this multifaceted, musical, poetic, creative, empathetic, practical, caring, and special human being.” – Linda Kantor (PhD), Counselling Psychologist, Hypnotherapist and yoga teacher, co-founder of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Programme in Cape Town, and Institute for Mindfulness South Africa.

 

“I have had the benefit of working with Carmen on a pioneering learning and solution development lab at Standard Bank. In a high-pressure, time constrained environment with a multi-country delegate team, Carmen’s presence and contribution has been a revelation, both as a facilitator and counsellor for the team as a whole and for individual members. Based on this experience I would recommend Carmen to play an enabling role in support of any high-intensity project delivery team.” – Justin Prozesky, Corporate Development/ M & A/Impact Investing, Standard Bank. 

“I worked with Carmen on a programme with the focus to build growth mindsets and finance-data skills for the future. These skills, inter alia, included self-awareness, agile and adaptive thinking, virtual communication, resilience, creativity and leadership. Carmen played an important role during the programme to assist us, as leaders, with developing these skills and also equipped us to share these with our teams. Carmen is well positioned to facilitate leadership conversations and journeys of discovery and exploration of self, other and the world. Her integrated approach offered us the opportunity to grow, to connect to self (especially during these uncertain times) and to unlock potential and creativity, whilst building coherence and resilience. She is integral for any team that wishes to prepare for the future.” – Adele Ackerman, Group Head, Risk Data Aggregation and Risk Reporting, Standard Bank.

 

“Coaching sessions with Carmen are an enlightening, fascinating experience, whereby she takes you on a journey of self-discovery to understand what helps and hinders you within yourself, as well as seeks to get answers to any other questions you may have to help you on your journey through life, whether it be in the context of work or in your personal life. Carmen uses diverse techniques and methods, based on the individual she is coaching and the stage of development they are at. She has great insight into human nature and has the ability to hone in on the area that requires coaching and assistance or the area that is crying out for growth and is waiting to be discovered and unleashed within you. From understanding past repetitive and unhelpful patterns and how they impact on the present moment, to learning to use your intuition to better understand situations and assisting you to develop your strengths and passions in life, coaching sessions with Carmen are varied, exciting and unique. Carmen is kind, gentle, and empathic. She is able to connect on a professional and individual level. Carmen is highly insightful and inspiring and has walked the path to enable her to have the experience to coach and guide others on their journey.” – Irene Van Wezel, CA (SA), Senior Manager, Finance, South African Bank Note Company

 

“I really appreciate how much you helped me during our short period together. Thank you very much - I believe that your coaching has made a big difference in my professional trajectory and overall work-like satisfaction.” “Thank you for your insightful and compassionate work with our Office.” “Thank you for facilitating very meaningful coaching sessions. I am hopeful that we are on the path towards more transformational versus transactional leadership. You have armed us with good tools and insights. “Thank you again for helping to bring clarity to my individual leadership purpose!” “We indeed accomplished a lot and I do feel more confident as a result of our coaching sessions... so big thank you to you.” “Many thanks for your very helpful coaching. It was time well spent.” “Thank you for the coaching session. I found it extremely useful.”  -  USAID Mission Teams, Uganda and Ethiopia

 

“She is crouched down feet dirty in the earth, wearing long layers of red clothing, cheeks flushed, at the doorway to a mound, with a opening, of a womb or perhaps a tomb and she is chanting and smiling and talking softly and shouting too and the moon shines on her, as she delivers yet another soul to its heart hearth, to its home.
I could call Carmen a great coach, but I prefer to call her a midwife of the soul. She has held my hand while I have walked through the sometimes treacherous terrain of my psyche and with her present, loving and wise company, much like Sam to Frodo, I discovered I was worthy of my love and support and I learnt I could climb the mountain and release the burning ring/ destructive patterns. This is what I call true and raw coaching. Carmen supported me in activating myself. Sleeves up and in the dirt with me, I could not doubt her presence and my worthiness. Carmen’s ability to maintain boundaries in the coaching process is remarkable. There must have been 100’s of times when she was surely tempted to proclaim or reproach but never did, always patiently granting me my own journey, while simply and patiently reminding me of the learnings/ tools achieved. A superb journey! Thank you, Carmen, you have been an amazing pillar. The mere thought of you provides such strength and love!”  - Donna Norgarb, Entrepreneur