Community Leader Testimonials

“Ms. Jenkins did an exceptionally thorough job of evaluating the functioning, structure and practices of the Board of Trustees of Phillips Theological Seminary. Her presentation was very informative and insightful and her materials provided were very helpful. The board was very pleased with the results of this project”

Lynnwood R. Moore, Jr., Chair of the Board of Trustees

Phillips Theological Seminary (July 2016)

“Linda’s exercises and expertise aided our board in accomplishing more in eight hours than we would have been able to do on our own in a week of meetings. Our Vice President, Foundation Director and I had taken Linda’s one-hour BoardSource webinar and agreed she was great. So, when we needed help refining our Mission and Vision statements we decided to seek her assistance. As great as she was in that webinar, she was even better for eight hours in person. We’re grateful to Linda for getting us on track and rest assured when the need arises in the future we will call on her again. We have used facilitators in the past but none of them can compare to Linda in quality and energy nor with such ease keep a board like ours on track to ‘get it done’.”

Dave Remine, President

Mensa Foundation (June 2015)

“Linda Jenkins presented her workshop – Opportunity 2015: Raising More Money at Your Next Banquet – to our alumni association in April 2015. Her knowledge and insight as well as her question and answer sessions provided us with the tools and information to turn our association around. We have raised more money since her presentation than we had in several years combined. We are so fortunate to have met Linda and hired her company to give us sound advice and encouragement. If you want to learn how to raise more money for your organization or cause, Jenkins Consulting Group is the one to help you.”

Vicky J. Beier, President

Perry High School Alumni Association, Inc. (June 2015)

“It is all in the way you phrase the question that produces reliable, actionable results. Linda first understood our mission and objectives for this 38 year-old youth program on our Free Enterprise System. She then helped us formulate a strategy, and set of survey questions to help make it even better, and more student/volunteer driven. The use of an experienced third party organization, Jenkins Consulting Group, added the credibility to solicit candid responses. Linda then summarized the results in a format our team could incorporate in the next year’s Rotary Camp Enterprise.”

Brian Bovaird, Former Chairperson, and Committee member

Rotary Club of Tulsa’s Camp Enterprise (June 2014)

“Linda is a highly engaging and interactive speaker; she effectively taught our organization the importance of establishing ground rules in teams and organizations through memorable and applicable experiences. Whether it is group projects, reaching organizational goals, or striving toward team excellence; Linda is of great help in exemplifying our opportunity for improvement in organizational dynamics.”

Amber Vanderburg, President

Chapter of Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) at Oral Roberts University (March 2014)

“I have served on non-profit boards for almost ten years and have attended numerous consultant led board retreats. I can say with confidence that I received more practical and useful information from you in one day than I have received at any other board training program.”

William Mark Bonney, Treasurer, New Hope Camp, Inc.

March, 2011

“Linda was engaged to facilitate development of a strategic plan for the Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences. I am pleased to say we completed the project on time and with no casualties along the way!

“Linda took a keen interest in our organization and invested the time and energy to really understand who we are and what we are about. She listened, observed and did a fantastic job gaining consensus among a diverse group of personalities.

“Linda is intelligent, professional and a pleasure to work with!”

Gina Briggs, Board of Trustees

Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences

“I invited Linda Jenkins to provide a board and stakeholders planning session with the South Peoria Neighborhood Connections organization (that serves the 61st and Peoria area) for June 14, 2008. Our organization was facing a crisis in funding at the time and was seeking direction regarding our serving the community through the South Peoria Neighborhood House. Linda provided focused discussion on our development as a board and effectively led us to examine our strengths, liabilities and our future direction. Our board sees the planning effort with Linda as a true blessing which has energized and rejuvenated our efforts to improve our organization and help our community. I highly recommend her.”

Lanny Endicott, President

South Peoria Neighborhood Connection Foundation, Inc.

“Linda Jenkins is a fountain of information on nonprofit organizations, ethics in business and charitable giving in Northeast Oklahoma. Great speaker!”

Emily Patterson Harris, President

Rotary Club of North Tulsa

“Linda is an insightful, well-prepared and engaging non-profit professional with the ability and motivation to help your organization the minute she gets involved. Linda presented “Twenty Principles for Effective and Ethical Boards” at our annual Tulsa CASA board retreat and we walked away with a number of best practice recommendations to consider for the coming year. We accomplished a great deal in just over one hour.”

Kevin Kennemer, President and Founder, The People Group

President, Tulsa CASA Inc. Board of Directors

“Linda facilitated/guided us through a strategic planning process. While we were a diverse group related to our knowledge, she was able to draw in all the participants and make the process very educational. And, we created a very good and detailed strategic plan. It was the best strategic planning exercise in which I have been involved.”

Scott Shepherd, Regional Vice President, Oklahoma Natural Gas Company

Strategic Planning Committee Chair, LIFE Senior Services

“The Tulsa Lawyers for Children board retreat was the second time I had attended a nonprofit board retreat facilitated by Linda. Both were outstanding, due almost entirely to Linda’s experience, skill and preparation.  Each event was individually tailored by Linda for that organization’s specific needs and stage of development, conducted in a relaxed yet professional manner and highly productive. As a person strongly resistant to spending time on process–related matters, I can say without hesitation that if Linda can convert me, she can work productively with anyone.”

Anne Sublett, Attorney at Law, Conner & Winters, LLP

President, Tulsa Lawyers for Children Board of Directors

“The process of mobilizing community volunteers to assess the needs, program outcomes, and fiscal/administrative capacities of agencies to clarify campaign goals during Linda’s 10 years with the Tulsa Area United Way is one of the most ingenious, well-structured strategic planning and implementation processes I have seen. Linda’s visceral attention to detail, fervor for meaningful deliberations, and the sense of ownership she empowered only enhanced our ability to outline attainable goals and fallback plans. Linda’s penchant for success and ability to get results need to be duplicated and I am elated to see she is now consulting. More businesses, both private and public, need the opportunity to take advantage of her expertise.”

Julian Brewer, Director, Nonprofit Practice

The AGOS Group, LLC

“Linda staffed the Strategic Planning Task Force during my Chairmanship for both Tulsa Area United Way Plans 2005 & 2010. It was her blueprint that enabled our volunteer efforts to frame that which was unique to our mission. Her creativity and leadership engaged us in a highly defined planning process. She challenged us to maintain the integrity of our mission inclusiveness of all stakeholders and insure the flexibility to better position ourselves to meet future challenges.”

Frank A. Fisher, Jr., Former Managing Partner

Northwestern Mutual Financial Network

“I have known and worked with Linda Jenkins with both the City of Tulsa and Tulsa Area United Way for approximately 15 years. I have always found Linda to be very organized in her efforts to complete any task. She not only completed any task but always used her own standards of completion which were higher than those expected by others.”

Charlie Jackson, Retired Deputy Chief of Police

Tulsa Police Department

“Linda is a leader. She brings the best out of people and always leaves them feeling better about even the most difficult situations. Her wisdom and insightfulness bring more to the table than I can express. Her verbal skills are exceptional. Linda adds meaning and value with purpose and results. I have observed on occasion when meetings would seem to be engulfed with no answers, personal conflict, and even mistrust and she always managed to bring everyone to a reasonable conclusion. She would never give up. It was, as though she never gave up on you personally or on any one else. She respected our opinion and position on issues. Linda put her personal feelings aside and always managed to be the consistent professional with the heart to do the right thing. She taught me a lot. I respect her and will always be indebted to Linda Jenkins.”

Frank Janowski, Labor and Community Relations

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma

“I have had the privilege of working with Ms. Jenkins since she began her career with the City of Tulsa years ago.  Forming this partnership was a tremendous benefit to enhancing the effectiveness of two local governments, the City of Tulsa and the County of Tulsa.  When Ms. Jenkins began her employment with Tulsa Area United Way, she was, without hesitation, the right person for the job.  The talents and strengths that she brought to the position were immense. She focused like a laser on developing diversity, administrative strength, competence and accountability at every Tulsa Area United Way member agency.  Ms. Jenkins’ success with these agencies was measurable and is transferable to your organization.”

Linda J. Johnston, Director of Social Services

Tulsa County

“Serving as the chair of the Tulsa Area United Way Community Investments Committee was a wonderful experience. Its high quality was based on Linda’s ability to provide direction, organization and a wonderful environment to allow all of us to excel. After working with Linda for over 7 years, I consider her a mentor and a wonderful asset to any project. Her ability to teach and energize those around her is amazing and one of her greatest traits.”

Angelia Kelley, Internal Audit Manager

Chesapeake

“I cannot speak highly enough about Linda Jenkins’ integrity and her ability to handle diverse situations. I worked with Linda for over 10 years in her capacity as VP of Community Investments with Tulsa Area United Way, and my role as a member of various CI panels and finally as a member of the Steering Committee as Chair of the Initiatives Division. Linda provided guidance and encouragement in an organized and reasonable manner. Her behind-the-scenes support was invaluable, no only to me but to the agencies that we worked with.”

Sheryl Marcum (Sherry), Reserves Analyst II

Williams, E&P

“As a Tulsa Area United Way volunteer for several years, I worked closely with Linda. She has a unique understanding of non-profit entities and what makes them successful.

“Linda has in-depth knowledge in the area of outcome-based planning and management. In my work with her, I have seen her successfully help a number of organizations shift their focus to results-based thinking by helping them establish measurable targets and milestones, and in this way helped the organization to achieve better results.

“Linda has provided critical guidance to organizations concerning entity governance at the Board level. She also has remarkable understanding of the challenges non-profit entities face in the areas of financial management and budgeting.

“Beyond all this, though, Linda’s greatest asset is her passion for what she does. She has a heart for service and a strong desire to help non-profit organizations achieve their goals of helping others.”

John Meinders, Partner

Grant Thornton LLP

“I worked with Linda for eight years as a volunteer in the Community Investments division of the Tulsa Area United Way. Linda’s strengths enabled her to manage a large group of volunteers (170 plus) and provide great leadership and direction. Her analytical skills allowed her to quickly drive improvements in the funds allocation process. In my view, the allocation process had become too subjective and lacked structure. Within two years of Linda’s time on the job, we had a well organized system that enabled new volunteers to understand the process quickly, and provided clear direction to agencies submitting requests. Her approach and improvements did cause some controversy. The new process for submitting funding requests required a much higher level of accountability on the agencies’ part. The improved system helped volunteers raise important issues with agencies’ staff and in some cases expose inefficiencies. The goal of these improvements was to provide a road map to each executive director on how to improve the way they run their businesses. Linda’s presentation skills and presence make her an excellent public speaker. Her confidence allows her to stand firm on issues she believes are important. Linda’s work ethic is exceptional. She approaches her work with a sense of urgency and purpose. In short, she is committed to getting results and always focused on the goal.”

David Page, Market President

JP Morgan Chase

“Linda is thorough in thought and action.  She asks all the right questions to enable exploration and reflection about the complexities of our community based and government agencies.  She is quick to learn and disagree with the majority when she knows she is right. More importantly, Linda is able to bridge theory to practice and uses knowledge and understanding to advocate for people, community and society.”

Melanie Spector, Ed.D, LPC, LADC – Health Education, Research & Program Development Specialist

State of Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Medical Services