I can provide you with references relevant to any service I provide--just ask. Most of my business comes from referrals from satisfied clients. Here are a few:About my speaker, presentation and media training
In a discussion about recommended media trainers among university public information executives on LinkedIn, Bucknell University's Tom Evelyn said, "I worked with Denise Graveline with my previous president and other senior leaders, and based on that great experience, I've asked her to come back later this month to provide training for my new president and several others. She's a real pro." Amy Mone of the Johns Hopkins University Kimmel Cancer Center added: "Denise Graveline. Absolutely! I have worked with Denise many times, including in my former life at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She's outstanding."
You'll find an extensive list of comments from my public speaking and presenting trainees and workshop participants on The Eloquent Woman, my blog on women and public speaking.
A communications director who hired me to train her top executives in media interview skills and presentattion skills wrote, "They were so impressed with your presentation that all I need to say now is, 'Denise said...' and they jump back into line!"
You can read two articles here about the "Communicating Science" workshops I facilitate to help scientists communicate clearly with public audiences, with more feedback and insights.
About my consulting and strategy work
Paul Jellinek, philanthropy consultant and former colleague of mine at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, says, "Denise is a brilliant, high-energy communications expert with a sophisticated understanding of the power of modern communications to drive positive change--and how to harness that power on behalf of her clients. She puts her all into every assignment, mastering the details of even the most arcane subject matter, and in my experience, always exceeded expectations. To top it off, Denise has a great sense of humor, and is an absolute delight to work with.
Kate Perrin, CEO of Professional Solutions, LLC, says, "I don't know a more up-to-the minute, savvy professional when it comes to maximizing use of the latest techonology, message development, or re-purposing projects and materials for cost effective returns. Denise is a natural at training, making things clear when they had seemed muddled, simple when they had seemed difficult. She's a whiz!"
Ann Davison, senior vice president and senior partner at VOX Global, says, "Denise is a top-notch communications advisor - always on top of the latest trends and able to provide practical advice to a wide variety of audiences. She provides excellent counsel in both individual settings as well as with groups. And mixed in with all the expertise is a great sense of humor."
Amy Friedlander, a writing pro and consultant who worked for Shinkuro, Inc., helping to coordinate a major federal cybersecurity effort for which I've provided communications planning and advisement, says, "Working with Denise was great. She created and implemented a communications program for a small IT firm, trained the staff, and became a strategic adviser."
Robin Ferrier, communications manager at the Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County campus, says, "I hired Denise to train some of my senior team on the ins and outs of social media. While I believed this was an area we needed to be delving into deeper, I knew an outside voice would be needed to convince the skeptics. Denise was wonderful to work with from start to finish. We talked ahead of time -- more than once -- so she understood my goals and the audience. She tailored her presentation to our needs. And she convinced the team that we needed to be entering the "scary world" -- their words, not hers or mine -- of social media. Though we haven't yet implemented all the ideas the day generated -- mostly due to lack of time -- there's no question that she helped provide the knowledge and motivation the team needed to understand why social media was important."
Ginger Pinholster, who directs the Office of Public Programs at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, "Denise has provided a high level of science communications services for AAAS. In particular, she facilitates daylong training workshops for scientists and engineers who want to hone their communication skills. This task requires developing programmatic content, public speaking, program facilitation, and moderation of all activities throughout the day. Denise is a dynamic, effective media trainer, and also extremely reliable and well-prepared at all times. We are pleased to recommend her."
Hillarie Turner of Environics PR and a former staffer of mine writes here about my mentoring. I don't think recommendations get much better than this one.
