Allison is amazing. She and I served together on a nonprofit board and on one of its most active committees, so I've been able to witness her skills first-hand and at length. Allison brings a deep focus to how people communicate and work together. She thinks about how to prepare herself and others efficiently and effectively, to achieve collaboration and action. For our nonprofit board and committee meetings, she tackled complex decisionmaking tasks by clarifying issues, preparing thorough agendas and supporting documents, providing sufficient background so that members could discuss issues intelligently, navigating conversation to ensure that all voices were heard, and helping members move from rumination to action. Our board was able to enact several major substantive and procedural bylaws changes because of the way Allison encouraged our engagement and then skillfully led us through a decisionmaking process. We were a much more productive board because of her facilitation. 

Here are a few characteristics that Allison embodies:

• Analytical ability

• Focus and clarity

• Collaborative approach balanced with productivity and results-orientation 

• Consistent preparation and follow-through

I’ve had the opportunity to work with Allison’s meeting method at two different institutions, and I can personally attest to the transformation it brings. I’ve seen long, unfocused meetings evolve into efficient, strategy-driven sessions where the right people are at the table and time is used with purpose.

At my first institution, implementing her method reduced our weekly team meetings from 3–4 hours on Fridays to focused, 1.5-hour sessions midweek. These meetings became a space for meaningful discussion, clear decision-making, and concrete action.

Allison brings a thoughtful, structured approach to meetings that ensures every voice is heard. Her method allows space for reflection, encourages inclusive participation, and consistently leads to actionable goals. As a result, I’ve seen measurable improvements not only in our day-to-day operations but also in the strength and cohesion of our team.

Allison understands that in a complex organization, forward progress almost always takes working in teams. The question that follows is, What does it take to engage teams and work together efficiently and effectively? Allison has made a study of this very question and, over many years of experience with many different types of teams, she has honed a toolbox of skills and strategies that can be applied to any team.

I worked with Dr. Blizzard in my capacity as Dean of Humanities at Spokane Falls Community College, during which time she was the lead instructor and program head for the college’s Intensive English Language Program.  I had numerous opportunities to attend meetings chaired by Dr. Blizzard, and my experience was that she was consistently well-prepared with a clear agenda and set of objectives for the meeting.  She was skilled at encouraging participation in brainstorming and problem-solving through her use of thoughtful questions and illustrative anecdotes.  She was adept at heading off attempts to “hijack” meetings or divert discussions onto a side track without alienating the participants or having to be heavy-handed.  In short, if Dr. Blizzard invited you to a meeting that she was chairing, you knew that the time spent in such a meeting would be productive, meaningful, and would only last as long as necessary to complete the meeting’s purpose.  Her skills in this regard would be an asset to any organization.

There is a saying that has long become a meme - “It could have been an email”… We all sat through meetings like that. I know I did. But not when that meeting was led by my former colleague Dr. Allison Blizzard. She came prepared! Her agenda was concise and always focused on the items imperative to discuss as a team. It was sent out to the essential participants in advance, so we all had enough time to prepare. Allison led with a clear purpose; the meetings started and ended on time that was preplanned. She facilitated the team discussions and kept us on track, gently averting digressions and asides. I’ve always left those meetings with a feeling of accomplishment and clarity. Allison’s productivity and time management have always been impeccable - before I knew it, there would be a follow up email from her in our mailboxes containing a detailed summary of the meeting and the record of the specific action items assigned to the team members to ensure accountability and to track the progress. I absolutely admired the clarity and eloquence with which she spoke - nothing unnecessary or vague. Her superpower is to be able to construct systematic and sagacious logical chains which made the jobs of the people around her so much easier and pleasant.