“Janet is an outstanding executive coach. We began working together when I was in a very difficult and sometimes overwhelming work situation. I had left a position, in which I had much success, for another where I was struggling and needed assistance navigating the new environment. Janet developed strategic tools to help me filter out external noise and focus on the elements of my leadership role which enabled success. She brings clarity, fosters self-awareness, and launched me on a path for continued personal and professional growth.”
Susan Heppell
Director, Ultrasound Programs, Echo and General
Kaiser Permanente School of Allied Health Sciences (KPSAHS)
Richmond, CA
“Janet did an amazing job showing (not telling) our UC Berkeley graduating seniors (and their Professor) how to give an effective and memorable presentation. I heard rave reviews from the students -- one said she learned more from Janet in an hour than she did in some multi-day communications trainings. I am so impressed with the way Janet was able to get the students to workshop their presentations while in class, so that they could truly digest and employ the key methods for success. I'm certain that we will all remember how to build and deliver a stellar talk and communicate better thanks to Janet's fantastic engaging lesson.”
Dr. Adina Merenlender
Conservation Biologist
Lecturer, College of Natural Resources
University of CA, Berkeley, CA
“Janet is a powerhouse when it comes to communications. I've hired Janet for my ACE Board Training programs to help executive women prep for corporate board interviews and also hired her for guidance in a video series. Janet came in extremely prepared in both instances, and we all received valuable takeaways to utilize immediately. When I have an important communications need, I call on Janet because I know I will improve and receive valuable techniques I can use forever. Through our communications coaching sessions, Janet has catapulted me into the stratosphere and I am so grateful.”
Michele Ashby
President & CEO, Ashby Consulting Enterprises
Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Colorado 2019
“I have had the pleasure of working with Janet Watson for over seven years through the Center for Teaching Excellence at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. Janet served as a valued coach for both our ladder and professional faculty at Haas. She was recently promoted to Senior Coach due to her outstanding work and high ratings from faculty and is the only coach to earn this distinction. Janet is an extraordinarily talented teaching and presentation coach. Working with her is a pleasure as she has a can-do attitude, is very positive and extremely professional. She has been able to work successfully with some of our most challenging faculty. I give Janet my highest professional recommendation.”
Sue George, Executive Director
Center for Teaching Excellence, School of Public Health
University of California, Berkeley
“Janet worked with me one-to-one to improve my presentation skills in the classroom, my organizational skills as they relate to teaching and my interpersonal skills as they relate to my role as a course coordinator. I cannot recommend Janet highly enough. As a professional educator of professional educators, Janet's application of organizational detail and presentation of broader themes - as appropriate - have made a clear and significant impact on my work life and as a result notably contributed to my recent, successful award of tenure. Janet specializes in co-creating professional development workshops that address teaching to Millennials and she focuses on classroom engagement and critical thinking. Janet also works with individual faculty members, pinpointing specific needs and addressing them, as she did with me.”
Benjamin D. Zeitlin PhD, Associate Professor
Director of Pharmacology, Department of Biomedical Sciences
Dugoni School of Dentistry, University of the Pacific
“Janet is the consummate coach. She makes clients feel at ease while getting them to move beyond their comfort zones. Her enthusiasm is wonderful and she finds and brings out the best in everyone. ”
Charlotte Knox
President
Knox Education
“I have only the highest regard for the work of Janet Watson, of Watson and Associates. I engaged her on several occasions to work one-on-one with Berkeley faculty who could benefit from custom tailored coaching. The faculty members not only enjoyed their coaching sessions, but benefitted enormously from Janet's work, as their teaching skills improved dramatically. Janet consistently provides us a great service. ”
Steve Tollefson
Director of the Office of Education
University of California, Berkeley
“Hiring Janet to teach in the SSU Communications dept. was one of the best decisions I ever made. Not only does Janet bring the real world into the classroom, but she also shares her knowledge of the theoretical foundations of Public Relations that are so important today. Janet creates a lively and dynamic class experience while setting high academic standards for our students. I admire Janet's deep commitment to teaching, higher education and the constantly changing field of communications. ”
Dr. Melinda Barnard
Interim Vice Provost for Academic Affairs
Sonoma State University
“Janet was an AMAZING communications coach. She was compassionate, insightful and had many helpful tips and exercises that have transformed me as a teacher. She is truly the goddess of teaching.”
Catherine Wolfram, Ph.D
Faculty Director, Energy Institute, Haas School of Business
University of California, Berkeley
“I worked with Janet when cellular was in its infancy and I had been tasked with convincing California that it was more than a business tool. This meant developing messaging, and training for the media. I needed someone who could help me take this exotic tool and popularize it. Janet came highly recommended, and I'm glad we hired her. Not only did she help me with my presentation, she researched the industry, and focused on points the public would respond to. I was so pleased with my relationship with her, and her coaching that I have since referred her to many clients and coworkers. The response from all who have worked with her has been overwhelmingly positive.”
Sand McCubbin
Government Affairs Consultant
Telco, Energy and Transportation
“I am very fortunate to have had Janet as an executive coach at a point of transition in my career. What made time with Janet so effective is that she was able to weave longer term leadership strategies and habits with immediate, relevant coaching for emergent, time sensitive challenges”
J.S.
Senior Executive
San Francisco SPCA
“Janet reflects a super combination of inspiration and real-world practical. She worked with me on my executive presence especially in presenting to large groups. Janet improved my confidence and execution in two key ways 1) helping me first identify and then work to change the negative "talk track" that I had (and I fear many other women have) going around in the brain, and 2) leading me through a process of discovering what specific tools and processes I needed to use and follow in order to ensure success.”
J.M.
Senior Executive
University of California, Berkeley
“Janet has supported me as an instructional coach and thought partner as I have evolved and developed as a faculty member in the classroom. She has been influential in helping me organize a classroom to ensure my content meets my teaching objectives highlighted by experiential learning. Most importantly, Janet has helped me to hone and develop my own authentic style of teaching. She has a positive energy and her coaching feedback is constructive and supportive helping me to iterate and adapt over time and for different student populations.”
Brandi M. Pearce, PhD
Team Performance and Research
Berkeley Haas School of Business
“Janet is an extraordinary educator. She is innovative, exciting and maintains cutting edge skills in the field. Students evaluate her teaching as excellent. In addition, she is a wonderful colleague. Highly professional. Extremely reliable.”
Elizabeth Burch, PhD
Dept. of Communication and Media Studies,
California State University, Sonoma CA
“Awesome teacher and great communicator! She shared the latest and greatest working information by bringing real world experience to the forefront of our communication classes. Janet was always willing to answer questions, provide personalized feedback and pushes you to do your best. Highly recommend any class she teaches!”
J.D.
Sonoma State University
“I want to note that my sessions with Janet as my executive coach, not only directly helped me get an offer, but also profoundly affected the way I think about and do things. As a matter of fact, I use and have relayed a few of Janet's delving questions to colleagues around me, with my favorite being: 'What does my behavior tell me about my motives?'. Thank you, Janet.”
Jorge A.
Sales Engineer
“ Janet's insight and coaching was just what I needed to kick start my career. She helped me identify my strengths and abilities, find a language for highlighting my achievements without sounding arrogant, and gave me specific tools that I can use to grow in my position and advance my career. Janet is a consummate professional with great communication knowledge and expertise and helped me develop strategies for dealing with difficult people and situations in the most positive and productive way. While she is warm and encouraging, she is also firmly grounded in reality, and her guidance reflects her many years of research, study, and practice. My work with Janet left me feeling positively energized and excited to move on to the next challenge.”
P.T.
Director, Educational Non-Profit
