“Dear Dr. Holmes,

On behalf of NYSAIS and our board of trustees, I’d like to extend my sincere gratitude for your insightful presentation, “Building a Compelling Positioning and Reputation: Enact a 5 Step Whole of School Strategy Process,” at our recent trustee conference.

Your five-step process was both comprehensive and highly practical. Our trustees particularly appreciated your emphasis on the importance of community engagement and the strategic alignment of school values with external perception. The concepts you presented provided a clear and actionable roadmap for our schools to strengthen their unique positioning and reputation within their communities.

The on-site feedback we’ve received from the trustees has been overwhelmingly positive. Many have already begun discussing how to apply your principles to their own institutions. Your talk has not only inspired us but has also equipped our leadership with the tools they need to drive meaningful change.”

“We engaged Dr. Andrew Taylor to work with us on a comprehensive review and analysis of our existing daily schedule, which included a full review of our school’s program.  Andrew met with many members of the community online and in person and then was on campus for 5 days total over two separate visits. We were thrilled with him work in every way. Andrew is professional, communicative, knowledgeable, and easy to work with. He customized several pieces of the consultation based on our unique needs, and the deliverables were just what we had hoped for. I would gladly re-engage with him in the future.

 Highly recommended!!!”

“It was our pleasure to welcome Dr. Stephen Holmes to Princeton, NJ to conduct a training for all ISS Heads of Schools and other leaders. His deep experience based in the international school context helped ensure this session was relevant and meaningful, and resulted in him moving on to do work individually with ISS schools – very different in their size and competitive landscapes. Dr. Holmes is insightful and he meets schools where they are at in this important journey. His reputational approach to school branding and marketing has sparked interesting work in the ISS system, and we look forward to seeing even more positive results as their co-created strategies take root!”

“Dr. Holmes, your session was insightful and different than anything else I attended in CIS this year. I am very keen to share with my team and management the ideas you presented.”

“Very valuable 2 days. Glad I came and will recommend.”

“Stephen’s presentation for the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools, USA 2022 conference was excellent, very knowledgeable and helpful to school leaders. He provided a rich and informative presentation.”

“Dr. Holmes was a great presenter. His well-researched content was thoughtful and actionable!”

“Stephen Holmes represents the rare consultant that understands both the financial and managerial data, as well as the perennial driving goals of the client organization. His research uncovers hard to find trends that encompass market capture, pricing determinations, essential family values that are at the core of what independent schools need to deliver, and a host of other factors vital to consulting intelligence.”

“Dr. Holmes’ presentation on reputation management provided extremely valuable insights that led to strategic changes at our school. His emphasis on benchmarking and building authentic evidence enabled our Board to make more informed decisions to shape our school’s future.”

“At the beginning of this strategic plan, I was not sure what to expect having never participated in one before, but Stephen and his team set out a road map which was essential. Then, he set to work really getting to know the school, its stakeholders, views, goals and dreams, as well as its blind spots. In the end, Stephen offered a detailed plan based on what he heard and saw, combined with insights from his wealth of knowledge of other local and schools from around the world. For any school, new or old, I see now how important it is to do a strategic plan especially under the direction of Stephen who is a genuine expert, hard-working and good person making the whole process thoroughly enjoyable.”