Client Testimonials

program and outcome evaluation

“We brought in Owen Consulting to help us evaluate two of our pilot programs: Start Up Summer and Generation Tech, and to conduct a statistical analysis of NYCDOE outcomes for our core program. The company’s team of consultants was extremely knowledgeable about current, evidence-based youth development and education evaluation approaches that fit well with our program design and goals. In all cases they were able to design an evaluation that met our budget requirements, demonstrated how we achieved target outcomes, offered recommendations for improving our programs going forward, and did a great job presenting the findings to our board. As a result of Owen Consulting’s involvement we were able to show program success, strengthen our positive impact on the young people we serve, and secure additional funding. We recommend them highly and without reservation."

- Terry Bowman, Executive Director, NFTE (Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship) NY Metro

"At buildOn, we had the great fortune of being connected to Owen Consulting while searching for a key evaluation partner for a grant we had received for a school-based youth development program in NYC. Fast forward 2 years and Dave and his team helped us create an entire evaluation framework for our US Programming. They supported us with guidance, challenging us with just the right amount of drive and compassion and helped us firm up our logic model, our key outcomes and our 3 year evaluation plan. They were patient as we navigated the shift in our culture to a data driven machine. We are so grateful for our time working with Owen Consulting and we highly recommend them if you are searching for the ideal evaluation partner!" 

- Missy Shields, Vice President, US Programs, buildOn

"Owen Consulting was top notch and did an excellent job fulfilling our evaluation needs. They've been an incredible help throughout this process and their expertise was a huge value add for the project and for our thinking around program evaluation. I hope to work with them again in the future."  

 - Andrea Coleman, Associate Vice President, Education and Youth Services, Federation Employment Guidance Service (FEGS)

"Again, this evaluation report is excellent. I really appreciate the thorough analysis. Also, it is wonderful to see that the program had a positive impact. Congratulations on a GREAT job! " 

- Kristi Zappie-Ferradino, Director of Products and Online Services, MENTOR / National Mentoring Partnership

"We hired Owen Consulting to assess whether our national Foundation was successful in meeting our federal grant goals with the Federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The surveys they developed and the interviews that were conducted had record numbers of participants in comparison to previous evaluations in other years. Their findings and recommendations are very useful for strategic planning and overall planning purposes. We were very pleased with Owen Consulting's services, and we highly recommend them." 

- Marina Winton, President and CEO, "I Have a Dream" Foundation

"Reel Works has emerged as a national model for combining mentoring with youth media - earning us the 2007 Coming Up Taller Award from the President's Council on the Humanities, the nation's top honor for after school arts programs. We credit much or our success to our work with Owen Consulting.  With their help, we created an assessment protocol to measure outcomes that has become a model for our field - putting Reel Works in a competitive advantage when seeking scarce grants dollars from funders increasingly interested in programs that have a measurable impact on the lives of participants. In the past, we only had anecdotes. Owen Consulting has helped Reel Works develop, analyze and understand the data that prove that our arts programs deliver real results to youth." 

-  John Williams, Executive Director, Reel Works Teen Filmmaking

GRANT WRITING

"This grant writing experience was a dream come true. I almost can't believe it was so smooth and seamless! The Owen Consulting grant writing team is amazing: Totally thorough, organized, articulate, direct, beyond educated on the grant itself and what we needed to put in it at every juncture.  I can't speak highly enough about what an amazing process this was. And how pleased I am with the finished product. I think this is the strongest proposal we have ever submitted. I only want to use Owen Consulting in the future for whatever we do! Thank you all for a job well done!"( Successful $1,000,000 Youthbuild award)

- Paige Bellenbaum,  Director of Community Programs, Settlement Housing Fund

"Thanks for your terrific work on the successful armory proposal. I have gotten lots of great feedback from my colleagues and look forward to working with you in the future. All the best!" (successful NYC $6,000,000 award).

- Sean Andrews, VP of Operations, YMCA of Greater New York. 

"I wanted to let you know how great of a job you did in pulling in all the information and building a strong case. Thank you for all of your hard work! [The grant] looks great!!! (successful 21CCLC $1,000,000 award)" 

- Voula Lagoudis, Director, YMCA, Staten Island

mentoring

"Owen Consulting provides valuable assessment and training services that meets the needs of our program. In addition, the professionalism and flexibility by which the company conducts business is an appreciated strength."

- Lori Mastromauro, Program Manager, New York City Mentoring Program, New York City Department of Education

"Never having been a part of a mentoring program, I was definitely in need of assistance. Dave Owen became my life preserver. His patience and expertise allowed me to feel comfortable in getting the program started. His skills showed quickly at the trainings. He was as comfortable with the kids as he was with the adults. When it came time to match up the participants, Dave's instincts were right on target. The pairs he helped establish in October have flourished since the beginning.  Dave continues to be my most valuable resource whenever I need support. He has been an invaluable asset to our program and I'm sure will be to all others with whom he works."

- Ted Schechter, Program Coordinator, Royal Bank of Scotland/First Tee Mentoring Program

"Mentoring USA fortunately collaborated with Owen Consulting and hired their team to provide outcome evaluation and lead workshops for our mentor/mentee pairs related to our BRAVE (Bias Related Anti-Violence Education) Juliana component. Their workshops on Conflict Resolution and Diversity were not only engaging, but also informative and fun for all! We also appreciated the evaluation they conducted for the BRAVE Juliana component."

- Matilda Raffa Cuomo, Founder and Chairperson, Mentoring USA

"Owen consulting has been a tremendous help to all of the Mentors here at Credit Suisse Asset Management. As the program coordinator and a Mentor, I truly appreciate all the help provided to our group by Dave Owen & Owen Consulting. They have helped us work with the staff at the school as well as connect with the students in ways we would not have thought of. They are inventive, resourceful and possess a deep understanding and enthusiasm for mentoring.  Hats off to Owen Consulting!"

- Kenneth M. Wallace, Vice President, Information Technology, Credit Suisse Asset Management

"Owen Consulting was not only the right organization at the right time (the school, ISA, and Goldman Sachs were in the process of revamping the mentoring program) but they possessed an expert arsenal of tools to go along with the necessary flexibility and adaptability we required. From the beginning, Dave sought to fashion a program that fit with and around our prevailing constraints and requirements. He and his colleagues are so well grounded in youth development theory and Mentoring practice that it gave me, the administrator, permission to not be the expert on the best approaches. Owen Consulting knew how to actually build the program and how to make it work. There is no overestimating how valuable a skill that is to a busy manager.  As a direct result of Owen Consulting's involvement with the MCA Mentoring Program, it is stronger than it has ever been and, more importantly, many more young people's lives are being positively impacted than would otherwise be the case."

- T.Bowman, Director, Goldman Sachs / MCA Mentoring Program

Youth Development

"When the Conservancy received a generous grant from the Luce foundation to expand our Ascent Program, we turned to Owen Consulting. They began by assessing our needs and resources, and helped us to define short and long term goals for the program. Owen Consulting then redesigned the entire program, trained our staff, developed partnerships with schools, designed our outcome evaluation, assisted with promotion and development, and helped coordinate and manage everything for the first two years. The data now shows that the students really benefited from their involvement - Owen Consulting did an outstanding job - we couldn't have done it without them."

- Joyce Ferejohn, Director of Recreation, The Central Park Conservancy

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

"Owen Consulting took our good idea and showed us how to make it into a great program. They brought together diverse leaders from the business and education worlds, synthesized their expectations, and provided a road map to success. Our Job Training Institute would not exist had we not worked with Owen Consulting." 

- Vin Lenza, Associate Director, Staten Island Economic Development Corporation

"The New York Citywide School to Work Alliance has collaborated with Owen Consulting on numerous projects and we have seen firsthand how successfully their team works with a range of individuals; from urban youth to adult public employees and private sector business professionals. Dave Owen and his team have demonstrated a deep knowledge of youth development and education that ranges from hands-on to theoretical. We've been impressed with their skill at program planning, design, and development and were very pleased with their thorough and detail-oriented implementation, as well as the overall quality of their work. Their expertise is only matched by their level of enthusiasm for what they do." 

- Tom Pendleton, Executive Director, the New York Citywide School to Work Alliance.

experiential Education / teambuilding

"Owen Consulting led a self-esteem and trust-building workshop for Good Shepherd Services between a group of corporate volunteers and teenagers from one of our residential foster care programs.OC's facilitators did a fabulous job of engaging these two seemingly disparate groups in activities that promoted positive and healthy communication and interaction and established trust and a genuine connection between the youth and adults. Everyone left the day feeling uplifted, inspired and eager to partake in another day of its kind.We look forward to working with Owen Consulting again in the future."

- Mary Beth Zurat, Good Shepherd Services

Professional Development

"Through a combination of hands-on team-building activities and program development workshops, Owen Consulting helped us to build stronger working relationships and address key organizational problems. The workshop was a catalyst for effective communication and created a positive framework for planning new community programs. I highly recommend Owen Consulting as a unique resource for youth serving organizations to engage in strategic planning, consider key organizational issues and build trust and communication among staff."

- Sean Andrews, Executive Director, Prospect Park YMCA