Testimonials

Jocelyne Durand  

Director of Consciousness 360

Jo-Ann Fennessey is a highly sought external investigator with a high degree of professionalism, integrity and is fully equipped to run a fair and effective process, no matter the challenges presented by highly conflicting work situations and power struggles. She has worked for the government for many years and understands it’s culture very well. She has as much respect for the process than for the individuals concerned. She is a calm, empathetic, honest, thorough, scrutinizing and strong investigator who will stand by her outcomes once the reporting is completed. I have had the opportunity to work with her as a consultant. Jo-Ann is reliable, well prepared and has a pleasant and caring disposition. She is the ideal professional to call to help you identify the root cause of sensitive work situations. Anyone turning to her is in very good and solid hands. She brings clarity, wisdom and know-how.  I would not hesitate a minute to seek her professional services as an investigator, specialized coach or trainer. From my point of view, she is among the best.                  

Lily Cox

Retired Mental Health Professional

I have known Jo-Ann for many years and have seen her bring to her profession unwavering ethical standards, a keen eye for peoples’ strengths and limitations, including her own, and fearlessness in speaking truth to power in the service of fairness and justice.            

The Kanaan family

Jo-Ann Fennessey is an excellent jurist, advisor, coach and mentor. When our family had an issue with a senior residence regarding the services that were supposed to be provided to a family member, Jo-Ann guided us step by step on how to deal with the situation and supported us strongly. She helped us draft a detailed letter that we presented to the administration of that residence stating all our concerns including the services they should have offered and how they should have taken care of our now deceased family member. Thank you, Jo-Ann, for being there for us, for your thoughtfulness and for your strong belief in our case.        

Elise Merrill

Jo-Ann is incredibly grounded, present, and skilled in the work she does. She helped me navigate through a crisis scenario with openness and considerate feedback throughout the process. From her warm nature, to her evident experience, she would be an asset for clients seeking support. (Received services when Jo-Ann served on the Board at a violence against women non-profit organization in 2018.)

Michelle Cornell

Manager, Government of Canada    

Jo-Ann has extensive knowledge and expertise and she always conducts herself in a professional and ethical manner. Beyond this, however, is an intangible quality to Jo-Ann that people tend to notice. She is the kind of person to whom people gravitate. They want to tell her things. They want her opinion. They want her counsel and her support.

Some people are leaders because of particular achievements but Jo-Ann is this and one step further – she is a leader because she is someone people want to follow. She is a trusted resource and a hard worker.

I have referred people to Jo-Ann for her conflict management skills, including one-on-one coaching to address challenging situations and to develop strategies for facing difficult conversations. I received positive feedback and strong words of praise of the help she provided. The referral was for a specific workplace issue of a contact of mine and they found Jo-Ann reassuring and easy to talk to and with very practical advice to address their situation. They came out of their conversations far less stressed and feeling empowered and more equipped to handle their own circumstances.

I would describe Jo-Ann as multi-talented, compassionate and a wealth of information. Her experience in a cross-section of related fields is evident as she makes linkages from one program to another but she always had her plans in the context of managing humans with all their complexities, not only managing files listed on a page. For example, she can understand the relationship between the needs and benefits of an effective internal disclosure office and the trust-building goals of an Ombudsperson’s office or a broad corporate values exercise. Our conversations demonstrated that she understood and factored in the challenges of shifting minds and habits of people, not only through the implementation of policies and guidelines but through more extensive culture change.

Jo-Ann has excellent skills when it comes to difficult conversations and her extensive experience in mediation and conflict resolution come through in her demeanour and her ability to build collaborative and productive professional relationships.

I have always known Jo-Ann to be a fair and honest colleague, always focusing on the work goals and the professional relationships it takes to mobilize efforts to achieve them. Despite often being the most seasoned expert in a group, Jo-Ann is always eager to learn. She is forever reading and asking questions and consulting with others. She seems to be able to advise based on her experience and yet remain open to new ideas. This has always stood out for me in Jo-Ann’s work.

It is evident for anyone who works with Jo-Ann that she has a breadth of experience in related programs. She is an exceptional coach and applies principles and ethics to her work, even at times against her own interest. This type of integrity builds trust from her colleagues.

Jo-Ann has a reputation of being naturally easy to talk to and an amazing listener. She is calm in the face of exceptional circumstances of conflict. I am not sure if this is her nature or a result of her experience but I imagine it is a culmination of both. There is a presence with Jo-Ann and a calm, pragmatic response that takes in the information, pauses, and then begins to face whatever situation is at hand.

Anne-Marie Beliveau  

B.A., M.A., J.D., Boston, MA

Working with Jo-Ann was an incredible opportunity. I worked as a co-operative education student for Jo-Ann during her tenure in the federal government. Jo-Ann was easy to talk to, took the time to answer my questions, and always provided me with both agency and support which allowed me to do my job effectively. Jo-Ann also took an interest in my professional development and always encouraged me to attend trainings whenever offered. As a co-operative education student, Jo-Ann also always encouraged me to network with my fellow co-operative education students and other federal government employees. I will forever be grateful to Jo-Ann for her very helpful guidance and support, which was particularly helpful so early on in my career.