We had the awesome experience of working with Lon Wong last year to chart a five-year course for Food for the Hungry Canada. The strategy that emerged from the process he took us through has served us through major internal changes and the evolving international cooperation landscape. At every turn, we have been able to put decision-making through the test of alignment with strategy to bring the team together and get us pulling in the same direction.

The results have been remarkable, for turning a potential crisis into an opportunity to position our organization to better fulfill our purpose of supporting communities on their pathways to resilient and hope-filled futures.

Musu Taylor-Lewis, President and CEO
Food for the Hungry Canada

When we first met Lon in our search for a consultant to support KEYS through a strategic planning, we were impressed by the combination of experience/expertise in Strategic Planning and the human-centered, participatory approach that aligns with our culture and organizational values. As a result of our work with Lon and the Chisel team, we not only have a strong Strategic Plan to guide us in the years to come, but the process itself generated alignment, energy, and enthusiasm across the organization.

Lon is an attentive, calm, respectful and engaged facilitator. He provided the framework we needed to create our plan and his input always felt like the work of a coach: helping us to bring our best and work together and never pushing an external agenda. I would wholeheartedly recommend working with Lon and the Chisel team.

Madeleine Nerenberg, Executive Director
KEYS Employment & Newcomer Services

Lon from Chisel led us through every step of the strategic planning journey, and his ability to connect the diverse perspectives of our team was nothing short of impressive. He created an environment where all voices were heard and felt safe in sharing their thoughts. He helped us find common ground and build a shared vision for our future.

Thanks to Lon, and the Chisel team, we now have a clear, strategic roadmap that aligns with our mission and sets us up for sustainable growth. Their tailored approach to our unique needs, combined with their deep expertise in the nonprofit sector, was exactly what we needed to move forward with confidence.

Christina Mulder, Executive Director
Burlington Food Bank

Lon helped come alongside our team as a consultant but has also helped us deliver tangible outcomes that have impacted our results and the way we operate. He has worked closely across multiple areas, including strategy, coaching staff, branding and communications, website redesign and enhancing our fundraising. Lon has a broad range of deep expertise while being empathetic and adaptable to our evolving needs. He has been instrumental in setting up our nonprofit for our next season of growth. I’d highly recommend Lon for any organization seeking strategy, coaching, fundraising and marketing support. 

Andrea White, Executive Director, JFJ Hope Centre

When it comes to establishing a Multi-Year Strategic Plan for a Family of Schools, Lon Wong from Chisel Consulting is the only choice to move the process along. Lon provided our team with the opportunity to reflect on past practices, collaborate and create an actionable plan to grow and improve practice. It was a pleasure working with Lon, a thoughtful, patient, reflective leader. Throughout the process, it felt like we had a long-time member of our organization working alongside us. We’re grateful for Lon’s preparedness, wisdom, expertise and commitment to working with us to improve outcomes for children.

Margaret Lazarus, Board Member, Toronto Adventist District School Board

I worked closely with Lon as he served as head coach for the altMBA program. Lon engages people and teams as humans first and fosters a culture of openness, inclusion, and growth. He has a gift for facilitation, strategic thinking, and bringing ideas to reality. Lon helps bring calm and clarity in times of volatility and uncertainty. He would be an excellent guide for any organization undergoing change. He is truly a joy to work with!

JaLeesa Beavers, Director, Akimbo Inc.

Lon has deep experience in all facets of marketing including campaigns, communications, creative, segmentation, product development, digital marketing and analytics. Lon is also a leader in diversity, equity, and inclusion and helps cultivate environments where voices are heard and belonging is felt. He is adept at engaging teams, partners, and stakeholders in building clarity and alignment to drive meaningful results. Lon is a well-respected, insightful and strategic leader that would bring tremendous value to any organization.

Kevin Andrews, VP, World Vision Canada

I am happy to recommend Lon as a high-potential leader with keen insights, outside-of-the-box thinking, and good communication skills. Lon grew during his time at World Vision, and his commitment to ongoing learning led to roles with increased responsibility and scope. I appreciated his commitment to the mission, as well as his personal values of faith, integrity and justice. I know Lon's skills will be an asset to others who are looking for a consultant.

Michael Messenger, President, World Vision Canada

I would like to share about our recent positive experience of having Lon help us in formulating our new strategic plan.

We are a well established organization that has served our community for 55 years. During the pandemic when the demand for our services sky-rocketed while resources remained severely limited, we were forced to once again ask the foundational questions about what is our “core business”. Lon led our Board of Directors and Senior Management Team through a strategic planning day in which he helped us to focus first on the all important question of “who we are” as a preamble to the question of “what we do”.

Lon’s “human first” approach lends very naturally to help us look at all our services through a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) lens. So often in DEI conversation organizations are made to feel guilty for what they are not doing, or not doing enough. Instead, Lon helped us rethink DEI not as a “checklist” of things to do, but a commitment to seeing every stakeholder in the organization as human first. His easy communication style, professional knowledge of our sector and facilitation skills helped all of us leave the session feeling hopeful for the good that we are capable of doing, and set our strategic planning process off on a positive note!

Alfred Lam, Executive Director, Centre For Immigrant & Community Services

Lon listens well to the rhythm of a group and is able to gently bring a diversity of stakeholders in a common direction. His suggestions are always thoughtful and well-grounded in best practice. We enjoyed working with Lon and recommend him to any organization looking for experienced expert facilitation.

Fred Witteveen, CEO
Children Believe

 

Lon Wong has listened well to us. He has gained insight into our organizational culture and particular challenges. His recommended strategy seems very doable in enabling us to broaden our outreach and gain support for our programs.

Barbara Horvath, Chair
The Parent Support Network