TESTIMONIALS

Through Renaissance Strategic Solutions, Kim Robinson does work in the education space. Kim is an active member of the BRIDGE community on Maths and Science Learner Support. I met her through my work at BRIDGE and I have been impressed by her deep commitment to exchange and dialogue on issues relating to education; and over and above that, her willingness to lead action in the community activities that drive changing the beliefs of education stakeholders, on a volunteer basis. I am excited about the work she is currently leading in the task group on “Messaging for Education”. This task group aims to dramatically create solution focused discourse around education issues.

In a 5 month period in 2012, you took us on a journey, a journey that was full of excitement, anticipation, and challenges that reminded us of our forgotten painful past. At the same time this journey was empowering, providing us with the tools of how to challenge the discrepancies that are affecting our new democracy. This journey opened our eyes to a field of endless possibilities, if we have the ability and resources to capture the vision.
You set your standards so high because you believed in us. In return we stretched our potential to reach the required standard. Every student took it upon themselves to give it their all because we wanted to make you proud. I hope we did.
The day of graduation was the climax, not only were we proud of ourselves, and our achievements, but we were also so proud of you. Thank you, Kim.

Kim facilitated a strategic session with our team focused on integrating new members of the team, developing the culture of our organisation and identifying goals for the year ahead. Her ability to draw individuals within the group out to fully participate was amazing. She was also able to challenge us without raising barriers and creating defensive responses. We ended up with a session that was inclusive and coherent and we are able to implement actions seamlessly. We will definitely use Kim in this and other roles again.

Ntuthuko Foundation, an education non-profit company made use of Renaissance Strategic Solutions services in 2012. The CEO, Ms. Robinson, administered the strategy sessions herself and played a huge part in shaping the ideas and concepts the team already had into a concise, clear plan with direction and defined steps on how to reach our goals as an organisation.
Ms. Robinson is not only a professional, she brings much passion and enthusiasm to the table. Her input is genuine and her ability to pull ideas and solutions from the team was quite brilliant.

Kim ran a team building workshop for our leadership team that was absolutely excellent. She both challenged and supported us both as a group and individually. Highly recommended. We asked for a particular methodology that was new to her so she brought in a second person to co-facilitate – despite never working together before they were seamless, as if they’d been business partners for years. Highly recommended.

Renaissance did a phenomenal job with our outreach to South Africa.

Kim conducted a review of organisational policies to ensure we have a clear policy framework, including compliance and implementation. Her delivery was excellent and her recommendations tailor-made.

I knew Kim for close to three years at USAID/RCSA in Botswana. Kim was one of the most competent and serious lawyers in the Agency and brought a level of professionalism and leadership that advanced USAID goals and development objectives in the Southern Africa region. During a time of enormous change in Southern Africa, Kim dealt with legal issues concerning our development programs in Zimbabwe that allowed us to continue our program there, when the government was under enormous scrutiny. Kim is a hard-nosed professional and true leader and a fantastic person to work with. She was also a good mentor to me and to others in the office and cared about others’ professional development and career. Her commitment to Southern Africa specifically, and Africa in general, and especially democracy, human rights and capacity building, has been model for other lawyers at the Agency.

The journey to making a film is long and if you can understand the stamina required for a marathon you have some idea. Tell Me Sweet Something took five years to make and along the way, Kim Robinson, as one of the crowd funders, was always supportive, enthusiastic and, on the film’s release, was one of the many in the front line making sure the film reached a wide and diverse audience. People like Kim make the marathon worthwhile.

We were lucky to have Kim as our lawyer when I was the director at USAID/Namibia. She was terrific – smart, honest and fully engaged. She was especially good on the tough issues, where she could always cut through to what was most important, and develop and present options in no-nonsense ways. In USAID, most lawyers serve as advisors. Kim was exceptional in that she had tremendous leadership skills as well. She’s secure in who she is and clear in what her values are. She brings good judgement, interesting perspectives and a strong sense of integrity to everything she undertakes.

Kim is a dynamic speaker and strategic thinker with a deep understanding of the economic, legal and human forces at work in her space. She helped our organisation understand the dynamics of the education sector in South Africa and identified potential partnership opportunities to increase our impact. Her insight into the differences between the two markets was a key to helping us evaluate a potential expansion overseas. Her keynote address at a conference for business and community leaders in Miami earned rave reviews and inspired several participants to commit time and resources to our organisation and the movement we were leading.

Kim is an excellent trainer. She is task-oriented, an expert in her field and a pleasure to work with.

Kim has a deep understanding of the intersection of Africa and the developed world with a great network on both sides of the Atlantic. She has solid solutions for a better future and shared great insights on our Leadership Plus panel on discrimination & bias.

In 2012, Kim Robinson assisted us in reworking and developing the Strategic Implementation Plan for Embrace Dignity, and produced results in record time. She helped us to clarify our objectives and enhance the delivery of Embrace Dignity’s mission and desired outcomes. Through a two-day strategic planning workshop, Kim was able to identify and target all of our key players, and tailor our plan to accommodate all of our essential stakeholders. Kim was also instrumental in the re-engineering of Embrace Dignity’s communication strategy to clarify what we stand for and to communicate clearly to the projected beneficiaries are of our organisation. Kim has very strong interpersonal skills and was very welcoming and receptive to my entire staff, willing to share in open communication and exchanges in ideas and concepts to help in creating the strategic plan. In addition, Kim’s professionalism, thoroughness and care ad concern shown towards those she partners with is unparalleled. She was a pleasure to work with, and I strongly recommend Kim for any future endeavours that she may embark on.

Kim is a highly valued Special Advisor to the Ruth First Jeppe Memorial Trust. Her experience with scholarship programmes and enthusiastic support is invaluable especially as she engages the Trust with issues of sustainability and quality of the scholarship experience.

Kim is a very good strategist with excellent ideas on how to translate big strategic imperatives into practical achievable targets

Kim is a passionate, dynamic facilitator and an incisive analyst of socio-political trends. A strong writer with an impressive breadth of professional experience, Kim is an asset to any strategic planning or leadership development process.

Kim is a very good strategist with excellent ideas on how to translate big strategic imperatives into practical achievable targets.

Kim is an excellent strategic thinker. She can see the big picture without missing out on important details. She is great at motivating individuals to commit to a project and strive to bring out the best in themselves.

I had the pleasure of working with Kim on an inter-office youth program design for USAID/Kenya. The design team consisted of representative members from all technical areas – health, gender, education, agriculture, and economics. Kim was able to lead the team in a way that increased efficiency and clarity in the design, while creating an enabling environment of team-building, camaraderie and creativity. I highly recommend Kim in her capacity as an advisor, team member, consultant and colleague, and hope that I have the opportunity to work with her again in the future.

The Conference of Western Attorneys General facilitated an excellent training for the South African Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. Without Renaissance, it would not have happened.

Kim Robinson is a highly motivated individual who has the ability to inspire a team to greatness. She is a skilful leader who practices an open door policy; with her sharp humour she becomes very approachable but never a walkover. She expects excellence from others because she seldom delivers anything less than this. She rarely shies away from a challenge which makes her quite a formidable force; always well equipped with the facts and / or strategic solutions. She possesses a wealth of knowledge about the South African socio-economic landscape because of her fields of interest and expertise and this she shares very graciously with those who share her passions. She is as agile in the boardroom as she is on the sport field; a real pleasure and privilege to have in one’s corner. I recommend her for any project / employment / leadership position and / or new initiative she applies for.

Kim understands the complexity of human experience and how society and individuals deal with the paradox of change. She is an asset to any endeavour, showing both empathy and insight.

Kim supported the NBF to prepare a funding proposal for an African Leadership course.

In 2012, Kim conducted a review of organisational policies with the aim to ensure we have a clear policy framework, including compliance and implementation. This was then used to guide our ethical conduct across the institution.
Not only was her delivery excellent and her recommendations tailor made for the organisation, but during this period (and beyond) Kim became a coach and mentor. She is passionate about developing potential, always professional yet is welcoming and open like a friend. Kim gives her best and in turn expects the best, whether it be in communication or feedback on an assignment and as one of many proteges, have been stimulated in both my career and personal life.
I highly recommend Renaissance Strategic Solutions

Kim is a strategic thinker, a confident leader and mentor to many. She is articulate and she has the ability to clearly outline the way forward. She is a keen listener and she is always willing to not only impart her knowledge to others but to also learn from the experiences of the people around her.

In the founding stages of establishing an independent school I found Kim Robinson’s knowledge base and years of experience working in the education sector in South Africa to be an invaluable resource. Kim reviewed and edited the executive summary of my business plan, providing me with critical feedback, assisting me in alleviating ambiguity, and pushing me to create a clearer picture of my vision.
Kim’s ability to provide strategic advice and her incredible foresight derived from her experience provided me with clarity around prioritising focus areas. I am confident that others in the founding stages of establishing an independent school or other education institution will also find value in Renaissance Strategic Solutions.