We’ve been working with the team at Origin Leadership to develop a Strategic Plan to connect certified African Nurses to opportunities in Canadian healthcare facilities. Origin’s Canadian Cultural & Employment Success Program is a stand-out example of next-level support for International Employees as they consider working and living in Canada and

is integral to our African initiatives. We have been impressed by their commitment to designing a program that reflects cultural respect and responsibility. Origin looks at all of its projects from a people-first lens and we look forward to continuing our project with them.

Susan Namulindwa. Founder and Executive Director of Africa Trade Desk,  Vice President, of Canada with The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business, and Board Chair of the Afro Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

Raelene Bergen Harder at Origin, supported the OceanEXP initiative between 2019 and 2021. Raelene was dedicated to our mission to create unique opportunities for people to explore beneath the surface of the oceans, empowering them to leave a legacy of ecological sustainability. Raelene’s involvement began by meeting with our Executive Board and over a period of months undertook an intensive research project culminating in a detailed executive report. 

This report, and her work, were invaluable to our efforts in developing stronger relationships with our stakeholders and better defining our strategic priorities. 

In my capacity as Board President of the OceanEXP Project, I worked closely with  Raelene while she completed this monumental undertaking. Raelene proved herself to be insightful, competent, and qualified. I was particularly impressed by her abilities to develop strong connections with our team and overcome the challenging hurdles often associated with facilitating community engagement.  

Based on my personal working experience with Raelene, I can, without hesitation, attest that she is incredibly well-suited interpersonally to excel in any opportunities involving consultation, assessments, and stakeholder engagement for not-for-profit organizations. 

William (Bill) Nadeau, BA (ENV), MAL, FRCGS 

Board President -OceanEXP, Canada’s Centre for Ocean Exploration

It was our pleasure to have Raelene kick off our MHPO workshop season for 2021-2022 with her excellent presentation on Back-to-Work “Normal” Workshop.

Raelene shared with us the main challenges for those re-entering the workplace and methods to resolve them- from the lens of both our clients and ourselves. 

She identified a key theme- that the uncertainty created by the pandemic has activated a tremendous amount of anxiety and fear, including the fear of conflict with colleagues and superiors at the office. 

She reminded us of the power of compassion and how it connects us. She advised us all to be flexible, assume a collaborative approach, a “we versus me” first stance, assume that everyone is doing their best, be kind, practice empathy, and accentuate the positive perspective which was a powerful reminder of how we can influence ourselves and others to achieve a pleasant and effective work environment. She reminded us to see each person as one with their own individual personalities and personal issues as well as ways of being, and that when we see that we are all in this together, we do better.
Raelene covered concrete steps to reduce stress, including preparing oneself emotionally, spiritually, physically, and mentally,  limiting the amount of decision-making by strategizing ahead, and dealing with children and family members on a host of topics. 

I so appreciated Raelene’s presentation. She was well-prepared, knowledgeable, organized, and enthusiastic, and provided us with a wealth of ideas for assisting both our clients and ourselves in returning to the workplace. In addition to her own expertise, she was flexible and made space for us to ask questions throughout her talk, and engage in sharing our experiences, which allowed the audience to connect with her and each other. I will be putting this information to use in sessions with clients, and for myself. 

I highly recommend Raelene as a speaker. 

Marian Meade Vice-President Mental Health Professionals Ottawa

Supporting the IRTS and two Innu communities to develop their own, Innu-controlled child and family wellness prevention Agency. We take their lead and provide strategic and operational planning, communications support, project management, training and professional development, and program development. development, structural and practice changes, and team capacity building, all based on an Innu voice first and Innu traditions-based approach. 

As a leadership consultant and advisor and founder of Hawco Consulting, I work with organizations, teams, and individuals, supporting social change and Indigenous self-determination. I am currently working with a number of Indigenous organizations supporting their vision of creating and developing an Indigenous-led child welfare agency and child welfare services in their communities. 

Barbara and Raelene from OriginLC have brought tremendous experience and skills to the Child Prevention Services Agency project we are collaborating on. The work involves strategic and operational planning, project management, creative and technical support, and communications resource and documentation development that is responsive to the client’s needs.

They have been highly sensitive to the culture, knowledge, and traditions of our Indigenous partners, bringing these elements in creative ways. They are very responsive to the changing needs of the organization as we support their development, are collaborative, and use a true people-first approach.

The OriginLC team has been wonderful to work with, and are truly passionate about what they do. I am grateful to have them on my team and value their authenticity and heart for the work as well as the skills and expertise they bring to the table.

Michelle Hawco - Participatory Change Leader and Founder of Hawco Consulting

Here at Massachusetts General Hospital Aspire, we've been working with Raelene Bergen Harder and her team at Origin Leadership Consulting to develop a customized, leadership training program for neurodiverse teens. When starting our journey, we sought out the best of the best in leadership consulting firms to build up our understanding of leadership training best practices, and Origin did not disappoint! Raelene spent hours connecting with our team to learn more about our youth population, current programmatic needs, and desires for future growth. What she then presented was revolutionary--a "plug and play" model for teen leadership training that prioritized the needs of our participants and provided room for those needs to fluctuate between different cohorts and seasons.

Something so very special about the team at Origin Leadership is their knack for collaboration; it's second nature. Origin has taken the time to get to know who we are as an organization, and they've used that information to guide our staff in building programs that Aspire. One way this collaboration has really shone is in the flexibility Raelene demonstrated in supporting staff to tweak program structure to participant needs mid-way through our summer session. When program progress halted due to waning camper motivation levels, Raelene wasn't scared; rather, she encouraged staff to lean into the "youth perspective" and head back to the drawing board accordingly. Besides the effortless teamwork Origin has modeled with us and for us, they also practice using a growth mindset in all situations. Raelene consistently solicits feedback about Origin services, always making sure they live up to her high standards of excellence, and she builds programmatic evaluation into debriefs as a deliberate piece of the leadership training puzzle. 

We couldn't have asked for more from our work with Origin Leadership Consulting, and we look forward to many more years of creative, collaborative partnership."

Taylor Levesque, MA
Assistant Program Manager for Child Services

We had the pleasure of working with Origin Leadership Consulting Inc. to develop a series of business development workshops aimed at enhancing the socio-economic capacity of Inuit women across the country. 

More specifically, Origin Leadership Consulting Inc. was responsible for revising and updating business development workshops, which will be delivered to communities across Inuit Nunangat in the future in addition to being made available online. The workshops focused on the creation of a business plan, money, and financial management, resource mapping, sales, and marketing.  

In order to ensure that this project was a success, it was imperative for Pauktuutit to work with partners who demonstrated an understanding of Inuit culture and the socio-economic realities of the North. We also wanted to ensure we worked with partners who had experience working with Inuit communities, actors, and organizations, possessed effective communication skills and methodology, and had the proven expertise to produce culturally relevant work. 

Origin Leadership Consulting Inc. demonstrated all of the qualifications listed above in addition to showcasing the critical cultural competency required to work with Indigenous stakeholders and communities.  

It would be an absolute pleasure for Pauktuutit to work with Origin Leadership Consulting Inc. in the future.

Lema Ijtemaye
Manager, Social and Economic Development

Raelene’s unwavering support backed by her depth of knowledge and experience makes her the perfect choice when I am looking for a new perspective. As I’ve gotten to know her, she continues to impress me with her well-honed listening skills. She has the ability to grasp the salient morsels that are needed to move the agenda forward towards the desired goals and outcomes. Raelene articulates the feelings that I could not identify by myself. Raelene is the person you should call to get you going in the right direction.

Linda Babulic-Business Coach Consultant

Raelene is amazing! Talk with her. She’s a great listener and helped me open up about aspects of my life I’d told very few people about. Sometimes just talking to someone outside your family and social circle can bring you a new perspective and can be a first step in getting both your true self back as well as getting your life back on track. Raelene was a bright light when I was in the dark. There was no judgment and the conversation flowed so naturally. I would recommend that you talk to her even if you are unsure of what to say or where to begin. I did and I continue to reap the benefits. It could be that one conversation that gets you your life back.

David Ceber-Business Strategist

In less than half of my sessions, Raelene helped me do this and my life has improved dramatically ever since. One of the best things about this program (Surviving to Thriving) is that it adapts along the way in whichever way is needed. The information in the workbook is extremely beneficial and covers things that people can go their entire life without discovering. Meeting my coach, Raelene, was truly a blessing. She has a gift of not only listening but hearing and guiding you towards amazing decisions and possibilities. Thank you, Raelene!

Megan Burgess

I enjoyed the Positive Influencing and Communicating training and was not eager for it to end. I have been able to use the many valuable skills and tools we learned to improve my effectiveness at work.”

Christy C - Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission

Excellent facilitating skills. Barbara's very passionate and has given me a toolset to work through the challenges of communicating through change at work.

Jason N - National Research Council Canada

“I have been fortunate to have Origin Founder, Raelene as my Executive Coach and continue to work with her in an ongoing capacity. My position as Managing Director, Corporate Banking at Bank of China (Canada) can be challenging and demanding and I reached out to Raelene during a particularly challenging period.

Raelene has the rare ability to assess the situation beyond the surface and get to the deeper issues that needed to be addressed. She helped me identify that my personal life needed to be addressed and worked on before I could look at reorganizing or changing my work environment. Her support, insight, and depth of knowledge have been invaluable to both my professional and personal life.

Raelene is an incredible coach and leader. From my experience, she is the best in the business.”

Zubair Mumtaz - MBA Managing Director, Corporate Banking (Canada) at Bank of China, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

“I have known Raelene in a professional capacity for 18 years and I have worked with her in a variety of roles; and I have been a client of her coaching business, seeking her advice on team development and issues resolution.

In each of these roles, she has shown strong leadership. She has always demonstrated strong creative vision, and through the years, I have seen her hone her ability to effectively convey that vision to members of her team, colleagues and business partners, inspiring them to work harder or explore further. She also has a gift for recognizing the central issue of problem situations and identifying solutions, either on her own or through consultation.

Raelene has always impressed me with her deep commitment to the projects she takes on. This was most apparent to me in her coaching role. Where most business coaches are reluctant to cross into personal coaching, Raelene realized that some of her clients needed both, and the great lengths she went to in order to ensure that they got what they needed demonstrating to be a high level of commitment to her clients’ success and professional development.”

AnnMarie Nielsen - Manager, Ministerial and Corporate Events Employment and Social Development Canada

"Working with Barbara has provided me with new clarity in my business, and has proven crucial in taking it to the next level. She guided me to develop a solid vision and gave me step by step tools to achieve my goals. With continuous support and encouragement, she helped me see that my goals were achievable. I felt she took the time to really understand what makes me and my business unique and helped me develop a plan to create systems so that I have more time to do what I love, which is working with my patients to achieve their health goals through naturopathic medicine”.

Ellen Simone, ND