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"When I started the coaching I had spent more than 13 years developing my skills and credentials and had built a solid foundation of knowledge about business and IT. However I had come to realise that during this time I had spent very little time on career management and I knew little about my true strengths. In the words of Steve Jobs 'I wanted to make a dent in the universe" and needed some help to identify my true potential.
The coaching experience was invaluable and life-changing. Megan helped me to understand myself, my strengths, my accomplishments and my unique expertise as well as how I can add value in my then current and other roles. She showed me how to better articulate my value to others on and offline through networking, branded bios, my Linkedin profile and a blog.
The visibility I gained from my brand building efforts led to the opportunity to reposition my career and migrate from a corporate environment to a startup company. The coaching had helped me identify the best fit work environment, which was a catalyst for my decision to make a career change, and develop the relationships that lead to the career transition.
One of the things I enjoyed most was the interaction with Megan. It was a truly unbiased discussion about how I could improve and allowed me to grow as a person and as a professional. Megan helped me set up my career and business in a way that leverages my strengths, is aligned with my values and goals and will set me up for success while reducing stress."
- Quinton Pienaar, Techonology Executive, CEO, Agilitude, South Africa
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"When I started working with Megan I was struggling with how to clarify and communicate my value to the marketplace. I was also unfamiliar with how to build my online presence that is so important to your professional reputation in today’s online world.
We took an in-depth, structured approach to extracting my greatest attributes, skills, strengths and successes to define my unique value proposition and developed a plan to communicate it online. Now I have a much better understanding of my unique value and more confidence about how to communicate it.
Megan’s ability to listen and capture the essence of who I was led to the writing of a branded bio that efficiently communicates the value that I offer employers. She helped me optimize my Linkedin profile and encouraged me to start a blog to build my brand online. She also advised me on how to develop a networking plan and provided branded scripts and tools to execute on it.
Megan is tenacious about making sure her clients take action to communicate their value on and offline. My coaching experience with her was outstanding. I would recommend Megan for her superior coaching skills, ability to capture a message and put it into words, her knowledge of online tools and how to build an online reputation, and her consistent commitment to her client’s success."
- Didier Lamy, Global Sales Executive, Head of Software Sales, Nokia, France
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"Megan did an exceptional job working with me to develop my personal branding plan. Her genuine listening and coaching ability helped me think through and identify my marketable unique value proposition and define a clear vision for my career. Even though we worked together remotely, she followed a disciplined approach and ensured that I was on track with the program.
She knows how to engage with people and provides valuable insight on every interaction. Her drive to continuously learn and strive for success is very commendable. The work we did together was certainly a key contributor to my successful career change. I found Megan to be friendly, articulate and a great person to work with. I would highly recommend her to anyone anywhere in the world looking for a personal branding or career/business coach."
- Venu Sripada, IRI, Vice President, Technology Executive, Secured job as an expat in US
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"With her exceptional approach to her clients, expertise, dedication and passion, Megan has provided great value. Her practicality and special sense for the people really made working with Megan experience and atmosphere that I will hardly forget ever. I would highly and heartily recommend Megan to anyone!”
- Tihomir Cirkvencic, Technology Executive, Microsoft, Croatia
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"I came to Megan frustrated with my professional position, trying to plan my career change, do research and a job search – all in a context of cultural diversity. I benefitted from the coaching in several ways. First and most important for me was to be able to talk to a professional about my frustrations and struggles who understood my issues and was able to guide me to resolution. I appreciated Megan’s international exposure, her deep knowledge and coaching ability. I was not able to get even near the level of my current level of knowledge when trying to address my issues with other people.
I gained a much better understanding of myself, my unique value, my ideal work environment and behaviors through assessments and 360 feedback. There was a positive change in my attitude, increased self-confidence and a big increase in my job satisfaction. As a result, I was promoted as the youngest person (literally and experience wise) to the position of product manager with over 30% of the salary increase. I manage to eliminate the frustration I used to feel before I started coaching.
What I enjoyed most about my coaching experience was the tools that Megan used or developed, the depth and quality of information I have been given on every session and when discussing an issue Megan translated it into an action/set of actions that I could take to resolve it. What I learned about planning, getting things done and setting achievable goals improved my focus and helped me to reduce the level of stress and increased satisfaction. I learned about how to effectively communicate my value via my brand themes, CARS stories, my bio and my online identity. Finally, I have been given a tool set and a framework to effectively tackle my job search and a career change that is in line with my values, passions and skills. I feel confident that I have all tools and framework for an effective brand communication and successful job search for the future."
- Maja Caplette, Product Manager, European Markets, Level 3 Communications, Secured promotion as expat in UK
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"Megan has helped me to build my personal brand in a really difficult working moment. Megan drove me to build a professional network based on my personal brand and helping me to explore different career path. She has a great communication skill and I think she is really helpful and enthusiastic in her job. After every meeting I learned something new and I feel a great energy. I recommend her for her very professional and result driven expertise, combining great experience with her personal, consistent and trustworthy approach. I really have to thank Megan for her help, suggestions and her ability to make me express the best.”
- Claudia Angelelli, Consulting Practice Manager, Microsoft, Italy
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"As a personal coach during last 1 year Megan has been showed great detail analysis, set up the right direction and provided excellent feedback whenever I needed. Especially, she shared her great idea on my weak areas I did not want to touch.”
- Bong-Moon Ha, Sever BG Director, Microsoft, Korea
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"Right after the program I thought I loved working with Megan, just because learning was very interesting while my expectations from mentor program were modest. After some time of unprompted practicing, I have realized the true value Megan gave me. I became really different by just knowing about one relationship. Relationship between myself/my brand and opportunities/career. Like you, I thought, I knew, but really did not. Thanks big to Megan.”
- Andrey Trofimov, CMG Director, Microsoft, Russia
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"I first started working with Megan Fitzgerald in early 2009 in an effort to refocus my career. I had been working for my company as a Systems Engineer for 10 years and felt a lack motivation and certainty in my growth path. I had come to a metaphorical fork in the road. I felt I needed to decide if I would continue working on a technical level, pursue a managerial role, or discover a new role in the company, altogether. I began working with Megan based on three goals: 1) Getting reenergized and passionate about my work. 2) Deciding where I wanted to go with my career 3) Building an actionable roadmap for career growth. Megan laid out a clear program for helping me achieve my goals.
We began by identifying the things I am passionate about and do well. From this, we looked at the kinds of activities in my current job role that allowed me to leverage my passions and talents. We looked at other roles within my company to see if they would offer me more opportunities to harness my passions and talents. Ultimately, we identified a way to refocus my current role towards a more senior position that would allow me to build on my technical background, but engage more broadly and have greater influence at the business level. Next, Megan helped me create a plan for developing my path towards that role. This included building a strong, personal brand, developing avenues for marketing myself, and establishing a network among key individuals in my company and the wider industry.
In all, Megan helped me achieve my goals. I have received a promotion and job title that reflect my new role in the company and have found renewed passion and motivation in my work. Throughout this process, Megan provided a clear framework and expert guidance in helping me achieve my goals. Megan helped me uncover what is important to me and rediscover the things in my work that bring me joy. Megan has a talent for helping cut through confusion and uncertainty, bringing great empathy and patience to her approach. I would highly recommend Megan as a career coach. She is organized, responsive, and goes the extra mile in everything she does.”
- Josh McCloud, Vertical Solutions Architect, Cisco Systems, Secured promotion/new job twice, Expat in Singapore
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"I have been working with Megan on my personal brand and preparing the plan how to promote myself. During the process I discovered a lot about me thanks to Megan's great approach and her ability to uncover hidden facts by confronting with other points of view and experiences. I really like working with Megan and discussing all matters that’s relates to my professional career.”
- Dalibor Lukes, Practice Manager, Microsoft, Czech Republic
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"I've worked with Megan for 6+ months being my career coach. I've discussed and shared with her my personal aspirations and she has been able to help me clearly realize the value I can bring to a group/organization so that now I'm more conscious of my personal brand and the assets I can leverage on. She is able to listen a lot before proving you with sharp suggestions.”
- Raffaella Villa, Business Manager, Microsoft, Italy
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"I have worked with Megan over a period of half a year on a personal branding and coaching project. I highly recommend her for her very professional and results driven expertise, combining great experience with the right tools and her personal, consistent and trustworthy approach.”
- Jens Tinapp, Head of Marketing Windows, Microsoft, Germany
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"When I started with Megan I was experiencing a lack of clarity during a career transition. During our time together we worked on evaluating the types of roles, sectors and organizations were the best fit, clarifying and communicating my personal brand or unique value proposition on and offline, and identifying the right tools and processes for a career change.
Now I have more clarity - my personal brand provides me with a current and future career direction. I can effectively communicate my value proposition to prospective employers and use social media to do this as well as network. And I have a roadmap for the job search and my professional life that serves as the basis for my future career development.
The coaching experience was outstanding. Megan was professional, positive and supportive. She brought experience, focus and a wide knowledge of areas relevant to careers and job search. She was also very adaptable to changing circumstances and I strongly appreciated the extensive support she provided through her own network."
- Georg Fendt, CFO and Global Business Development Executive, Expat in Singapore
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"When I started the coaching I was in a period of career transition. I was unclear about my unique value and how to communicate it.
During the coaching we identified my latent strengths and motivated passions and clarified my unique value proposition. We addressed how to communicate this proposition and increase my visibility on and offline to achieve high ROI results. In addition to identifying branding and networking strategies Megan helped me to develop a model to convey how I deliver results and marketing materials including leadership success stories and an optimised Linkedin profile and CV.
As a result of the coaching I now view my career differently. I have confidence and clarity around my personal brand, the tools and expertise to communicate it on and offline and in person, a stronger online reputation that has increased visibility and engagement, and more confidence and success in my networking.
I would describe the coaching experience as challenging, stretching and inspiring. Megan has an ability to draw out your hidden talents (things you didn't even realise yourself) and has extremely detailed knowledge that has helped me to set myself for success."
- Jamie Moss, CEO, PACE Strategic Consulting, UK
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"(1) The Right Coach: I knew that the right coach could help me move quickly and deal with the challenges of being a financial executive who wants a career that matches their desire to generate massive impact. Megan is the ‘fitness coach’ taken to C-suite level: fast-paced, no b/s, a laser beam, sheer value-adding.
(2) My Major and Immediate Results: greater awareness of my brand assets and how those assets are perceived by others, capturing my brand and conveying it clearly on and offline, positioning myself as a solution to my target’s problems, setting boundaries, and being more strategic and proactive in my networking. I feel I am miles above and beyond my colleagues and competition.
(3) Megan’s Way: I enjoyed the richness of the communication both on and offline. Megan is a true leader because she is always influencing or inspiring in her communication. She will not say a word if she does not add value. This demonstrates her appreciation for those of us who are really pressed for time, and respect and professionalism. What Megan does goes beyond sheer career coaching.
(4) Bottom Line: I recommend Megan for her honesty (even when she needs to tell you that you need to change direction), her empathy, high awareness and perception, her expert advice and her commitment to delivering value in whatever she does. Megan should brand herself as the coach for (elite) corporate athletes!"
- Maria Trapani, Director, Scotiabank, Global Financing Solutions and Business Development Executive, Expat in Canada
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"When I came to Megan I was looking to take the next step in my career. I was unclear about my brand and needed strategic guidance in moving forward. Our work focused on clarifying the unique value I provide organizations and identifying how to leverage that to guide my future career.
There were several benefits I gained from the coaching. I am now clear about what I stand for, the value I deliver, my personal brand and how to convey it. I have a branded profile that truly represents me and gives me the ability to clearly express my value for future job opportunities. I learned how to become known/seen as an expert in a world full of undifferentiated and inflated information. I know what I need to look for in the future to succeed and now have a totally new and different view on my career and the job search.
What I enjoyed most about working with Megan was her expert, world class knowledge, her super clear guidance, her endless energy and her commitment to insuring I had what I needed to realize my goals. I recommend Megan to those who are looking for a career coach who is honest, ethical, reliable and personally invested in the success of her clients."
- Nicolas Pokorny, Global Sales & Marketing Pharmaceutical Executive, Expat in Austria
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"I started coaching with Megan when I started on an international assignment in the U.S. I was making the move to a new country and into a new role as Financial Controller for the Americas while pursuing my certification as a chartered certified accountant. Doing so much at the same time was overwhelming. Megan helped me to take a closer look at how I prioritized and managed my time and helped me do both more effectively.
She also helped me see how my strengths and weaknesses were affecting my performance at work so I could make better choices to support myself and my team. By showing me the benefits of taking inventory of my choices, taking breaks and asking for what I needed, I was able to get through extremely stressful periods.
Overall Megan provided very practical guidance and tips to increase my focus, productivity and overall well-being. I would recommend Megan for those struggling to find balance and succeed on international assignment."
- Nicole Kruggel, Financial Controller, the Americas, Alfresco, Expat in the US
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"Megan is incredibly focused and effective. I asked Megan to help me to expatriate again after 5 years in my home country and she thoroughly succeeded. With her friendly but very professional approach, Megan not only coached me how to manage my career and follow up with my career plans, but she exceeded my requests by introducing me into new internet resources and giving me a lot of additional info. Megan is a global minded person and she always goes the extra mile to support you. I strongly recommend Megan, for her exceptional coaching skills and her ability to make you express the best in you.
It is difficult to express the fulfilment, satisfaction and sense of accomplishment that I experienced through the personal branding coaching. Starting with my values and passions and the support from the 360, through learning about networking and online identity, I became empowered to make choices for myself and my professional life. It helped me understand I don’t have to wait for opportunities - I can create them! I feel incredibly energized because I am now managing my career through building and communicating my personal brand."
- Roberta Zelari, International HR Specialist, Secured job and became expat in Dubai
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"Thanks to Megan's guidance I managed to achieve my goal of changing industries and finding a job abroad despite the very hard moment the world's economy is going through. Most of all I liked her way to be very thorough answering every question I had, instilling self-confidence in myself, being always so effective,so helpful and so enthusiastic. Megan was also fully aware of every single detail of my resume (sometimes I had the feeling she knew me better than myself) and this made me feel as "unique" and not just "one of the meetings of the day". Every time I met Megan I went out of the room with the clear sensation I just had a super-dense meeting, learning every time so many precious things. I really have to thank Megan for her help, for her tips, for her availability and for her smile!”
- Tanya Buhnik, EMA B2B E-Business Manager at Johnson & Johnson, Secured job and became an expat in the UK
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"Megan is an excellent career coach. She coached me over the course of 6 months, to transition from a career in IT marketing to a creative career in food writing. During the course of our engagement I was amazed the depth of her knowledge and network across fields. Megan is a skillful listener and is adept at asking targeted questions which is reinforced by an arsenal of tools to help clients understand, define and realize their goals."
- Karin Dodson, Business Development Executive, Amadeus, Expat in France
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"When I met Megan I was a new graduate without relevant job experience. She went through my past with me and helped me understand my real potential. She helped me write a CV which really expressed who I was and what I could do. This process helped me get my first job. I think the most amazing part of Megan's work is her ability to help people succeed by honestly being themselves. What I have learned from Megan is still useful and is creating positive results. I have just got a new job, which I didn't think I could get because of my experience. Now, only two years after graduation, I am a Spanish country assistant accountant at a well-known American company."
- Gennaro Montone, Huntsman, Accountant, Secured job and became expat in UK
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"As a career coach, Megan is able to provide highly "customized" service. Whenever I need the knowledge of the job market, the techniques of job research, or the specific resources of job searching, she can always offer helpful guidance.”
- Ying Gu, Associate Planning Director, TBWA, China
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"Working with Megan has been a wonderful journey which has helped me walk through some challenging events in my professional life. I've been given the tools to see things from a different perspective and take part in events I would have previously found daunting. Her ability to encourage and open people up to new possibilities has helped me walk through changes with greater confidence. She's a dynamic, supportive, positive force in my life."
- Tanya Chinale, Makeup Artist, Expat in UK
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"Megan has completely changed my outlook and career perspective. I feel totally confident about where I am heading and have a clearer vision of my aims and goals. I feel totally confident now and I have a grip on my career and future. Megan has the capability of looking "inside" you, highlighting those qualities that make up our own individual personal brand statements and putting them black on white. Thanks Megan, I would not hesitate to recommend Megan to anyone who values good work and distinct professional qualities.”
- Tony Piccolo, Information Management, United Nations FAO, Aquatic Biofuels Expert, Owner of AquaticBiofuel.com, Expat in Italy
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"Megan has developed a high-quality career coaching system that is simultaneously goal-oriented and flexible, allowing for the mitigation of pressing issues. What amazes me most about Megan is her ability to pull out the perfect tool for any situation, providing her client with tangible tools for dealing constructively and confidently with complicated situations and in reversing negative habits and patterns. In addition, I have honed in on possible ‘next-steps’ in my career – a task that seemed impossible before.
The last six months with Megan have been full of major realizations and unimaginable personal growth. Megan is always 110% tuned in to the needs of her client, showing genuine concern and devotion to the goals set. In our time of working together, I have been in Russia and Megan in Italy, and yet because of Megan’s experience in long-distance communication I often forget that we have never met in person.
Megan is one of the most talented, devoted, caring, intelligent and efficient people I have ever met, and I am honored to have the opportunity of working with her. Megan is committed to the success of her clients and to an exceptionally high level of quality in everything she does. She is inspiring, comforting and motivating. I recommend Megan to anyone, anywhere in the world who is lost on the often complicated career path and who is committed to real self-improvement.”
- Liza Shurik, UNAIDS, AFEW, International Communications Specialist, Expat in Russia
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"What I received from Megan was learning to value myself in my work and building my confidence. I have been able to re-work my CV to be more output-oriented. This has made me realize how much work I have done and its value. Working on my goals, passions and values has allowed me to focus and better understand what I am looking for. This was important for me, as I had felt that I was no longer focused or understood what I wanted. Even if I had understood what I had wanted I felt that I had no idea how to go about it. I came Megan as a person with little confidence in my work and undervaluing myself as a professional. Through the coaching I was able to understand my unique and important value and start communicating it."
- Kemi Lambo, Gender and Equity Management Consultant, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Expat in Italy
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"I discovered a job that will bring me more satisfaction and learned how to design a CV that better promotes my skills and accomplishments. I really enjoyed the coaching, experimenting and trying new things. As a result of coaching, I treat myself and others better. I am overcoming my fear of public speaking and developing better communications skills. I really appreciated Megan's support during some difficult work situations.”
- Irina Berevhnova, Deputy Head, AIDS Foundation East West (AFEW), Russia
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"The biggest change that resulted from coaching was learning how business success can come through leveraging our unique strengths and value. I learned how to keep focus on my core business specialties, reach my target market through ongoing, compelling messages and get maximum impact from my marketing activities. I also learned how to use technology to automate my business and a management system to better organize my day-to-day operations.
Megan helped me improve my networking approach, build strong relationships with clients and partners, and message my brand online through my bio, website and LinkedIn profile. I’m grateful for her commitment, enthusiasm and passion. I highly recommend Megan to any one that wishes to use their own unique value to build a successful business."
- Paola Fiore, Sustainability Management and Communications Consultant, Italy
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"Professional and committed are the first things that come to mind when I think of Megan. She is constantly on the lookout for new and interesting ways to better her client's chances of success. She is dedicated, thoughtful, and precise to the point where I wish all businesses were run like hers.
Rarely have I encountered someone like Megan. I have read personal development and business books but all pale in comparison to Megan's commitment to quality. I have learned more from Megan in the 5 months I've been with her than anyone or any book has ever taught me."
- Jason Pittelli, Tour Operator, Expat in Italy
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"Megan was my International MBA career coach and a I had a truly enlightening experience with her. She was very patient and gradually led me through the maze of questions that I had compiled at the time regarding my future professional career. Armed with an exceptional theoretical and technical knowledge she managed to help me land the summer internship I wanted. After several sessions with Megan, I immediately saw the results as the desired phone call and interview got scheduled. This happened in the midst of the recent turbulent financial crisis and I must give her merit for helping me make my application stand out amongst the pool of applicants. Megan is an excellent career coach and I strongly recommend her!”
- Vanya Kostadinova, MBA Student, SDA Bocconi, Expat in Italy
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"Megan is the go-to person when it comes to information and advice on building an expat career. Her wealth of experience, and the insights she gives, are invaluable for anyone contemplating working overseas - as the chapter she wrote for my book on the pros and cons of moving abroad demonstrates.”
- Paul Allen, Author of Should I Stay or Should I Go: The Truth About Moving Abroad and Whether It’s Right For You, Owner of Expat Living 101.com
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"Megan was a contributor to my book STORYTELLING ABOUT YOUR BRAND ONLINE AND OFFLINE where she penned a section on Internationalizing the BIO. She is indeed an amazing resource and expert on international and expat careers and helps her clients to build careers and businesses abroad. Her credibility extends beyond her impressive credentials as she has lived the expat career life herself and appreciates and realizes the importance of taking culture into account when writing bios and branded career marketing materials. In my book you will find her guidelines on how to write an international BIO as well as for stellar BIO examples of an Executive, Professional, Diplomat and Entrepreneur.”
- Bernadette Martin, Career Transition Brand Strategist, Author of Storytelling About Your Brand Online and Offline
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"Megan is one of the most passionate, enthusiastic and talented social media specialists I've had the pleasure of working with!!! I worked with Megan extensively throughout 2009 in my social media program and her contributions were invaluable. She always has something of extreme value to add, particularly in the area of career and business development with her rich background. Her coaching questions stand head and shoulders above others I've seen. I trust my own clients with Megan and happily recommend and endorse her!!!”
- Mari Smith, Social Media Speaker & Trainer, Author of Facebook Marketing: One Hour a Day, Fast Company dubbed “Pied Piper of the Online World”
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"I have known Megan for over over 10 years and think she is one of the most talented and dedicated people I have ever worked with. This past March I asked Megan to join forces with Lynn D. Johnson of Fast Company to lead a panel on "Tooting Your Own Horn" as part of the career development track for the Women Who Tech TeleSummit. Megan's presentation was incredibly insightful and participants came away feeling empowered to build their personal brand. Huge thanks to Megan for making the Women Who Tech TeleSummit a smashing success!”
- Allyson Kapin, Partner, Rad Campaign, Fast Company named one of Most Influential Women In Tech, Forbes named one of the top 30 women entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter