testimonials

David was great to work with. He knows the governance field and worked well with staff and volunteers.
Jerome Bowman
Chief of Governance and Strategy
American Dental Association

It was great working with you David – thank you for your professionalism and expertise in leading the group discussions (governance entity self-assessment initiative).
Rita Tiernan
Senior Manager, Council on Members Insurance and Retirement Programs
American Dental Association

My team and I found David to be a terrific asset for helping the AVMA Board of Directors through our first BoardSource assessment project. David expertly guided us through every phase of the process and I believe we will be a significantly improved board in the future, due to his leadership, knowledge, and efforts.
Dr. Ted Cohn
Immediate Past President
American Veterinary Medical Association

I had the pleasure to work with David on our recent Board Governance Self-Assessment. I could not have picked a better person to facilitate the process. David brought a wealth of experience to the project along with some pretty incredible assessment tools. He is practical, straight-forward and is a invaluable resource for “everything” in the world of association governance.
Laura Downes
Executive Director
Arthroscopy Association of North America

I have worked with David for a number of years and find him to be the ultimate professional His depth of association organization behavior shows in both his leadership of people, and management of issues. I have learned a great deal from David and hope to maintain my professional relationship with him for years to come.
Chris Wilker
President, Professional Products
EcoWater Dealers Association

David provided an excellent executive transition session for our Board. He brought forward a number of key issues associated with the transition and guided the Board well through a facilitated session to clarify the role, develop communications protocols and begin the process of crafting an orientation program for the new executive. Throughout the process he was professional, courteous and knowledgeable.
Chris Blake
Executive Director
International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators

David facilitated an excellent Board retreat, which was the first in our 70 year history. We had a few skeptical individuals going into the retreat, but it could not have been better. I attribute the positive feedback and success to your experience, expertise and facilitation skills. I am confident that our Board is better prepared to stay ahead of the rapid transformation of the industry we support.
Martin VanTrieste
2017 Chair
PDA Board of Directors

The Society for Simulation in Healthcare engaged David as a governance consultant over the past year. David worked diligently to become familiar with Society and its policies, procedures, and bylaws. Through a series of virtual meetings and a stakeholder workshop, he was able to deliver sound recommendations and guidance in a detailed report. It’s been a pleasure to work with David and look forward to working with him more in the future.
Chad Epps
President
Society for Simulation in Healthcare

Working with W&A has been extremely valuable to SGO by developing and implementing a comprehensive compensation strategy. Throughout the project, W&A provided highly professional guidance and presented policies to ease implementation and ongoing management of the compensation plan.
Pierre Désy, MPH, CAE
CEO
Society of Gynecologic Oncology

We engaged David Westman at the Academy of General Dentistry for two different consulting assignments in 2015. First, we asked him to conduct a full-day training session for our 10 Council Chairs (e.g., Membership, Education, Communications) and their respective staff liaisons. This was especially challenging because we wanted to move an entrenched master/servant relationship to more of a partnership that recognized the skills that both the members and professional staff brought to the table. David managed to achieve significant progress in that regard, and, based on that success, we hired David to facilitate our strategic planning process. This, too, was a difficult assignment because the Academy’s dentists are facing increasing competitive pressure from an adult population that is dramatically decreasing the number of visits to their general dentists. Again, David managed to garner consensus from a very independent-minded group of dentists to produce a plan that will better position the Academy during the next three years. Based on the success of these two assignments, I heartily recommend David for any similar assignments your organization might have.
John Thorner
Former Executive Director
Academy of General Dentistry

We had the pleasure of having David run our latest strategic planning workshop. His ability to pull together a very diverse, independent-minded board and focus us on a very impressive effort was appreciated by all who attended. I highly recommend David and his team!
Bob Vetere
President & CEO
American Pet Products Association

David Westman took a partially developed strategic plan, started by another consultant, and turned it into a “living document” with Tactics and Milestones, with a time line that made sense and made our goals reachable. He organized our leadership to work with our committee structure (over 30 committees over 600 members) to embrace and implement our Strategic Plan. Today as Immediate-Past President looking back at what our society has accomplished with our “very successful” Strategic Plan over the last 18 months, is a tribute to David Westman.
Guy Orangio, MD
2017-2018 President
American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons

Westman & Associates was very helpful as a consultant and facilitator for our association board’s strategic retreat. Even while working on a limited budget and a short timetable, David Westman helped significantly shepherd our preparations and pre-retreat work process. The strategic program analysis was exactly the right tool for our job at hand.
John Dulmes
Executive Director
Michigan Chemistry Council

David Westman of Westman & Associates Consulting was an amazing find for the National Portable Storage Association.  David was able to lead our Strategic Planning Meeting to a clear path forward by fleshing out very specific short term objectives while staying focused on our vision for the future.  David’s tremendous knowledge and experience working with associations has me committed to working with him on a continued basis to ensure our association stays on course in bringing the most value and benefit to our members.
Mark DePasquale
Chief Executive Officer
National Portable Storage Association

David Westman is the compass to an organization’s process in identifying priorities and a strategic pathway.
Armando Contreras
Chief Executive Officer
United Cerebral Palsy – National Organization

David is a world- class strategic leader. I had the honor of working with David at the Water Quality Association where he joined the organization (Interim Executive Director) during a very tumultuous time. David immediately assessed the challenges at the organization and applied his strong tool set to begin setting the organization on a great path again. In his role he developed a strong strategic plan, and was able to drive the team towards that plan.
Samuel Karge
2004-2005 Board Chair
Water Quality Association

David skillfully lead our organization through the process (strategic planning); seamlessly guiding our reflective efforts into actionable goals. David’s strategy incorporated the perfect blend of guidance and mentorship.
Richard Mest
First Vice President
Water Systems Council

David Westman was very helpful to us in fleshing out/framing proposals for two key initiatives for board consideration. He was well organized, highly collaborative, and timely in meeting our deadlines. I would highly recommend him to other associations that need outside assistance in addressing performance enhancement issues.
Luis Rivera
Senior Director, State Management Affairs
American Association of Nurse Anesthetists

Westman & Associates (David and his colleague Pam) provided valuable support to our organization during a period of transition and the beginning stages of launching a foundation. David was reliable, shared many ideas, and provided assistance in seeing some of those ideas through to fruition, and was willing to adjust his focus as the needs of the organization shifted during this period of time.
Karin Carlson Lombardi
Consultant
American Society of Hematology

David and his team were hired by our association to conduct an analysis of the process by which decisions were made during a move and buildout of new space and to create a Decision Making Model by which future association leaders and staff could follow to be more efficient in any future move.  Westman and Associates performed beyond expectation in a very political environment and produced results to which all involved approve.
Patrick Duffy
Audit Committee Chair
Chicago Association of REALTORS

David did a superb job consulting for our non-profit organization. He did a thorough analysis of our needs and wrote a highly comprehensive report that we are still using for guidance. David’s knowledge and experience are impressive, his communication skills are excellent, and overall we found hiring him to be a very worthwhile experience. I recommend him most highly.
Sally Temple
Former Treasurer
International Society for Stem Cell Research

We hired Westman and Associates to assist with the review of our related 501c3 charitable foundation. The focus of the review was on governance structure, operations, board composition, and funding. David proved to be an invaluable asset to our work group, completing many surveys and interviews of stakeholders. which combined with his experience, resulted in insightful and practical guidance and proposed solutions.  The work group was able to be effective and efficient thanks to his organization and subject matter expertise.
John Pierpoint
Chief Financial Officer
National Association of REALTORS®

David Westman provided excellent facilitation services during a full-day UCP Detroit and UCP Michigan Joint Executive Committee Meeting, navigating the group through a process to agree upon a collaboration approach, identify key initiatives, and determine next step planning. As evidenced in pre-planning meetings and during the course of the engagement, David’s extensive experience, knowledge, and skills are top notch. Based on feedback received from UCP Detroit and UCP Michigan Board members, we would highly recommend David to any organization.
April Kaylor
Volunteer
United Cerebral Palsy of Metropolitan Detroit

Working with David on a key project this year was at all times smooth due to his level of experience and insight into the association community. He understands the unique dynamics involved – which provided me as project manager an additional sense of confidence.
Christine Carter Eggers
HR/Administration Director
American Association of Diabetes Educators

It was a pleasure working with David in 2017 to develop a succession plan structure and methodology for our organization.  David met with each of my directors individually and me, and provided guidance for establishing a plan, which will be easy to modify in the future.  He was great to work with, delivered what he promised, and I would fully recommend his services to others.
Darrin Drollinger
Executive Director
American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers

Association EasyComp is a flexible compendium that allows you to easily compare industry data with your own internal data. It removes all of the mystery around compensation.
Laura Downes
Chief Executive Officer
Arthroscopy Association of North America

Kayla Westman showed a quick grasp of our business and our needs. Her turnaround time was excellent on the work product as well as phone calls and emails. I like that she came back with different ideas that worked for other clients plus some ideas that were unique to our situation. Will definitely use Westman & Associates for future consulting needs.
Bob Lindeman
Managing Director
Overture Group

We contracted with Westman and Associates for our first ever compensation analysis.  We wanted data interpreted by an outside third party to convince our association leadership that one or two of our key staff salaries required significant adjustment.  David spent a great deal of time to understand who we were, objectives and, more importantly, our deadlines.  The data we received gives our senior staff leadership confidence our compensation (with the adjustments) is appropriate.  I highly recommend him.
Gregg B. Balko, FASAE, CAE
CEO & Executive Director
Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering

David was very professional, knowledgeable and prompt regarding responses and special requests (executive performance & compensation consulting). The price was right, and I received a professional service from start to finish.
Doug Bergman
President/CEO
United Cerebral Palsy of Sacramento and Northern California

David maintained communication throughout the duration of our compensation analysis project. When he had questions, he was quick to come to me with his thought process and seek out my final opinion before moving the project along. David was always flexible and that is appreciated. Association EasyComp itself is wonderful – it’s sharp, easy to maneuver, and I can certainly see why it’s called Easy Comp! I highly recommend this tool and I look forward to utilizing this service for a more comprehensive analysis in the near future.
Jillian Ryan
Human Resources Manager
Water Quality Association

David expertly managed a complex consulting project for our association management company that involved assessing, analyzing and recommending improvements to functions related to corporate relations and development. He and his associate conducted internal and external market research which resulted in a new business model, greater efficiencies and increased revenue for our clients. David is professional, diplomatic, and detail oriented. I would recommend his services to others seeking counsel on similar issues and structures.
Steve Smith
Chief Executive Officer
American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine

I found David to be deeply knowledgeable with expertise needed for our specific project. He quickly understood our issues and developed a customized set of solutions, precisely as he promised. Additionally, David met our rather demanding timeline and was receptive and responsive to our changes. Thank you David!
David Barrett
Chief Executive Officer
American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy

It was pleasure working with the team from Westman and Associates, particularly Kismet Saglam who led the work to identify a new management company for our society. They listened to our needs, organized the approach, outlined their deliverables, and executed the process in a timely and very professional manner. They kept us on task and on time, which is not easy to do for busy physicians! They guided us through creating an RFP, review of the responses, interviewing the companies, and developing a transition strategy. Their work resulted in us finding a management company that suites our needs into the future at an affordable price. I have since recommended Westman and Associates services to another board, who is currently using them to address their needs.
Christopher A. Troianos, MD, FASE, FASA
Immediate Past-President
Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists

David Westman was my executive coach during tumultuous times at our organization. He worked with me and our Board to create a development plan for me to transition into the Executive Director position. His planning, coaching and overall development style were so effective that I apply the approach for developing staff within my organization. His coaching is collaborative, effective and priceless for an organization!
Pauli Undesser
Executive Director
Water Quality Association

David Westman’s style as an executive coach is a progressive balance between teaching, mentoring and challenging that has helped me, be a better leader for my team. David provided me with a very thorough 360 assessment of my leadership skills which helped me develop a more effective approach on how I share thoughts, feedback and strategies with peers, leaders, and employees. Our work together has helped me grow personally and professionally. His assistance through some of the most critical tasks I faced included successfully leading my team through two acquisitions. He also helped me create a productive and meaningful relationship with our board of directors. In two short years, our work together has made me a more effective executive and allowed me to create a more proactive and flexible organization with one of the best teams I have worked with in my career. Initially, I didn’t understand or comprehend the need for an executive coach. But as the old adage goes, “you don’t know what you don’t know”. Thank you David!
Senior Vice President & General Manager
Multi-State Distributor of Office Furniture and Equipment

David Westman and I worked together for over two years in a professional coaching relationship.  David worked proactively to seek input from my manager (company CEO) and myself on areas of focus and improvement.  David also was willing to conduct 360s and collect feedback for action.  Through all of these efforts David and I had a solid relationship that helped me think through leadership and organizational areas for focus and growth.  I appreciate my time with David and every conversation led to specific actions and differentiated thinking.
Vice President Global Strategy and Marketing
International Manufacturing Company