My adolescent son was seen by 4 other “professionals”, all recommending medication to control his “uncontrollable anger outburst”, we continued to search for a qualified professional to help our son with out the use of medication. We were referred to Coach Nakumbe. We were suspicious at first of “Coaching” as a service that could help our son. After the initial meeting my husband and I felt confident enough to give the service a try. After only a short period of Coach Nakumbe’s work with our son we noticed profound changes in his thinking and behavior. We find him thinking, processing and responding where as before he just reacted to every and anything! Coach Nakumbe is a Godsend!” ~J. Williamson, County Clerk. Minnesota~

“Coach Nakumbe is a highly enthusiastic and vibrant trainer. Highly attuned to various learning styles, Coach Nakumbe can connect with everybody. I walked away from one of his trainings feeling educated with valuable tools and motivated to use them. Simply excellent!” ~Brenda H, Clinical Social Worker. South Carolina~

“What a fabulous speaker! ~Workshop Participant. Phoenix ~

Coach Nakumbe has a gift, a talent and a love for others that just exudes from him. He helped me understand and believe in myself as a parent, except the fact that my kids drug use is “not a reflection of my parenting” and that it was OK to laugh and smile and be myself, even during some crappy times… And like you said, things got better! ~Tina C.~

“Dear Coach Nakumbe, I can not thank you enough for seeing us through some challenging times and giving our teen and us the tools needed to forge ahead and navigate the rough waters of chemical dependency.” ~Rick Y. Minnesota~

“Coach Nakumbe, I wrote this in the middle of the week, I used to wait til the last minute…wow, some how I changed some of my ways… I was mad at my parents for making me go, but now I think it was the thing that saved my relationship with them. I have no idea how I did it or what Coach Nakumbe has done to me, but I now get along with my parents 100% better, I think I am the only 15 year old that actually communicates with their parents… and their trust for me has risen higher for me in the past year then it has in my last 14! Thank you Coach Nakumbe.” ~R. Thomas, High School Student. Minnesota~

“Very engaging & entertaining, would make a great keynote speaker on ANY topic” ~Registered Participant. Denver~

“Nakumbe is a remarkable coach – he listens intently, uses powerful insight and is able to draw out core issues that aren’t apparent. He helped me to create my own changes by developing new perspectives. I learnt much about myself from him. Anyone lucky enough to have Nakumbe as a coach will go on a journey of discovery that will take them to exciting and productive places!” ~ W. Morris – Australia ~

“It’s been very enriching working with you. I liked your sense of humor and especially the way you helped put things into perspective for me. Very pointedly, simple and clear.” ~T. Nelson, Multi Cultural Student Adviser. Wisconsin~

“Coach Nakumbe’s depth of questioning allowed me to reveal and learn things about myself at a level that I had not been to before. I was set weekly tasks to explore areas of my relationship, which were discussed and expanded on in the weekly sessions. I enjoyed the balance of working together with my partner and Nakumbe and then private sessions to support the relationship coaching process. I saw a lot of value in the private sessions to explore individual issues that can affect a relationship. It became apparent that my partner and I have very different ways of operating and awareness and compromise can ease difficulties that would normally cause conflict. One of our initial goals was to find techniques to improve communication. Nakumbe did not loose sight of this in our relationship exploration and made a point of returning where appropriate and offering suggestions.” ~Alicia T. Denver~

“I feel that I have received a lot from my coach in these 12 sessions.I have enjoyed very much working with you and it was a great learning in many ways. What I appreciate most is that I ALWAYS FELT SAFE working with you, because you were there for me the whole time and you were never judging me, but supporting me and reminding me of my strength and my magnificence. Thank you, Coach!” ~Faiza I. Tokyo ~

“Coach Nakumbe, the educational bits you offered us were expertly presented and the techniques once applied are valuable for every facet of life.” ~Sue M. Minnesota~

“Dear Coach Nakumbe,
I am writing this letter to thank you for your support with my sons. Young men especially Black males, need someone who listens to, supports and understands them. Your foundation did just that. There are so many approaches to dealing with motivating young people, however I found your approach to be practical and extremely relevant. We can only teach someone when we reach him or her. I do my part as a mother, but when my words were falling on “deaf ears”, your support was there. I cannot thank you enough for being a positive male presence in my two sons lives. I believe they will remember and use the life skill of critical thinking when it comes to solving problems and the consequences. Lastly, I hope that many other families will be inspired by your connection with young people as I have.-Many blessings on the journey,” ~Yvette B. Minnesota~

“I write this letter to tell you how very pleased I was with Coach Nakumbe’s professionalism and compassion while working with my daughter and her peers in the adolescent recovery program this past summer.
I am at a loss for words to fully describe the impact he had and for this I am truly grateful. Coach clearly and effectively laid out both the teens’ and adults’ perspectives to all involved. He helped immensely in our communication and our abilities to negotiate and work through challenges.
I think Coach Nakumbe’s input helped us to bridge our lives with Fairview recovery to daily life beyond the program. Sincerely,” ~Laurie K. Minnesota~

“Dear Coach Nakumbe,
As the Executive Director of the Minnesota Association for Children’s Mental Health (MACMH), I want to thank you for your thoughtful and dynamic presentations you have offered to our annual conference participants the past several years. Our attendees regularly comment on your ability to effectively address difficult topics and sensitive issues relating to adolescent behavior with real-life examples. Your willingness to engage audience members and off practical information with a sense of humor is greatly appreciated by our attendees.

When putting on a conference with more than 75 workshop sessions ad more than 1200 attendees, I am greatly assured to know I that I can rely on you to speak knowledgeably, clearly and professionally on topics such as adolescent cycles of violence and how to reframe thinking. The finesse with which you treat these very complex issues allows attendees to leave your sessions energized rather than overwhelmed.

I thank you for your positive contribution to our work, and I wish you continued success in your speaking engagements and other endeavors. Sincerely, ” ~Deborah S. Executive Director. Duluth~

“Coach,
Thank you so very much for your workshop last night. Honestly I was exhausted and it was hard to sit there for over three hours on those (not comfortable)chairs, however what you had to say was very valuable. All your workshops are important, but this was one evening that will stand out above and beyond the rest. I was very moved there at the end. I know my son felt it too because he told me he loved me after we got out to the parking lot. I could see it in his eyes though when we were holding hands. Thank you for that. It truly felt to me like it brought us back to a connection that we had lost somewhere along the way. I am so blessed to have such a fine son. I know that, but sometimes it is hard to see the ‘forest for the trees’. ~Mary B. Minnesota~

Thank you again. You are a valuable person; if they ever think you are not needed anymore, call me and I’ll picket in your behalf:)” ~Roz F. St. Paul~