Some leadership challenges are too complex
for the org chart.
Executive-level consulting and strategic partnership for leaders in higher education, nonprofit, and social enterprise — from emerging organizations to flagship research universities and international NGOs.
That's when executives call us.
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Association ofExecutive Coaching
Credentialed Organisation
What you carry at the executive level doesn't always fit inside any meeting agenda.
The complexity that lives at the intersection of strategy, culture, board relationships, and leadership development — that work is often too layered for a scoped project with a deliverable at the end. What it requires is a thinking partner who has been where you are, who understands the terrain without extensive explanation, and who is built for the long view.
Most of our partnerships begin with one conversation about one challenge. What our longest partners will tell you is that SPARC becomes something broader over time: the external strategic capacity they didn't know they were missing.
When you work with SPARC, you work with us — directly, in every engagement. We don't staff out your work to associates. That is not a constraint. It is a deliberate choice.
Dr. Mathew Johnson
Co-Founder & Co-CEO · Ph.D. · ICF PCC
Mathew has led regional, national, and global organizations as CEO and in other c-suite roles through strategic and transformational change. He served as a Dean at Brown University and as a fellow at the Doerr Institute for New Leaders and the Carnegie Foundation. He has partnered with major foundations including the Bonner Foundation, Carnegie Foundation, and Extension Foundation, and has delivered work across four continents.
Ph.D. in Sociology, Brandeis University. ICF Professionally Certified Coach (PCC). Recognized by Ashoka U as an Ashoka Changemaker. Co-director of the National Assessment of Service and Community Engagement.
mathew@sparcinsights.com
Dr. Shannon O'Neill
Co-Founder & Co-CEO · Ph.D. · ICF PCC
Shannon is an accomplished higher education leader and advocate who has served as Executive Director for Workforce and Professional Education, a University Dean, and the founding director of a University Center for Women. She was a Dean at Brown University and has led the founding and growth of major organizational initiatives in regional, national, and global contexts.
Ph.D. in Social Psychology, University at Albany, SUNY. ICF Professionally Certified Coach (PCC). Award-winning educator and published scholar. Certified trainer in CliftonStrengths, Immunity to Change, and cultural diversity facilitation.
shannon@sparcinsights.comWe don't deliver a report and hand you the keys. Our partnerships are sustained engagements — built for the complexity of executive leadership over time, not the delivery of a scoped project. Most of our deepest partnerships have spanned multiple strategic cycles, leadership transitions, and organizational turning points.
Every engagement is built from scratch for your specific culture, leadership, and strategic context. We don't apply off-the-shelf frameworks. We bring doctoral-level insight, executive experience, and ICF-credentialed coaching methodology to a solution designed to outlast our involvement.
Strategic decision-making doesn't happen once a year in a planning retreat — it happens daily, under pressure, with incomplete information. We keep our eye on the decisions only you can make, helping you think through the full range of options and their context before committing. We are the extra eye on the strategy ball while you play the game.
The most advanced form of the partnership — ongoing, confidential, and built for the decisions only you can make.
Strategic advising is a confidential partnership between a SPARC advisor and a senior executive — a dynamic, forward-thinking exchange that blends our experience and strategic perspective with your on-the-ground knowledge of the institution. The priority is creating space for disciplined strategic thinking in real time, alongside someone who has navigated similar terrain.
Strategic advising clients are organizational leaders who want an experienced, trusted voice available to them — not just for formal engagements, but for the ongoing navigation of the most consequential decisions their institution faces.
Strategic advising is available as a standalone engagement or as a natural extension of an existing consulting partnership.
Ask us about strategic advising →"Since stepping into a leadership role overseeing an entire department, I've gained invaluable insights into my own leadership approach. The consulting services have provided a vital sounding board for brainstorming and refining ideas with honest, constructive feedback. Many of these ideas have since been piloted, leading to transformative results."
Senior Director · National FoundationHow the work unfolds
This is not a process that ends. It is an arc that continues — because Scale always reveals new possibilities worth Dreaming.
We work alongside you to envision bold possibility and build the roadmap — grounded in your institutional reality, not a template.
Execution and continuous evaluation, hands-on. We bring data-informed insight without losing sight of the human and cultural dimensions the dashboards don't capture.
We identify what's working and build the capacity to grow it — including navigating funding, partnerships, and the conditions that sustain scale.
How most partnerships begin
Every enduring SPARC partnership started with a single conversation about one challenge. What those clients discovered — and what our longest partners will tell you — is that SPARC becomes something broader over time.
A new president begins coaching with us. Through that relationship, they come to trust our thinking on strategy, culture, and the board — and the engagement grows. Coaching is often the first place an executive experiences how SPARC works.
Learn more →We design and facilitate development for executive teams and near-executive cohorts. The whole leadership team experiences the SPARC model together — and what begins as a development initiative often expands into an ongoing strategic partnership.
Learn more →We facilitate strategic planning processes at institutional turning points — engaging boards, leadership teams, and communities. Executives who bring us in for a strategic planning cycle frequently continue the partnership through implementation and beyond.
Learn more →Change management, culture work, and organizational restructuring at the most complex moments. Leaders who experience how we navigate institutional complexity without losing the human dimension tend to want us in the room for whatever comes next.
Learn more →"What started as executive coaching for a new provost grew into three years of partnership — covering strategic planning, board development, a leadership transition, and a community engagement initiative none of us anticipated when we first sat down together."
— The kind of partnership we're built forWhat we hold for our partners
These are not discrete products. They are the capabilities SPARC brings to a partnership over time — some present from the start, others emerging as the relationship deepens and the organization's needs evolve.
Vision development, strategic planning, and implementation support — designed for the institution's actual culture and leadership, not a template.
Explore →Strengthening governance, board-executive relationships, board assessment, and collective leadership capacity at the highest level of the organization.
Explore →Leading complex organizational change with the cultural intelligence and relational depth that determines whether transformation actually lands.
Explore →Culture assessment, conflict mediation, and the patient work of building organizational environments where strong leadership can actually take root.
Explore →ICF PCC-credentialed coaching for senior leaders, and bespoke development programs for executive teams and high-potential emerging leaders.
Explore →Ongoing strategic advising, community and stakeholder engagement, and the partnership work that extends across organizational boundaries and into the institution's wider ecosystem.
Explore →Curious about the intellectual foundations behind this work?
Read Our Thinking: Leadership @ Scale →We have partnered with organizations across the full spectrum — from emerging community nonprofits to flagship research universities, national foundations, and international NGOs spanning multiple countries and sectors.
Organizational scale has never been the variable that determines what we can accomplish together. Executive sponsorship is. And that has always been your call.
What our partners say
"My experience with SPARC was incredibly valuable to me as a leader during a period of transition. My executive coach was knowledgeable, thoughtful, and fostered my self-awareness about my leadership skills and career trajectory. The guidance provided throughout the partnership was extraordinary."
President · Flagship State University"SPARC provided a space for our leadership team to grow individually and as a team. As a part of this growth, the Board of Directors needed help articulating a forward-thinking vision. The ability to have one firm work with the three main arenas of the foundation — leadership, Board, and staff — has resulted in our ability to accelerate change and growth. We are aligned. We continue to partner with SPARC as needed."
Executive Director · National Foundation"SPARC's ability to quickly build rapport with folks is beyond anyone I have seen before. They came into our organization with a calm, confident presence and led us through our first Strategic Planning process. They were able to engage with all members of our board and staff in such a way that all felt comfortable and heard."
CEO · Independent Therapeutic School"Partnering with SPARC has been invaluable for our HR leadership team. Their expertise in mediation helped us navigate and resolve complex interpersonal challenges. The CliftonStrengths workshops provided deep insights into team dynamics. Their executive coaching has been instrumental — offering tailored guidance that has empowered our HR leaders to grow strategically and lead with greater confidence."
Senior HR Leader · National R1 University"SPARC's guidance was key in shaping our regional incubator, helping us stay focused on local needs while learning from broader examples. Their creative, flexible approach made it easy to navigate an ever-changing economic landscape, turning big ideas into real, actionable steps."
Project Lead · Regional Economic Development InitiativeIf something in this resonates, let's talk.
Reach out directly to Mathew or Shannon. This will be a conversation, not a discovery call. We'll spend time understanding your situation and sharing how we might think about it together.
For sharing with your leadership team or board
Coaching Skills Certificate
Virtual Live · April 16 & 17, 2026 · 9:00am – 4:30pm EST
Experience what it's like to be an executive coach. This two-day program introduces you to the principles and practice of coaching — and lets you begin coaching right away.
- Two-day intensive, live virtual delivery
- Learn a proven four-stage coaching model
- Practice in small triads with expert faculty feedback
- 12 ICF coach education hours · $995 USD