Nancy Near   is an independent facilitator and strategy consultant in the San Francisco Bay area.   A 25-year veteran of Hewlett-Packard (HP) and one of the founders of GarageWorks, an innovation and rapid decision making center, Nancy specializes in helping groups work across boundaries to make and implement tough strategic decisions – and to have fun while doing it!.   With her practical yet light-hearted approach to serious business goals, Nancy designs and facilitates workshops that typically accomplish three- to six-months worth of alignment in just two to three days.

Throughout her career with HP and with other companies, Nancy has worked with executives, senior managers, and professionals from a wide variety of functional areas: R&D, marketing, IT, human resources, manufacturing, procurement, and supply chain.   Her first-time clients are often surprised and delighted by how much they are able to accomplish in such a short time, and by how much they enjoy the process.   Her repeat clients have learned to expect those results.

Nancy has a BA from DePauw University and an MS in Management Information Systems from the University of Arizona.  Before joining the high tech industry, Nancy worked for a time as a designer in a stained glass studio, just long enough to determine that minimum wage was not for her.  She currently paints and sells her watercolors, and has written and illustrated several children’s books.

You can contact Nancy at 408-865-1005, or via email at templeton_near@yahoo.com