Tutoring Testimonials
Bonnie Delay
Bria came into my life late in the summer of 2020 – mid pandemic! A group of us were tasked with converting our tried and true “Spiritual Education Programs” and “Listening to Other Voices” programs to a virtual platform. I, for one, had never gone beyond the “free” Zoom membership with the 45 minute meeting format. It became very apparent that there was much work to be done and to be done quickly! Bria gathered us together on August 18th and we presented our first ‘Virtual Program’ via Zoom Webinar on October 6th! She is a veritable font of knowledge who brought us along at a pace at which found us comfortable while increasing our confidence with each baby-step. She was unflappable as we met ‘hiccups’ on our journey and as our series progressed, we became more and more adept under her tutelage. She is a problem solver, a highly experienced technical savant, a people person … one very competent, capable, qualified and skilled trainer/leader. She is great to work with. I highly recommend her in this field.
Chair Glastonbury Abbey Institute
Tricia Daly
I am 68 years old, and I worked as a computer programer in the 70's. I then went back to the workforce after I had children (in the 90's) and taught computer classes at Hingham Public Schools and Derby Academy for over 15 years combined.
I did not know Zoom before Bria's classes, but I think my background made me more familiar with computers, in general, which helped in understanding how Zoom worked.
That said, Bria did an excellent job teaching Zoom. She told us what we would be learning at the beginning of a lesson. She was able to assist each person in the group at the level they needed. She also could assist both Mac and PC users. I particularly liked her summation at the end of our lessons. She'd say, "You now can ......" That would allow me to see whether I was where I should be for the next lesson.
Also, if I didn't know something I could ask Bria before we went on to something new.
Bria was extremely knowledgeable, and she had an enormous amount of patience. She also gave us the confidence to branch out and learn on our own.
Because of Bria's tutoring, I have had the opportunity to work with a pre-school and run Zoom meetings myself - sharing documents and helping others in the group who aren't as familiar with Zoom as I am now!
- Learner
Gillian Fay
Last summer, Bria introduced us to Zoom webinar which was a new platform for us all. Like most people we were familiar with Zoom meetings but we had no idea how we were going to get up to speed and running by October. Zoom webinar seemed daunting but the training sessions with Bria brought us a level of confidence I didn’t think we could achieve in the timeframe we had. Bria is a very knowledgeable and a very patient teacher; she took the time to make sure everyone was brought along at the same or similar level and felt comfortable in the various roles of MC, Q&A and Chat. She gave me the confidence to host webinars myself, something I didn’t believe I could do in the beginning.
Bria’s expertise really shone through when working with our external speakers who presented a broad range of abilities and presenting styles. I admire her ability to navigate the different technologies and platforms the speakers used with the end result of a professionally presented webinar.
Assistant Director of Development at Glastonbury Abbey
Maggie Olson
When I met with Bria, Zoom was still a foreign and confusing to me, having attended only a couple of town meetings or educational webinars.
During the training sessions I found Bria to be exceptionally patient and very clear in explaining and reviewing terms and process until we all understood. Now, as a panelist during multiple programs since January, I feel very confident in the roles I have taken on so far.
Bria’s genius, however, is in working with educators who have lectured in seminars for years ---and now during the pandemic, feel the need to present via webinars.
Bria was brilliant in helping
these older clients understand and feel comfortable on this platform, as she repeatedly explained terms and processes via analogies to real time lecture situations.
We owe the ongoing success of our virtual programs to Bria’s guidance and support — could not have done this without her!
Bria’s expertise really shone through when working with our external speakers who presented a broad range of abilities and presenting styles. I admire her ability to navigate the different technologies and platforms the speakers used with the end result of a professionally presented webinar.
- Learner
John Sheff
In March 2020, with the onset of covid-19, we went into a prolonged and uncertain quarantine. It appeared that we would need to cancel the 2020-21 season. There did not seem to be any other path forward.
With some guidance from others, however, we contemplated the path of shifting from in-person presentations to creating virtual programming. None of us had the requisite skills to make this transition and so we began a search for an expert in virtual programming who could guide us.
We found Bria. She played two roles. In the beginning she was a tech tutor. She created the curriculum for a "boot camp" experience that focused on learning how to use Zoom, bringing people who had little or no virtual program experience to a group of people who functioned very smoothly as the "back end team" for each event. Once these skills were acquired, she shifted into the role of online event manager.
As a tech tutor, Bria was a very effective communicator. She established educational objectives for each boot camp session that involved learning followed by doing. The next boot camp experience involved reviewing what had been learned. At the end of each session the group had the sense of another skill acquired. When the time arrived to "go live," the group felt very well prepared by Bria.
As an online event manager, Bria led not only the virtual programs team at Glastonbury Abbey, but worked with presenters/talent that LOV had recruited from all over the United States for the LOV series. Often these two groups of people had very different levels of experience with virtual learning. Yet due to her unflappability, amiable personality, patience, attention to detail and humor, each event went flawlessly. The presenters/talent were simply amazed at the level of skill developed by the Glastonbury Abbey team.
Due to the teaching and direction provided by Bria, the success of all the virtual learning programs exceeded expectations in terms of number of people registered, those who attended, retention of attendees and finally online donations.
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Chair, Listening to Other Voices
Ellie Devine
From our first meeting, Bria brought enthusiasm, a positive “can do” attitude, and a strong and effective teaching and coaching style to the project. She brought us step by step through the learning process, giving us positive reinforcement while instilling in us the skills and confidence necessary to carry our aspirations to fruition.
I am a 75 year old retired primary grade teacher and although I certainly used technology in my profession, I must say I had a love/hate relationship with “all things technical.” To say I was reluctant to embark on a journey with this team was an understatement! But session by session, Bria honored my accomplishments, tailored my skills, and imbued me with the confidence necessary to become a working member of the virtual programming team.
As an educator, I was impressed with Bria’s ordered, step-by-step approach to teaching. She is able to see what is needed to bring each person to their next level. She teaches with skill, warmth, a keen eye, and an acceptance and appreciation for each person’s personality and skill. Her command of her material and her ability to instill skill and confidence in the most inexperienced and anxious participant is a credit to her program and her teaching strength. Always ready to support, Bria was generous with her time and expertise throughout our entire process.
We completed our first year with enormous success. We could not have come close without Bria Sullivan as our coach, teacher, and greatest cheerleader! She is simply the best in her field and we were lucky enough to have her with us.
Committee Member
Ethel Fraga
I am deeply grateful for Bria's expertise in getting my talks to a large audience. She created very handsome slides of quotes and passages I wanted Screen Shared during the classes. I have worked virtually through Zoom for the past year in other settings, but never have I had the keen assistance, professional appearance of slides and good natured interaction that I have had with Bria Sullivan. She is so competent technically and such a pleasure to work with.
Ethel Fraga,
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Instructor, Centering Prayer Presenter, Spiritual Director, Retreat Leader