Liz O’Connor
Founder & Principal, Strategy Matters
Liz is an experienced strategic planning consultant whose work focuses on helping organizations to solve problems and identify new opportunities, and ultimately to become more effective in achieving their mission. She also works with managers and C-suite executives to improve their own ability to lead change in their organizations through coaching. Liz’s approach to coaching evolved from her work in strategic planning, and works through a series of questions and explorations. The specifics within the process are customized to the clients’ interests, needs, work and learning styles, and schedule.
Liz founded Strategy Matters in 2000 as a vehicle for providing support to nonprofits, private companies, and government agencies working to find solutions to complex problems which impact communities and families. Strategy Matters specializes in strategic planning and organizational change, and Liz is also an executive coach, often as a complement to the change or planning process. Liz has worked with Colby Swettberg (BF2017).
Liz is an expert facilitator trained in Future Search, Open Space, Technologies of Facilitation, Facilitative Leadership and Appreciative Inquiry methodologies. She is an active member of the International Association of Facilitators and the Boston Facilitators Roundtable. In partnership with Jim Jordan, she designed and delivered leadership and management training for police sergeants through The Sergeants’ Leadership Program, which has trained over 1200 police sergeants and first line correctional supervisors from 10 states.
Prior to founding Strategy Matters, Liz was Deputy Director of the Office of Strategic Planning at the Boston Police Department, Liz worked with senior police management and district commanders to design, fund and implement new initiatives supporting innovative practices and community-based policing, including a strategic planning process which engaged over 400 Boston residents and which provided an important underpinning for great reductions in crime citywide. Her program development efforts focused on building strong partnerships to support community groups in crime prevention and reduction. Before joining the police department, Liz was director of a large community-based literacy (ABE and ESOL) program, and taught Philosophy at Northeastern University, UMASS/Boston and in the SUNY system.
Liz holds a master's degree in Philosophy from the University of Washington (1991) and a bachelor's degree in Philosophy and Political Science from Mount Holyoke College (1988). In her spare time Liz likes to read, ride her bike, and volunteer on progressive local political campaigns. She lives in Jamaica Plain with her husband and their dog. They have two grown children.
