Reference letter from Nate Johnson

1. October 17, 2015
To: Human Resources Director, Hiring Manager, and/or Project
Management Office (PMO) Director:
Not only is it an honor, a privilege, and a pleasure to acknowledge Ms.
Shawn Foster’s cross-functional IT leadership prowess, but also to
recommend Ms. Foster for any senior leadership roles within the rubric of
project management and business transformations. Ms. Foster epitomizes
the very essence of organizational leadership predicated upon
collaborative and consensus-building techniques in effecting critical
enterprise objectives ~ vision(s), mission(s), goal(s), objective(s), and
critical success factor(s) ~ particularly those relating to financial and/or
economic factors.
For two (2) decades, Ms. Foster has been the primary collegial advisor on
numerous endeavors ~ campus-based research computing, continuous
operations, critical post-9/11 disaster recovery and emergency
preparedness, and a telephone switch implementation effecting over
20,000 customers, initiatives ~ where her penchant for leadership was
manifested through her skills in organizational assessment, situational
analysis, and individual performance management, also serving as
paramount, critical, success factors. Of particular note should be the
strength of character that enabled Ms. Foster to institute a new
operational philosophy and positively effect cultural change amid extreme
resistance to change, as epitomized during her Carnival and Department of
Transportation tenures.

2. page 2
Shawn set a new standard for organizational capability and competency at
all levels, stressing the importance of continuous improvement, the vetting
of ideas, plus insuring that collaborative and consensus-building techniques
were utilized with stakeholders. She listened, counseled, and mentored
peers, her customers, and clients. Shawn stressed the importance of
accountability to those internal and external stakeholders by successfully
employing planning techniques - the creation and implementation of plans
that relied upon metrics and performance measures as the drivers for
successful organizational change. In selecting new initiatives and/or
projects, Shawn included cost-benefit and other financial analyses as
critical justification factors.
An astute manager and leader, Shawn’s knowledge and personal skills gave
her team leaders and staff the knowledge and capacity to be more
successful both on behalf of their customers and their colleagues. Shawn
promoted and encouraged staff to improve and enhance their skills
through professional development plans encompassing various educational
alternatives and participation in various associations.
I highly recommend Ms. Shawn Foster for any highly responsible, senior
leadership role. In her candidacy, you will find a very personable and
visionary strategist, an able and collaborative colleague, and a capable and
valued mentor to those in her organization. Beyond these exceptional
qualities, she possesses key competencies derived from first-hand
knowledge and her vast, and diverse, experiences that contribute to her
considerable leadership skills.
With the greatest regards,
Nathaniel J. Johnson, Sr.
Former MIT Chief Network Officer (CNO)
President, NJJ Associates
njj@njj-associates.com