“I hired Margie to conduct our credit unions first “post-pandemic” in-person management training for our entire management team. The topic was conflict management + effective workplace communication. Having worked with dozens of consultants/trainers I was highly impressed by the level of intentionality, professionalism, and care that Margie engaged with from start to finish. Everything from onboarding, to execution, to feedback was top-notch. Margie is an infectious communicator, and the content she shared landed incredibly well with our team – It was both practical and transferable. I have and will continue to recommend Margie and the Thirlby Company!”
- Darius Wise, President & COO, Red Rocks Credit Union

“Consulting with Margie has been the best investment our organization has undertaken since I joined the board of the Flathead Lakers roughly two years ago. A non-profit organization founded over 60 years ago, the Flathead Lakers work to protect the waters of the majestic Flathead Lake in western Montana. We recently underwent tremendous change at the Lakers, hiring a new Executive Director, with Margie providing exceptional guidance along the way by helping us identify what we wanted in a new ED, providing objective feedback from independent interviews with the candidates, and facilitating the first annual planning meeting with the new ED in place. Margie is now serving as our ED’s executive coach to develop her leadership skills. For a long-standing organization such as ours, this is crucial for ensuring our new ED has the support and guidance she needs to direct and grow the Lakers over the coming years. With intelligence, experience, and humor, Margie is helping everyone at the Lakers, staff and board members alike, grow in our time of change.”
- Nanette Nelson, Board Member, Flathead Lakers

“Recently, I attended a group session through the Women of M&A Network, led by Margie. We discussed the topics of emotional capacity and building confidence, and how they apply to work and life. I was really struck by Margie's level of authenticity, vulnerability, and grace in her presentation - and her ability to “turn on lightbulbs” that I didn’t realize were off! During the session, I learned that anchoring my self-worth on my output at work was a numbing tactic I was using to cope with lack of clear expectations coming out of the pandemic. Rather than rely on grit and determination, Margie’s presentation allowed me to give myself permission to say “how human of me that I couldn’t check off every single to-do!” The session was interactive, the content was relevant to everyone, and the group walked away feeling a sense of collective empowerment. I would recommend Margie to any organization looking for a fresh perspective on how to find balance amid chaos.”
- Katelyn Horowitz, STOUT

“RMC Health has been working with Margie and The Thirlby Company for over a year. Our board first hired Margie to serve as interim managing director during our CEO vacancy. After I was brought on as CEO, Margie helped ensure a smooth transition for me, and continued supporting our organization through leadership coaching, professional development retreats, and leading our team through our core values and culture process. Margie is an exceptional coach and consultant who takes the time to get to know and understand her clients.  As my leadership coach, I appreciate that Margie both challenges me and supports me along my leadership path.  Her consulting work has helped yield a high performing team who support each other, set boundaries, and continue to grow into their leadership positions in the organization and in our profession.  Margie’s greatest strength is synthesizing individual and organizational challenges and opportunities and helping each person to see their value.  She is an adroit guide who points the way, while allowing each individual to chart their personal path to success.  I would recommend Margie to any organization who is looking to grow and enhance their human capital.”
- Shellie Pfohl, CEO, RMC Health

“Our team brought Margie on because we wanted to give our colleagues the opportunity to set themselves up for success in 2022. Given all that has occurred over these past two years, having Margie guide us though an exercise to not only identify our core values but understanding why we need them was incredibly impactful. So often in the corporate world, we are not given the chance to pause and have time to process what we value most and how to either embrace or shift our future. Margie gave us this opportunity and delivered her knowledge in a way that was approachable and vulnerable.”
- Christina Raya, Managing Director, PNC Bank

“Margie was a superb organizer and leader of our board retreat. New to me, we focused on our board’s culture. So often – and with great results – I’ve attended board retreats focused entirely on strategy. We’re there to give feedback to the organization’s leadership on what to do. Our role and culture, though, is often relegated to a 30-minute slideshow and, after the meeting, the bar. In this case, we focused on knowing each other, why we were involved in the organization, how we work with the leadership team, what are our board values, and what do each of us bring to the table. We also spent some time on fundraising - not the who, but the how. It was a unique session, even for a board that’s been in existence for 15 years. Throughout the day, Margie kept us on task, created an atmosphere of conviviality, and pushed us to really share. Our team came away inspired, understanding of the talents each member can bring to bear, certain of our role, and energized to help move our organization forward.”
- Chris Frampton, Board Chair, Civic Center Conservancy & CEO, East West Partners

“Recently I attended a staff training focused on core values, facilitated by Margie Thirlby. This was not my first introduction to Margie as I had managed her over the past several years of her nonprofit career. I have always found Margie to be incredibly thoughtful and always willing to go the extra mile to not only meet goals, but make everyone else feel appreciated and important in the process of getting to the goal. Margie is stellar at guiding individuals through a process where they feel "full" along the way...full of gratitude, joy, tenacity, and strength. She is not the type of leader who hollows you out before filling you back in. Margie helps each person evolve their strengths to be able to reach what they define as their goal. During the values seminar, with a few simple rounds, Margie was able to do this with a large group. She was able to make each person feel like they should be proud of their values as different as they may have been from others. She then led a meaningful conversation how our values help define and guide us on our current path. Within just an hour, the group felt refreshed, grounded, rejuvenated and proud of their discoveries. I am so excited to see Margie fulfilling this next chapter of her career as a coach and consultant. It is clear to me that she has let her own values and strength guide her right to where she is today and how she will continue to impact lives.”
-Sue Slater, former Chief Regional Operations Officer, Reading Partners

‘"When our former CEO departed, our Board of Directors hired Margie in a consulting role as Interim Managing Director, and she was my director supervisor. Not only did Margie offer expert guidance on nonprofit operations, governance, and managerial best practices to keep our organization moving forward, but also she coached and supervised me. It was some of the best professional coaching I've ever received, and I've truly never developed so quickly as a leader and supervisor in such a short period. Margie supports growth by letting you lead, affirms your strengths, and truly maximizes your abilities. I am a different, stronger, and more intentional leader because of Margie's coaching and leadership.”
- Madeline Morrissey, RMC Health

“In preparing for our CEO leadership transition, the Mi Casa Resource Center board decided to hire Margie as an interim consultant to support our organization through the transition and advising our board in the search. During those few months, Margie led the day-to-day management of the operations, provided professional development to the staff, hosted weekly meetings with our executive committee, and helped facilitate our CEO search. Margie was a treat for the board to work with and our staff loved having a leader who was empathetic, experienced, and inclusive in her approach. Her professionalism, organizational skills, and experience in the field provided our team with the stability that was needed to work through a transitional period. We were pleased with her work and our hiring decision. I would recommend Margie to any organization that is looking for a strong leader with a ton of experience to advise your non-profit strategy, leadership, management of the staff, and culture/values work.”
- Shannon Corcoran, Board Member, Mi Casa Resource Center

"I've had the pleasure of knowing and working with Margie for the past three years as a fellow nonprofit board member, and watching her in action as a nonprofit consultant. Last year Margie facilitated a retreat with a service organization I'm part of. Margie quickly gained the confidence and trust of the group and quickly created a communal focus and plan we used to lead us to one of our most successful operational years. This is not an easy task to pull off - it requires keen diagnosis, something Margie can do with ease. Bottom line, when you’re working on a project with Margie you can bet it will be organized, strategic without the filler, and setup for you to win."
- Michael Williams, Chairman, Omega Leadership Academy