Dreams Defy Reality

Hey There,

My name is Chanier (Sha-nee-yuh) McDonald and I love making an impact.

At my origin, I am someone who comes from strong yet humble beginnings. As descendant who comes from ancestors who literally dreamed of a bright future for me, I do not take my dreams lightly. I, like all humans, have a story that is still being written; I take full responsibility as the author, while the Universe continues to be both my muse and publisher.

Throughout my life and career, I have been fortunate to have numerous opportunities to positively affect my social and work environments. Within these spaces, one theme has been constant, and ironically, it's "change". I could possibly call myself a "change agent", but I prefer to call myself a dreamer; dreaming is my superpower. What this means is, though the reality of an environment or situation may look one way, I believe in the dream of what it can become, and I get creative on how I can be a transformational catalyst toward that effort. However, this only happens if the atmosphere aligns with my well-being. I also know when to walk away, and I count that as another one of my superpowers.

Having had an abundance of opportunities to meet awesome, talented people and work with fantastic teams in various positions, I am strengthened by every connection I make, and those connections have propelled my life forward every step of the way. Whether providing Motivational Life/Career Coaching, management & DEI consulting or creating thought-provoking digital content, I love being inspired and being able to inspire through an endless cycle of connection, humanity, and imagination.

Each day, I think back on where I've come from, and remember that where I am today was once a dream. So, when I say, "dreams defy reality", I mean that quite literally, because, what we dream has the ability to manifest and change any and all outcomes. My best advice to anyone? Dream big, embrace rest, and then dream bigger!

Chanier McDonald

Speaker, Dreamer, CEO

Skills

Consulting: Conducting Interviews, Diversity & Inclusion, Racial Equity, Talent Acquisition, Leadership Development, Facilitation

Technical: Computer Skills, HRIS, Google Suite, Microsoft Office Suite, Slack, Asana, AI Programming

Core: Active Listening, Attention to Detail, Creativity, Collaboration, Customer Service, Interpersonal Skills, Organized, Problem Solver, Trustworthy, Written and Oral Communication

Experience

Senior Career Coach & Consultant

Stepful

2024 — Present

Conducting interviews with students to prepare them for major interviews with top healthcare organizations, resulting in an 89% success rate
Facilitating weekly virtual training to teach interviewing techniques to other coaches within the program.
Working with leadership to create new programming, tools, and resources for students, coaches, and support staff.
Creating procedures for continuous process improvement based on group input, surveys, feedback sessions, and response forms.
Implement group and individualized coaching plans with the coaching team via group training, 1:1s, shadowing, and weekly written and verbal feedback to continually motivate the team.

Data & Insights Manager

Race Forward

2022 — 2024

Sourced, interviewed, and co-managed a portfolio of in-demand Evaluation Experts for a major programmatic project.
Met biweekly with program directors to develop objectives and evaluation measures for upcoming pilot programs to support the newly adopted strategic plan.
Co-facilitated quarterly in-person focus group sessions containing leadership, executives, stakeholders, and employees through intentional and thoughtful questioning and transcription.
Managed the robust evaluation process to assess results and implement enhancements to optimize emerging pilot programs.
Tracked, evaluated, and performed data analytics on data collected from over 5,000 network practitioners via surveys, feedback forms, and focus group sessions.
Contributed to creating a network framework in collaboration with program leadership and the Measurement and Insights team to evaluate the organization’s impact over the next three years.

MacBook Air beside gold-colored study lamp and spiral books

Education

Professional Life Coach Certification | Transformation Services | In Progress

Notary Public & Remote Online Notary | Commonwealth of Virginia | 2023

DEI in the Workplace Certification | University of South Florida, Muma College | Tampa, FL | 2021

Bachelor of Science, Business Administration | George Mason University | Fairfax, VA | 2017

a close up of a very colorful background

Business Analyst - Contract

Anika Systems

2022 — 2022

Provided innovation consultation concerning the HRIS’ utilized by the National Science Foundation.
Facilitated data team sessions to address task prioritization via requests for each team member.
Created data queries to address ad hoc reporting needs for the NSF Human Resources Department.
Used Excel to identify any errors or inconsistencies in data reports.
Supported ongoing yearly data security protocols to satisfy NSF agency requirements.

Lead Data Administrator

City of Alexandria Government

2019 — 2022

Facilitated virtual and in-person monthly roundtables on equity, data, and policy improvements to Office of Community Services procedures.
Worked with the Office of the City Manager to create virtual city-wide training on equity competencies in local government.
Created and managed the Homeless Management Information System dashboard for the City of Alexandria.
Coordinated with 10+ community programs and directors to gather and produce monthly system performance reports to forecast and make data-informed Community Services program decisions.
Supported the Lead CoC Administrator with research initiatives for equity policy solutions and system upgrades.
Assisted in writing a $1M HUD Grant for the Office of Community Services.