What's it like to work with Skye?

"I have worked with and experienced Skye Dobson for 15 years in different socio cultural contexts and situations on four continents. From posh board rooms in Stockholm and Quito to harsh realities in the slums of Cape Town and Kampala. She has through her personality, knowledge and abilities mastered challenges put before her through hard work, strong drive, goal orientation plus deep respect for people. I can give her my best recommendation. She delivers."

Erik Berg

Former Director of Evaluation

Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Norway

"Skye is deeply respected and trusted by the slum dweller federations in our global movement - having supported them at the international and local level for 15 years. When speaking of Skye I always say that if you surround yourself with five smart people you become the sixth. She is one of my five!"

Joseph Muturi

President

Slum Dwellers International (SDI)

Kenya

"I have known Skye for a number of years and worked with her more directly recently when she convened a proposal process [for FCDO funding in support of community-led ecosystem restoration in Southern Africa]. She played a critical role in helping to develop the proposal (that was successful). She thoughtfully brings in different people and perspectives early on. Her understanding of Theory of Change is excellent, which really helped to structure our thinking on what we might do and what that might achieve. She also has strong social and organisational skills, helping to make everyone feel they were part of the proposal and ensuring a strong submission."

Prof. Gina Ziervogel

Director

African Climate Development Initiative (ACDI)

South Africa

"It's unanimous that your evaluation effort was extraordinary! Your understanding of our project and my experience as Research Lead was both delightful and empowering. You connected with myself and the research team members who participated in the evaluation by using our local lingua franca, Tok Pisin, which epitomized decolonial expression- a language PNG nationals from all sectors of society can understand. This task was meant for you."

Dr. Orovu Sepoe

PNG Women's Activist

Governance, Gender Equity & Social Inclusion Specialist

Papua New Guinea

"Working alongside Skye Dobson over the past decade has been an extraordinary experience. Her unwavering commitment to bottom-up processes and deep respect for local knowledge have consistently shaped meaningful and sustainable change. Skye brings exceptional skill to every facet of her work—from facilitating strategic planning and crafting powerful theories of change, to navigating complex crises with clarity and compassion. She remains deeply grounded in the realities of the communities she serves, never losing sight of the bigger picture. I am profoundly grateful to call Skye a colleague and comrade in the global movement for the rights and dignity of slum dwellers."

Charlton Ziervogel

Executive Director

Community Organisation Resource Centre (CORC)

South Africa

"Skye’s professionalism and rapport with people is unparalleled. Her contributions have been instrumental in resource mobilization through the successful writing of grant proposals. Her expertise includes organisational strategic plan formulation and implementation, demonstrating her comprehensive understanding of organisational development. Skye is highly professional, punctual, and dedicated, consistently delivering quality work. She is a valuable partner in advancing our mission."

Patience Matsangaise

Executive Director

Dialogue on Shelter for the Homeless Trust

Zimbabwe

"Skye has been an exceptional collaborator in the development of IWDA’s new 10-year strategy. She played a key role in helping us shape a clear and compelling Theory of Change that brings coherence to our bold and innovative vision. Now, as she supports us to build our Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Framework, Skye is helping to breathe life into the operationalisation and accountabilities of the strategy as we move into delivery. Her approach is thoughtful, strategic and deeply aligned with our values."

Nayomi Kannangara

CEO

International Women's Development Agency (IWDA)

Australia

'The SDI Secretariat has over the last couple of years engaged Skye in a consulting capacity for different support: leading the participatory development of our latest Strategic Plan, supporting the establishment of a network-wide Community-led Learning, Monitoring and Evaluation (LME) framework, and leading a handful of programme development and (successful) business development processes. It's with great hesitance that I write this testimonial, because the honest truth is that we would prefer to keep her working exclusively with us! In each of these processes she has added tremendous value in terms of steering the process, ensuring local ownership, providing high quality strategic inputs, while also just getting the job done in time."

Mikkel Harder

Partnerships Manager

Slum Dwellers International (SDI) Secretariat

South Africa

"I first met Skye in Uganda some 15 years ago, right at the beginning of her career. I had flown in as the so-called expert but was quickly convinced by her to respond to the challenges not as problems but as opportunities. She brings to the table a positive energy borne from listening to and engaging with people at every level, and the ability to translate real problems into workable solutions—solutions based not on charity, but on empowerment, organisation, and partnership. Skye understands the complexity of sustainable development and the difficulty of achieving impact because she has spent real time working directly within communities on these issues. She was instrumental in the design and implementation of City Alliance programmes, including in Liberia. In my opinion, Skye is a rare resource. Not only does she have the experience, knowledge, and approachability, but she also writes well and is wonderfully articulate—all virtues that make her a highly trusted member of any team."

Julian Baskin

Former Principal Urban Advisor

Cities Alliance

Brussels

“As a funder I have had the absolute pleasure of working with and learning from Skyefor the past 15 years in a variety of roles - as a programme director, team builder, project manager of philanthropy grants, monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) specialist, strategist, fund raiser, and animator of a co-created theory of impact with young people in the slums of Nairobi (an extraordinary piece of work!). She is exceptionally capable in all that she does, politically savvy and quick to understand and navigate the complexities and often frustrating dynamics of Foundations. She brings a strong moral compass, authenticity and creativeness to everything she does, thus ensuring that the work she delivers is fresh, deeply thoughtful and grounded in reality. I am honored to call her a friend and colleague, and I look forward to many more engagements with her.”

Nancy MacPherson

Former Managing Director, Evaluation, Rockefeller Foundation

Former Chief Impact Officer, Mastercard Foundation

USA