It has been great talking to Bonnie. She doesn’t just speak from an academic perspective, she has a wealth of life experience and this really shows in her empathy and understanding of various situations. I find her really easy to talk to and value her guidance and perspective.

Bonnie is honest, trustworthy, genuine and wise, and you can tell it all comes from the ‘right place’. She has a gentle way of guiding and asking questions and helps me find a way forward without being condescending or patronising. Her calming energy is infectious – she really is a treasure.

Bonnie is amazing to work with. She is honest, transparent and patient and allows me to process without pressure, being intrusive or overbearing and gives me time and space to figure things out while supporting and guiding me forward. I would not be where I am currently without her positive guidance and support and I have recommended her to all of my friends and family.

I’ve always regarded Bonnie as an amazing empathetic person from the first time I met her. When I was becoming aware my daughter Olivia was having trouble dealing with some things, I approached Bonnie about talking to Olivia to provide some counselling and give her someone to talk to in private confidential situation. We had noticed Olivia was feeling quite low, was struggling with growing up as a young lady and knowing where her world is going, keeping on top of school work, and keeping up with general home life.

Bonnie was fantastic and helpful, arranging to meet with Olivia every 2nd week after work/school, and over the next few weeks we noticed a significant change in her general happiness and attitude. They are now catching up by video call as required, which we feel gives Olivia someone to talk to in complete professional privacy.

Bonnie is a warm, caring person who I feel genuinely wants me to succeed. She always takes time to listen, without judgement, and has this gentle way of guiding me on the ways forward helping me find practical solutions and set good goals. I always feel comfortable talking to Bonnie and feel uplifted and positive after every coaching session. I highly recommend Bonnie to anyone who needs some guidance in their lives, or simply needs a kind, caring ear to talk to.

I would like to recommend Bonnie O’Neill to present at your teamwork strategic planning days. Bonnie took my research group which includes senior researchers though to young students on a journey of discovery! We had some reluctant participants but by the end of the hour the whole team was participating in Mindfulness and Bonnie left us much more peaceful and I would say more receptive of ideas. Bonnie is both gentle and challenging and was more than a breath of fresh air for those of us who have been put through the team bonding game ringer more than once too often! It has been more than two weeks since our day and people are still talking about the benefit of Bonnie’s work with us.

School of Biological Sciences
Director of Joint Graduate School in Dairy Research and Innovation
Centre For Brain Research
University of Auckland