Coaching toward authenticity, impact
and joy

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I'm a mixed-race cisgender woman of color who has mainly worked in predominantly white male-led organizations. Throughout my career, I've received many cues (both from employers and broader society) that fitting in/not rocking the boat was the best and safest route for me if I wanted to succeed and advance.

Earlier in my career, I thought that what I was doing to understand the ways of the organization's leaders and to fit in/mimic their style was me being politically savvy (and I guess it was, to a point). Later in my career, I realized that I was really just suppressing my thoughts and feelings in order to stay as safe as possible in organizations where I didn't quite feel seen, heard or valued. In that safety, I was moving forward slowly but surely, but I would always hit a ceiling.

Ultimately, I wasn't reaching my full potential if I was holding back for fear of being labeled as "too passionate," "too angry," or "too radical." And here I was working within organizations that were working toward social change and equity, places that should want to keep and promote employees who were rightfully passionate about the work, angry about injustice and would think outside of the box to find solutions to the big challenges we were trying to overcome (the achievement gap in education, homelessness and poverty to name some of the issue areas I've worked in). 

Today, I am the coach I wish I had twenty years ago when I first launched my career. Someone to guide me in my truth. Both helping me to gain real skills in management and leadership, but also helping me to maintain a clear sense of self in the work. For too many women, people of color and those who exist "on the margins," there is pressure to comply and go along with whatever the dominant culture dictates. I believe this to be harmful to both individuals as well as the organizations we belong to. My vision is for all of us to be able to bring our full selves to work -- this is not just more psychologically healthy for individuals, but it also makes our organizations stronger. We say diversity is important, but having folks bring their true selves and then valuing them and including them