Throughout my 35-year career as an educator and leader, I lived a deep commitment to being in service to others and helping people to learn and grow. Throughout my life, I’ve been privileged to have worked with leaders and mentors who were passionate about helping me explore and maximize my potential as a human being. Given the very profound impact these folks had on my life, I am called to offer myself as “contribution”, to help do for others what these influential people in my life helped do for me.

Shortly after retiring in January 2019, I opened 1st Light Coaching & Consulting, believing that the dawning of each new day opens the door to new possibilities for personal development and living lives that allow us to become the best versions of ourselves in whatever roles we fulfill in either professional and/or personal lives. As my tag line says, “New day, new possibilities!”

As an executive/personal development coach, my mission is to help people and organizations stretch and grow the capacities needed to envision more desirable futures, achieve outstanding outcomes, and lead more fulfilling lives.

I work with executives and other organizational leaders interested in developing the knowledge, skills, habits, and perspectives needed to thrive in their leadership roles. I work with leaders from a variety of industries within the private and public sectors.

I also commit time to working with individuals who are interested in growing in ways that allow them to envision new possibilities for the future, to set and achieve goals that permit them to pursue their dreams. Given my many years of experience as an educator, my work also includes coaching adolescents as well as adults.

I consult with groups interested in developing the insights and communication skills necessary to become highly functional teams capable of successfully navigating the challenges and uncertainties presented by the volatile, complex, ever-changing business environment that exists today.

I work with organizations to assist with strategic thinking and planning as well as the design of actions and practices that result in the successful execution of plans developed.

I also work with organizations seeking to establish or reshape their cultures in ways that permit them to fulfill their purpose and deliver on the value proposition extended to the customers they exist to serve.

The goal of an ontologically-based coaching relationship is to have the client shift the way he/she sees the world, thus opening up new possibilities for action in his/her personal and/or professional life. It is this focus on shifting the “Observer” we are, the exploration of self in the domains of language, emotion/moods, and body/somatics that elevates the coaching experience from a transactional level that targets actions and results only, to the realm of deep, personal reflection and the transformation of self. Learn more.

Coaching involves a partnership between a Coach and a Client who engage in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires the client to maximize personal and professional potential.

A typical coaching engagement involves monthly 60-90 minute coaching sessions (face-to-face is ideal, but I do video conferencing as well), the provision of follow-up session summaries (within a week) and supporting resources (throughout the engagement), and client phone or email access to me as needed between sessions. I tailor engagements to meet the needs of the client with respect to how often we meet if a different arrangement makes more sense. Learn more.

Most local clients meet with me at my home office. Given the nature of the work involved with most coaching engagements, meeting in public spaces or a client’s place of employment often involves distractions that can make it difficult for client and coach to be fully present in the work being done.

That being said, I exercise as much flexibility as possible when working with clients around details such as where and when meetings occur to ensure they are able to get their needs met. I also have clients outside the immediate area that I meet with via Zoom or other videoconferencing platforms.

Within a week of each coaching session, I provide the client a summary of our meeting, including a description of any actions or practices we co-created and to which the client committed to working on between coaching sessions in order to address their cares/concerns and achieve goals set.

Along with the summary, I often also provide resources I’ve developed or collected or share references to other materials that may support the client in the work they’ve committed to doing between coaching sessions.

Within a week of the next scheduled coaching session, I send a brief reflection tool with questions intended to help the client gain clarity about what they’d like to discuss or work on in their next coaching session.

There is no set length to any given coaching relationship. For those interested in engaging in work that results in truly transformational change capable of producing long-term, sustainable results, I typically suggest a 6-month coaching arrangement as a starting point.

This is done with the understanding that the first coaching session is provided at no cost and that given 30 days-notice, the client can terminate the agreement at any point without penalty should they decide they are not realizing the value they seek from the relationship. At the 6-month point, I work with the client to evaluate progress and to determine if it makes sense to continue the coaching engagement.

To view a sample coaching engagement agreement, please click here (I have attached a sample agreement for linking)

Please fill out the contact request on the website and I will be in touch to arrange a conversation about possibilities for how we might work together to address your needs and/or goals. I look forward to connecting with you!