All of our career coaches have years of experience within corporations and are certified or hold degrees from top career counseling and coaching programs.
Jenn G. I Adriana T. I Veronika W. I Russ T. I Meredith D. I Joanne S.
I get energized helping people navigate their careers. Recently, I was asked if I could do any job what would it be…. and my answer was exactly what I do today! I love helping clients move toward a career they love, and fulfilling their goals. That said, I spent a decade zig-zagging through different jobs looking for my passion and it was these times of career dissatisfaction that led me to what I love- career coaching! My goal is to help people avoid 10 years of job unhappiness and find something they love today!
I believe my background in corporate recruiting, training and human capital consulting, coupled with my double masters in psychology give me an in-depth and complex view of the real workplace, enabling me to help clients in a unique fashion.
Jenn’s Bio
Jenn began her career as a special education teacher before becoming an MBA recruiter for Morgan Stanley, where she targeted top twenty business school programs. She progressed into their training organization where she developed and oversaw a variety of coaching and mentoring programs. After graduate school Jenn worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers, in a client facing capacity helping with training development, facilitation, change management, and organizational design for Fortune 500 companies. This record is coupled with a double Masters from Columbia University in Counseling and Organizational Psychology with a concentration in career counseling.
Gaining clarity, setting intentional goals and removing obstacles are my recipe to guide my clients to design their path toward a more fulfilling career. I personally have switched industries 5 times in my 27 years of business experience so I’m familiar with the roller-coaster ride of thrilling and sometimes frightening emotions when making a change. Just like a masterful musician or a player of any sport, a business coach can be the person to help you thrive. I gain great pleasure by helping my clients reach their goals and customize the work to their specific needs. Even if I won the lottery jackpot, I would still be involved in helping others transform their careers.
My professional experience is in many industries from the front-lines to executive positions as well as coaching and developing others on a global scale, help me identify and work with people from different industries as well as cultures.
Adriana’s Bio
Adriana combined her 27+ years of business skills, global management experience, executive consulting and training with her passion for coaching and developing business professionals. Adriana has worked across industries including Pharma, Biotech, Technology, Publishing, Finance, Advertising, Consumer Packaged Goods, and Equipment Manufacturing. She has experience with renowned companies including 3M, Thomson Reuters, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Rainier Investments, Nationwide Insurance and more. Individual clients include personnel from large firms such as Oracle, Chevron, Cisco, Genentech, Motorola, Sony to mid-sized, start-ups, and universities. She is passionate about working with clients seeking to transform their career trajectory, and teams that want to improve how they function plus co-design a better future. Adriana’s combined education and experience includes certifications from World Coach Institute: Executive (CEC), Career (CCC), Group (CGC), Laser (CLC), and Master Coach (CMC); HR Management from Notre Dame DN; B.A. in Marketing Management from Concordia University; Consultative Training from 3M Co.; 5+ years coaching and development responsibility for a global online advertising team; and course certified in Team Coaching (TCI) and CRR Organizational-Relationship Systems at Work (ORSC).
Some of my favorite clients are people who say: “I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up”. I love helping people figure that out regardless of their age. I energize people to get clear and move forward towards a career that’s in-line with their values, draws on their passions and where they can use their best skillset. It took me a while to create my own dream career, but I can honestly say it was worth the effort. I realized during a coaching seminar that I was happiest when I felt energized and healthy, had time for friends and family, and my life felt balanced. To that end, I work part time as a coach and facilitator and spend my spare time with my husband and 3-year old daughter. I have a passion for using coaching tools to help my clients get unstuck and to enable them to move into a joyful and energized state of being.
Veronika’s Bio
Veronika is a passionate self-starter with fourteen years experience in coaching and leadership development. Veronika’s career includes working for PricewaterhouseCoopers, and accumulating more than eight years experience managing key partner development initiatives for firm leadership, facilitating training programs and coaching seniors and managers at PricewaterhouseCoopers. As an executive coach she has worked with many emerging leaders from various organizations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Oracle, Leadership Systems International, and private individuals with a focus on young professionals. Veronika is accredited from the International Coaching Federation as an Associate Certified Coach and received her Coaching Certification from The Hudson Institute of Santa Barbara. She holds a Certification of HR and Training Development from UC Berkeley, and a Bachelor in Psychology from University of Colorado at Boulder.
Russ is a long-time Human Resources professional who loved helping people with their careers so much that he’s now made it his full-time job. As a Life and Career Coach, he works with clients to get them to figure out, and go for, their dreams. He asks probing questions to assist people in building their plan to achieve their goals. He inspires, motivates, boosts confidence and tackles fears – turning hesitation into action.
Russ’ Bio
Russ has had 4 distinct careers – Certified Public Accountant, Sports Anchor & Reporter at a TV station, Human Resources Senior Management and now his current path. All of these lasted 5 to 8 years and he was able to successfully navigate from one seemingly-unlike career to the next. He builds on his own experiences to help clients figure out their next steps. Because of his varied background, Russ is extremely well-networked and often offers to “make a connection” for someone trying to get into a certain field. Russ is based in New York City and spends his off hours playing basketball, tennis and softball (and often winning at them as evidenced by his trophy case.
Meredith is a passionate self-starter who has successfully transitioned careers herself. She combined her 13 years of business skills, psychological assessment and counseling expertise; work with teams (development, coaching, and training) with her passion for growing and developing individuals inside and out. She supports individuals helping them find their passion, assessing their current skills, and aligning the two to launch a successful job search.
Meredith’s coaching is centered around ensuring the individual or individuals are in the “here and now,” and structures the sessions and path to positively ascertain the needs and develops a plan that moves the client towards their goals. She understands the importance of individual(s) being happy and healthy both inside and out. Her programs are consultative and customized to the individual client needs.
Meredith’s Bio
Meredith has worked across industries including career coaching, education management, recruiting, wealth management, biotech, pharmaceutical, and medical device. Meredith’s combined education and experience includes an Ed.M. in Health and Behavior Studies from Columbia University’s Teachers College, a B.S. in Cognitive Psychology and Child Development from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College, and is licensed as an educational psychologist (LEP). Meredith is a career coach and consultant for Festa Professional Development.
I help people seeking to make profound changes in their lives to be happier and more successful, with an emphasis on engagement – the more engaged a person is in her/his personal and professional lives, the more likely s/he is to play full out and succeed! I’ve been coaching in one form or another since college when I helped students seeking opportunities in Washington DC find fulfilling internships. After 15 years in high tech where I coached colleagues, teams and management in a variety of arenas, I decided to become a full-time coach and attended an ICF-certified coaching academy. Since then, I’ve focused on life, career and mental-health coaching. There is nothing better than helping someone tap into themselves for those great “aha!” moments that propel them forward.
Joanne’s Bio
Joanne has combined her 25+ years of business skills, corporate communications expertise, training, and executive consulting with her passion for empowering people to create the lives they want. Joanne has worked for start-ups and multi-billion dollar high tech companies, and several non-profits. She has experience with major companies including VMware, Sun Microsystems, The Container Store and numerous startups in both high-tech and health-tech. Individual clients include employees from large firms such as Sun, VISA, Price Waterhouse, and Genentech; mid-sized companies; start-ups and universities, as well as entrepreneurs and small-business owners. She is passionate about working with clients seeking to transform their lives and careers, and believes everyone has their own answers – they just need assistance drawing those answers out and creating a customized plan to achieve their goals. Joanne believe that what is happening in one part of a person’s life can indirectly impact what is happening in another, and she collaborates with people to clear up clutter that may be getting in the way of their identifying and implementing their goals. Joanne has a BA in Communications from the University of California, San Diego, and an MBA in Management from Golden Gate University and graduated from the Academy for Coaching Excellence.
