I believe you must work with the whole person. . . .
We live our lives as integrated people. We are daughters or sons, spouses and partners, parents, and friends. We are leaders, managers, or employees. We are researchers, writers, and visionaries. We must find ways to align these roles for life to work.
And, sometimes, life throws us a curveball. Even positive change must still be managed. We get promoted or lose a job. We get married or divorced. We have a child or lose a parent. We have an accident, get sick, or gain a disability. Or, we are suddenly caretaking someone. And, there is more to manage in life, work, and school.
I started life as a coach for personal, professional, and team development. That lead to writing and editing. I don’t believe that you can, or should, just edit a dissertation. I believe you must work with the whole person. That’s why my business is named “The Scholar’s Coach.” That’s why my business is designed to provide 360 lifecycle support for you!
Leadership Coaching
Many of my clients find that a doctoral degree opens doors, often into senior leadership positions. Especially in today’s rapidly changing environment, leadership requires skill beyond disciplinary expertise—the capacity to communicate with clarity, navigate complexity and uncertainty, make values-aligned decisions, and lead people as whole humans rather than roles or titles. My leadership coaching supports scholars and academic professionals as they grow into these responsibilities—strengthening confidence, presence, and ethical authority while remaining grounded in the rigor, integrity, and purpose that drew them to doctoral work in the first place.
Job Promotions and Career Changes
Many of my clients are using their doctoral degrees to accelerate their career track or to facilitate a career change. I have coached hundreds of people in and out of academia. It is always a privilege to help people find their next career, rewrite a resume, prepare for an interview, and/or step into leadership roles.
Starting a Consulting Practice
Increasingly, my clients are starting consulting businesses, after retirement or as an off-ramp to full-time leadership roles. Over the years I have founded or co-founded multiple small businesses and nonprofits. I have been an active volunteer at a woman’s business center and with veteran entrepreneurship programs, helping clients earn more than $15 million. Startups are “my thing” and I love seeing clients grow their businesses and pursue their dreams.
Project and Time Management
Many of my dissertation clients want and need support designing project management systems to keep everything organized. Sometimes, this involves managing timelines to meet graduation deadlines. Sometimes it’s making time to write. Sometimes, it moves into life-work-dissertation balance. Your needs are unique and we’ll find the right solution(s) for you!
Life-Work-School Balance
Probably 90% of my clients are writing dissertations while holding down full-time jobs, raising children, and nurturing marriages. It’s not easy to keep all this going. I often have coaching calls with my clients when the going gets tough. That’s another joy in working as “the Scholar’s Coach” not just an APA editor. I love to get to know my clients as people, not ink on paper!
Well-Being and The Unexpected
A lot of water has flowed underneath my bridges. I’ve been married and divorced. I raised two children; the eldest was born when I was in graduate school. I was a working single mom. I’ve been a caretaker several times over. Grief and loss seem to be constant companions. I’ve walked some difficult paths with clients over nearly 20 years of coaching, which I now align with a small but growing holistic healing practice. There’s not much that would surprise me. And, it’s always an honor and a privilege to walk a tough journey with someone and see them thrive on the other side.
There’s no need to walk through life alone!