Allison’s Story

A woman with wavy brown hair and red lipstick sitting on the steps in front of a large green metal door with lion head door knockers. She is wearing a black and white patterned jacket, black pants, and red and white patterned high-top sneakers. She is resting her chin on her right hand, with her index finger touching her cheek, and looking at the camera.

Becoming a Life and Leadership Coach was not a straight-line journey. It grew from a lifetime of navigating complexity, loss, relationships, and change — and from a deep curiosity about what helps people live and lead with greater clarity and purpose.

As the youngest of six in an Irish Catholic family, I learned early how to navigate complicated family dynamics. When I was a teenager, my father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and a few years later, I experienced the devastating loss of my best friend. These experiences shaped a lifelong commitment to understanding people, relationships, resilience, and the ways we find our way forward through difficult seasons.

That curiosity led to a BA in Psychology from Michigan State University, a Master’s in Social Work from Case Western Reserve University, and postgraduate training at the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland. I spent seven years as a college therapist at Penn State Erie, developing my counseling practice and creating programs and workshops for students.

Over time, my work evolved from psychotherapy to coaching. After completing my coach training and certification through the Co-Active Training Institute, I opened a private practice and began focusing exclusively on life and leadership coaching. Additional leadership training through the Co-Active Training Institute has continued to deepen that work.

Along the way, experiences in wilderness education, international travel, yoga, meditation, parenting, adoption, and more than two decades of working with clients have all shaped the way I coach today.

A woman with short, curly dark hair and light skin, wearing a bright blue jacket and an orange striped scarf, sitting against a colorful woven chair outdoors.

More Than Credentials

Credentials and experience provide a foundation. But the heart of this work is relationship.

I bring curiosity, compassion, presence, and a belief in each person's capacity to grow. My approach draws from psychology, social work, Gestalt, mindfulness, and Co-Active Coaching to support the whole person — not simply the challenge in front of them.

Today, I work with individuals, leaders, and teams locally and around the world, helping them navigate change, deepen self-awareness, and create lives and leadership that feel more intentional and aligned.

After more than twenty years in private practice, I remain just as curious about the human experience — and just as honored to walk alongside the people who trust me with their stories.