Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! I am Ashley.

I am a Leadership and Team Coach with over 30 years’ experience as a global education specialist, primarily working in humanitarian and development contexts.

Throughout my career--whether working as an Education Advisor and technical consultant for INGOs, an adjunct lecturer, a researcher, a trainer and coach of educators, or earlier in my career as a classroom teacher, my core purpose has always been on supporting the learning and growth of others.

Like many professionals in the social change sector, I’m driven by a passion for making the world a better place. However, with this meaningful purpose, often comes the reality of burn out, overwhelm, and workplace trauma. Like many of you, I’ve experienced and seen firsthand the significant toll this can take—not just on myself, my husband, staff and our families but on the very impact of the work itself.

My coaching journey into professional coaching began after witnessing firsthand the stark contrast between positive, supportive workplace environments and toxic, harmful ones, and understanding the significant impact they can have on both individuals and organizations, as well as the meaningful work they strive to achieve. These contrasting experiences compelled me to explore better ways to support leaders and teams while also cultivating thriving, positive workplace cultures where they can truly flourish.

As the world becomes more complex and change accelerates, the ability to shift our mindset, continuously learn, adapt, and grow has never been more critical. Leaders today must not only guide their organizations through uncertainty but also foster environments where learning and growth are embedded in the culture, enabling resilience and sustainable change.

This realization led me to leverage my doctoral research and experience in coaching within the education sector, and to expand my focus to coaching leaders and teams across a broader spectrum of mission-driven organizations.

As I’ve shifted my focus in this direction, the evolving challenges in the sector and the world have reinforced the need for significant changes in the way we see, react, and do things and deepened my belief in the power of coaching to support individuals and organizations in the process.

As I continue to share insights and experiences through this blog, my goal is to create a space where we can explore how coaching can transform individuals, teams, and organizations. In the coming posts, I will cover a variety of topics spanning disciplines such as resilience, leadership in complexity, adult development, learning, coaching, behavior change, positive psychology, neuroscience, and so much more. My goal is to provide you with valuable insights and practical tips that you can apply in your own life-both personally and professionally.

In my next post, I’ll explore what coaching really is and how it can bring value to mission-driven professionals and teams in sectors like humanitarian aid and development. I will also explore how it differs from other types of support such as therapy, mentoring, or consulting.

I hope these blogs will be insightful and beneficial for you, your teams and your organization.

I invite you to subscribe to my newsletter for regular updates when new posts are published and exclusive content. And if you’re curious about how personal, leadership or team coaching can help you, let’s chat! You can book a free consultation with me here.