Executive and career coaching grounded in real-world leadership experience

In 2022, I walked past the stars at the CIA HQ building for the last time after 15 years in government service. Leaving was my choice, and it came with excitement and confidence tinged with uncertainty. I was stepping away from a mission, a community, and an identity I had built over more than a decade.

I did not have a clear roadmap for what came next. What I did have was a deep belief in my ability to learn, adapt, and make sense of complex systems, even when the path forward was unclear. That belief carried me across the country to San Francisco, into the private sector, and into a period of reinvention that was both professionally rewarding and emotionally demanding.

That experience shapes how I coach today, helping others navigate the same uncertainty with greater clarity and confidence. So far in 2026, I’ve helped MORE THAN 35 professionals make that pivot, and I’d love to help you do the same.

Bridging government and the private sector from the inside

After leaving government service, I spent several years working inside the private sector, at Tesla and OpenAI. That experience gave me a front-row seat to how differently organizations operate outside government, from incentives and expectations to language, pace, and power dynamics.

I also saw how difficult this transition can be for the many mentees and coaching clients I worked with - capable, thoughtful, and accomplished professionals who struggle without a clear translation guide. The transition is hard because they don’t know how their experience is perceived on the other side.

My work sits at that intersection. I often help people make sense of these differences, translate their experience honestly, and move forward with confidence.

In putting myself back into the mindset I had when I decided to leave federal service, I've built a set of free and paid offerings so that federal pivoters have support wherever they are in the process:

1. Monthly free Ask Me Anything sessions where I bring in experts in different fields to demystify those roles and give advice on ways to break in. One of my sessions this year (2026) resulted in TWO people getting hired!

2. Monthly free Finding Your Direction workshops where we talk about ways to process the loss of identity and sense of mission, and the most effective and efficient strategy for finding your next role.

3. A monthly small group Government to Private Sector Transition course because most people in government service never planned on running a job search outside of it. This course equips its students with everything they need to know to succeed in today's job search market.

4. 1:1 coaching for people who want a more tailored approach, whether that's a job search, a leadership challenge, or a transition of any kind.

5. And now, the MissionPivot™ app, for people who want to work through this on their own schedule. MissionPivot Foundation is a guided process that takes you from "I don't know what I want" to a clear direction and a shortlist of real organizations worth your time, with a networking tracker to keep those relationships from going cold. There's also a free five minute readiness assessment if you just want to see where your search is getting stuck!

How my background informs my work

During my time in government, I worked in environments where clarity, judgment, and communication were mandatory. I was part of small teams responsible for high-stakes analysis, writing, and briefings for the president and other senior leaders across the U.S. government. In those settings, ego quickly became a liability; the work moved fast and the consequences were real.

What made those teams effective was sharedownership, transparency, and a commitment to considering other perspectives. When information flowed freely and responsibility was collective, decisions were stronger and people felt empowered. When communication broke down, momentum and morale suffered.

Those lessons stayed with me long after I left government, and they continue to inform how I think about leadership, decision-making, and growth, whether I am coaching an individual or supporting a group through change.