Grow into your next level of success
on your own terms.
For fifteen years as a corporate lawyer in the tech industry, I was usually the “only one” of me in the room. I’m the child of an immigrant single mom, I’m a woman of color — a woman.
I know what it feels like to not quite belong because you are visibly and fundamentally different.
I’ve felt like not enough and simultaneously too much. I’ve been constantly mansplained and had my ideas bro-priated.
Now I help “unexpected” leaders speak up and show up in environments not designed for people like us. So you can give your ambitions full scope — and also remember to make space for yourself in your own life.
You’re not just here to learn how to “manage up” better. Or how to show up confidently despite impostor syndrome. Or figure out how to make yourself heard in a bigger role. Or understand how to be perceived as likeable AND competent.
You’re not just here to learn “tips and tricks” to get the recognition you deserve. (You deserve more than just recognition.)
You’re here because you want appreciation, respect, more resources, and more power to make a greater impact in this world. But you’re also not sure if that’s all possible without working yourself to burnout, compromise, and overwhelm.
That’s what we’re here for — you and me.
My Story.
I used to be the lawyer for a $1B division at one of the world’s largest tech companies (yes, you’ve heard of it). It was an amazing corporate job with colleagues who were also friends, and I also found meaning in leading diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and volunteering my legal expertise with social justice organizations.
I deeply care about my community, and I know you do too.
Even though I had all the accoutrements of conventional success, I wasn’t sure I wanted to continue. I actually quit my corporate job. More than once. I also delved deeply into mindfulness, earned yoga teacher certifications, and took a two-year sabbatical adventure across all seven continents and to the summits of some very tall mountains.
You’d think decades of personal development work would yield some solid answers to life’s big questions eventually. But I wasn’t getting those answers. So I finally looked outside of myself and began working with several world class coaches. I needed help to see my own blind spots, to finally clarify my calling and find my purpose.
That purpose is to help ambitious outsiders like you get the recognition and leadership positions you deserve — and make space for yourself in every sense of the word.
It’s so easy to internalize all of the expectations and pressures to succeed, and have all the outward measures of conventional success. But is that all you really want? Or is your purpose larger than that?
(Of course it’s larger than that - or you wouldn’t be here.)
You’re here to do more than climb the corporate ladder … you’re here to be a leader in your industry and community.
You’re here to find your own wild success with confidence and ease … and also have a life.
You’re here because you’re ready for powerful personal and professional growth … and you need someone to keep you accountable, ask the right questions, and give you some real world “been there” perspective.
Let me tell you what can exist on the other side.
Deeper meaning and purpose in your work
Freedom from the “should” box (you should be a VP, you should be pulling down half a mil by now, you should have a beautiful family, you should have status, power, wealth and a Tesla)
Transcending your stifling work environment or limited role to find new possibilities and new collaborators, where your gifts are appreciated
Leading with impact -- and enjoying a personal life that fills you up without also burning you out
I promise you it's possible. And it lights me up to witness my clients discover possibilities they never knew existed, and realize dreams that once seemed unattainable.
For me, I couldn’t be happier to have left corporate law to create success on my own terms, doing what I feel is meaningful — instead of trying to contort myself into my own “should” box (I should be an AGC - I should be pulling down half a mil by now - I should have a beautiful family - I should have status, power and wealth and a Porsche).
I rejected all of those shoulds. (And I sold my Porsche.)
My path led me to build a global coaching practice, be location independent (when pandemics allow) with my cat (IG: @i.am.saba.cat), and go on the adventures I used to try to squeeze into my measly two weeks of vacation time every year.
It’s actually pretty great.
That doesn’t have to be your path.
My work is to help you thrive in the environment, the job, the lifestyle of your choice.
Making sure your voice is heard.
Putting you in a position where the full scope of your abilities and experiences are valued.
Giving you the mindset, communication and confidence tools you need to reach your next level as a leader, so you can make a meaningful impact.
Because the world needs more leaders like us.
Fun Facts About Me.
When I was in high school, I tried to modify how I spoke to sound less like a crossword-loving nerd and fit in with the other kids — and it stuck. I now say “like” way more than I’d prefer and sound like I grew up in SoCal (I didn’t, I’m from Atlanta).
My cat Saba (“mackerel” in Japanese — I enjoy naming animals after food) has his own Instagram account. Yeah, I definitely did just plug my cat’s IG twice in one webpage. He’s cute.
Dancing is my means of expression. I’ve studied and performed hula, ori Tahiti, salsa, bellydance, Chinese classical and folk dance, and hiphop.
I’ve lived in Atlanta, the Bay Area, NYC, Chicago, LA, Bali, Honolulu, Tokyo, Madrid, Berlin, and a tiny dorf (“village”) in Bavaria (the Texas of Germany). Seattle has been my home base for the past decade.
Two truths and a lie:
I’ve jumped off the side of a perfectly good bridge over the Zambezi River.
I’ve dug a hole in the snow in Antarctica and bivvied in it overnight.
I almost got kicked out of law school for torrenting The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
Philanthropy & Values
I am a signatory to the Anti-Racist Small Business Pledge. Diversity, equity, inclusion, anti-racism, and social justice have been core values for me from the beginning. I was a strong advocate for these values during my corporate career, and I continue to believe in and uphold them.
I dedicate a significant portion of my income to supporting organizations that provide access to resources and elevate marginalized communities. This year I’m funding: Black Lives Matter, Year Up, Navajo/Hopi COVID Relief Fund, Asian Women’s Shelter, Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence, UC Berkeley’s DREAM Act Scholarship Fund, Black Girls Code, Urban Peace, and local bail funds for BLM and Black Hills protestors.
I believe that Black Lives Matter, I believe that Indigenous Lives Matter, I believe that Trans Lives Matter, I believe in intersectional feminism, and I believe that different is not defective.
If you came to this section just to look at my qualifications (I get it, I’m a former lawyer), here they are:
Education
J.D., Northwestern University School of Law
B.S. Business Administration, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley
B.A. Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley
Credentials
Professional Certified Coach (PCC), International Coach Federation
Certified Ontological Coach (NCOC), Newfield Network
State Bar of California
State Bar of Washington
RYT-200, Yoga Alliance
Corporate Experience
Microsoft
Sony Pictures
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Personal Development
Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mt. Rainier, Kala Patthar (Everest Base Camp), Gokyo Ri, Mt. Abang, W Trek, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Over 500 hours of vinyasa and power yoga teacher training
California State Bar accredited cross-cultural mediation training
Mediation training with Ken Cloke
Playing Big Facilitator Training with Tara Mohr
The Coaching Way with Tara Mohr
Countless and ongoing mindfulness and spirituality trainings with Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley & Awareness Training Institute, Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, Trudy Goodman, Ram Dass, Krishna Das, Govind Das, HH the 14th Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, Rev. angel Kyodo williams, Lama Rod Owens, etc. etc.
(I’m a lifelong learner, can you tell?)