Hi! I’m Shannon!
pronouns are she/her
I’m a Gen X white woman who was born with the sunshine in my soul. I have so much gratitude and privilege in my story, and most of that comes from being a white woman born with an optimistic disposition. I definitely embrace the dark, know that my life will have waves of amazing and will be washed over with hard times that I will navigate to find the beauty that awaits me at the end.
I’m also:
A friend, niece, divorced, daughter and sister to estranged family members, colleague, human who lives with an amazing dog, imperfectly perfect.
A lover of nature and find lots of inspiration and nurturing amongst the trees.
An experienced professional, that operates with with a heart centered approach with East Coast directness, and passionate about helping people see how incredible they are and always have been.
A super power of mine is building community and bringing people together.
A human that is here for the journey with a growth mindset always evolving to show up better for the people I serve personally and professionally.
My coaching experience includes…
Certified ICF member professional life coach working towards ACC credentialing.
Since 2018, I have coached and worked with hundreds of people to transition from a variety of backgrounds, education, and experiences into tech, mostly as software engineers. It’s been important for me to help folks value being authentic and true to themselves, and not feel they have to transform into something they thought they needed to be in order to thrive or get any job.
I’ve also worked with hiring managers and software engineering leadership to advocate for diversity in tech and champion for non traditional education which is still a passion of mine.
Finally, I develop curriculum and content as well as teach classes to folks around preparing for the job search, interviewing, negotiating, onboarding, and more.
Professionally I bring…
over twenty years of professional experience, mostly in edtech, fintech, digital marketing, and telecommunications, coupled with a decade in the fitness industry. My undergrad is in business and I have a masters in exercise, fitness & health promotion. I’m a certified Lumia coach currently working towards my International Coaches Federation (ICF) credentials.
I’ve helped small businesses thrive, worked many years in HR/people operations, built communities, created and developed marketing and content for several companies, served as a technical recruiter, and created learning and development content to elevate leadership teams.
I’ve also been a speaker at tech events, mostly around the need for authenticity and making spaces for ALL people to be comfortable enough to bring their true selves to the table. Because it’s magical if there’s space for it to happen.
The paths I’ve traversed…
In my mid forties, I finally came home to my true self after decades of staying busy and doing. I had put a bandaid on my wounds with busy-ness trying to be excellent in life since about the age of 12. I was tired and so depleted in the spring of 2022 after being laid off from a job, I finally took a pause to do some deep healing so that I was able to come into who I truly am for the first time.
I was existing. I had learned to be in survival mode at a very young age and never truly ever stopped. I was fine but lost. I had been living my whole life thinking that I needed to earn love and validation, nourishing everyone around me without nourishing myself appropriately. Learning I was doing this as a Complex PTSD survivor, growing up as a parentified child without the love and support a young child should have, has been eye opening and cathartic.
This has cost me so much over the years. Not just financially, but in truly making decisions on work, love, and life that aligned with what I wanted, not just one I fell into. It also looks like just accepting what was happening in the moment because I was in survival dosed with a little of, “this is what society expected me to do”.
These are chapters from my story that make me who I am and how I show up for you as a coach with love, heart, and empathy to help you reach your goals and dreams.
My Spiritual Journey thus far…
Aside from therapy, a large part of my healing has been to embrace spirituality in some way. Mine is from a place of connecting with Mother Nature where I feel so much peace and nourishment, and finally slowing down to pause and listen to my intuition. To actually connect with myself. I pull Oracle and Tarot cards, which help me think about how life is presenting itself to me. I have found my astrology and human design to help me understand and connect to who I am more deeply and how I show up in the world. (Aquarius sun, Libra Rising, Gemini Moon, and a 5/1 Splenic Human Design Projector in case you’re interested.)
I’m a spiritual seeker at this point, but I’ve been fortunate to engage with a group of women to work on healing the toxic masculine part of myself and embrace it in balance with my divine feminine. It feels really good. I no longer want to force life, I want it to flow. I want to be called to do things in life, whether it’s with work or relationships, and not feel I need to make them happen with brute force.
Other Stuff That Makes Me, Me
Grew up in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area of Pennsylvania in an old coal mining town
Lived in the Washington DC metro area for nearly a decade
Have lived most of the last 15 years in the Pacific NW and now call Bend, OR my home where I am fortunate to easily get into the forest with my pup, Camp, on the daily
I’ve traveled a good deal, visiting over 20 countries so far
I love to read and get really excited to talk about and recommend books (and receive recommendations!)
Ted Lasso, plants, and coffee make me happy
All of the pictures in this site are my very own from my hikes, trips, and travels