January 31, 2024

What is your area of expertise or focus and who do you help?  

Transformational coaching is my passion and area of focus. I help vegans who are struggling with anger, depression, sadness and the frustrating feelings of vystopia (defined as an existential crisis experienced by vegans, arising out of an awareness of the trance-like collusion with a dystopian world, and differentiated from anxiety and depression alone). I help them move into peacefulness, power, and acceptance, which can be very challenging. The struggles of life can be difficult, but even more so as a vegan.

I always knew I wanted to do something to help others. I had volunteered for years in social work working with children with anger issues and also some with adults. It was immensely gratifying and I wanted to continue on that path. I just didn’t know in what form. The Universe led me to study life coaching here in Atlanta with my friend’s father. Later on my journey, I started coaching women in relationships. After that, I studied with Claire Zammit, who’s a transformational coach. She focuses on energy-based feminine wisdom. I began to shift my focus to this. One day for fun, I took a little niche challenge and veganism came up. I realized many vegans were struggling with their feminine energies around flowing, listening, and understanding. I switched to vegan coaching a couple of years ago and it’s been an exciting journey! I immediately connected with so many wonderful people because we already had a shared passion and mission. I felt welcomed into the online vegan community and my business took off! Every week I interview different people who are big changemakers in the vegan field and it’s a blessing.

Tell us a little bit about yourself. 

I feel like I’m finally grounded in who I am with being connected to Mother Earth. I’m the leader of the animal ministry at Unity North. In our services, I bring in people to speak for animals. The ministry is geared towards companion animals, but I’m trying to expand it to every animal. My mission is to show that every living being should be honoured for their beauty. I’m also the leader of the Healthy Living Group at my church, which ties into that because we’re focused on eating plants. I’m also on the board of the Earth Care Ministry. So in that aspect, I feel like every part of my life is at that church, teaching that every living being is a miracle, every blade of grass, every raindrop, every little hen. They’re all important. At one of my favourite services, we had a stack of cards of animals that were not loved. Everyone took a card and then advocated for that animal. Then we discussed how as imperfect people we feel like there are parts of us that are unlovable, just like the animals we discussed. We closed by extending love to all living beings and how everyone is important and contributes to our planet.

What do you find to be the most rewarding thing about being a coach?

Seeing them be able to do well. I love working with someone to help them escape from their limiting beliefs and sadness. I can think of one client right now who was very sad and depressed. It was amazing to see her take action and to have her come back and say, “You were there for me when I was struggling and mean the world to me.” She’s kind and compassionate to others and understanding now whereas before she was so angry. Now, because of her state of mind, she’s able to make an impactful difference for the planet and animals.

What is the most challenging thing about being a coach? 

Well, it’s always staying grounded and accepting when people aren’t right at the time of their journey. They might not be ready. Sometimes I have a call with someone and they are just not ready to take the steps to move forward. Sometimes I think, darn it, but that’s the way life is and I have to accept it. So, there’s always a daily lesson of acceptance.

What are some of your top tips for starting, running, and growing a coaching business?

I think getting visible is the main thing. I understand it can be scary to be live or be on social media, but just do it and celebrate yourself when you do it! Just start with a minute and then two minutes or whatever feels right. Accept that you’re perfectly imperfect, right? So get out there, do those live streams, get engaged with your following, and ask questions so you can build that conversation. There are a lot of people out there that are waiting for you. Get out there and post as much as you can, but also have time for yourself for grounding and having that quiet time to celebrate what you did. Take breaks and then keep moving forward.

So for me today, I felt very overwhelmed. I thought, oh my gosh, you know, my mind is just going and going. I stood at the window and I looked at the trees, the leaves, and the quietness of the day. I went outside and thought this is it. I went out to see the goats and I sat in the present moment. I watched the simple joy they had while eating a fresh carrot. So always be aware of living mindfully and grounding yourself in the present moment so that you’ll be at the top of your game. 

Where can people find you and your business? 

I’m starting a 12-week group coaching program on February 7th. Groups are so much fun! We’re going to be focusing on animal wisdom for activism. That can be found on Facebook and my website. The Facebook group is called Empowered Vegan’s: Voices of Strength from Mother Earth which you can join. 

I’m on LinkedIn and Instagram. You can also subscribe to my YouTube, I’ve got some amazing guests on there. The key is, that once we are involved in the community and we take action with each other, we’re powerful.