Master of Fine Arts, Poetry, Columbia University in the City of New York
Master of Arts, Afro-American Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Bachelor of Arts, English and American Literature and Afro-American Studies, Brown University
Associate Certified Coach, International Coaching Federation
SHRM-CP, Society for Human Resources Professionals
Healthcare Leadership Coach Certification, Pyramid Resource Group’s Healthcare Coaching Institute (125 hours)
Coach Certification Program, Coach Academy International (62 hours)
This is my story
My professional story is rooted in developing people as a coach, program manager, and facilitator. I’ve done this work in healthcare, academia, and the nonprofit arts sector. My personal story is centered in the arts. Both coaching and the arts are dynamic, human-centered, and facilitate change, and both require curiosity, innovation, empathy, and resilience. My work as a coach and as a creative informs each other and provides me with ongoing opportunities to learn, a sense of purpose, and joy.
I’ve partnered with clients to explore, align, and achieve their personal and professional goals in my private coaching practice and for organizations such as the State Department, Ted.com, the National Gallery of Art, and Meta. I’ve developed employees in my human resources work at Mass General Brigham (healthcare) and Studio Museum in Harlem (nonprofit arts), and I’ve developed students in my student affairs work at Harvard Medical School and Columbia University.
I LOVE to work with
• Clients who want to shift from “getting a job” to pro-actively seeking long-term career fulfillment based on their talents and values
• Professionals who want support identifying and staying on track with career goals as they navigate family and work commitments
• New managers who’ve been promoted because of technical expertise and need to develop people leadership skills
• Creatives who seek balance as they juggle day jobs and artistic pursuits
• Leaders who want to lean into the people side of their work, including DEIB, emotional intelligence, and coaching
• Women leaders and leaders of color who wish to create and step into their professional brands
• Emerging leaders who want to define and cultivate their authentic leadership style
• Clients who struggle with “psycho-sclerosis” (the hardening of one’s attitude) and want help getting unstuck
• People who aren’t sure what they want to do professionally and need thought partnership as they figure things out
My Coaching Approach
Coaching is grounded in psychological safety and powered by curiosity. It’s designed to elicit the clarity and confidence we need to trust our inner teacher and thrive on our own terms.
I believe that a practice of setting clear, specific goals is one of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves. Another powerful way to facilitate positive change is this: to notice stories, beliefs, patterns, and behaviors that get in the way of the goals we set and to practice being curious about them without judgment.
My approach to coaching is empathetic, rigorous, collaborative, and creative. I’m especially interested in clients’ unique backgrounds and values, aspirations, superpowers, and learning styles.
“At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are, and you know what you want.” — Lao Tzu
What My Clients Say
“My experience was great from start to finish. Each session was structured, collaborative and concluded with us measuring the progress made toward the session goal as well as cumulatively across the previous sessions. I was supported as well as challenged throughout the process. I benefited tremendously from the quality of the questions Donia posed as well as her synthesis and reframing of things we discussed. Our work together was invaluable in helping me to recalibrate my career goals and chart a clear path forward.” – D Mc
“Donia is an extraordinary coach. I cannot say enough to recommend her for her skills as a coach, but also for the style and presence she brings to every coaching interaction. I nearly mistyped “presence” as “presents” and chuckled as I realized how apt that word is, also, to describe Donia’s coaching…because she is gifted and shares her gifts easily and generously with her coaching clients. While these “gifts” Donia possesses as a coach are innumerable, I will do my best to highlight those that made a real difference for me these last months.
First, Donia creates a structure for coaching calls that provides safety and comfort with its consistency. Then she moves fluidly and gracefully within that structure to go wherever the client needs to go on a given day. She greeted me warmly, on every call, with an inquiry about my hopes or intentions for our time together. The routine of this opening to every conversation helped me arrive each time with goals in mind and a sense of how I wanted to best use our call. Then, we’d dance with whatever showed up.
Second, the best coaches ask good questions. After listening intently to what I said, Donia demonstrated a natural ability to ask a question that clarified, deepened, or (in some cases) challenged my thinking. Combined with her gentle, kind, and supportive presence, her questions helped me explore perspectives and options that I’d have not entertained on my own.
Third, while I know she consciously reserved her insights and ideas until after I’d explored my own, Donia had a scalpel-like way of giving me a precise piece of input – at just the right time – to get me unstuck. Again, delivered with care and warmth, she’d shine a light on a blind spot and help me see my way through a difficult situation, self-limiting outlook, or life challenge.
Finally, I know I’ve said a lot about her calming style, but what I loved most about her coaching is that she combined that style with an edge of accountability. Because of the balanced tone Donia set, I always knew I was ultimately in charge of what we talked about, what I was taking away from each interaction, and what I would do in the time between our calls. The blending of her graceful style and her firm sense of accountability was incredibly empowering for me.” – Susan