Figuring out what’s next is harder than it sounds.
Career coaching for smart, accomplished people who know something needs to change - but aren’t sure what.
If you're here, someone probably sent you my way. Maybe you're at a career inflection point — the kind where the question isn't just "what job do I want?" but something deeper: What do I actually care about? What kind of work would make me feel alive again? And how do I get there from here?
I work with mid-career professionals navigating exactly that. People who've built impressive careers but feel stuck, restless, or unclear about what comes next. People who are too thoughtful to just take the next obvious thing — but who also can't afford to stay in limbo forever.
I'm not a career coach who hands you a template and sends you on your way. I'm a former COO, chief people officer, and executive who's been through my own version of this — more than once. I bring real operating experience, honest feedback, and a process that balances deep self-reflection with practical action.
You might be a good fit if…
You've been successful but can't articulate what you actually want next — and it's starting to show in your search or your energy at work
You're applying broadly and getting interviews, but nothing feels quite right — and you suspect the issue isn't your resume, it's your clarity
You've been at one organization for a long time and your identity has become entangled with it — and you need to figure out who you are independent of that
You're weighing whether to stay or go, and you need a thought partner who'll help you be honest with yourself about both options
You're in a career transition that's also a life transition — mid-career, midlife, a shift in what matters to you — and you want someone who takes that seriously
Most of my career coaching clients are in their mid-30s to early 50s. Many have MBAs or advanced degrees. Several have come from consulting, media, policy, nonprofits, or mission-driven organizations. What they have in common is that they're smart, capable, and stuck — not because they lack options, but because they have too many, or none that feel right.
How I Work
Every engagement is bespoke. I don't run a program — I build one around you, based on where you are and what you need. But the general arc looks like this:
Phase 1: Figuring it out
We start with discovery. I want to understand where you are — practically and emotionally. What's happened in your career, what feels stuck, what you've already tried, what you're hoping for. From there, we build clarity: values, strengths, motivators, the themes that have shown up across your career, the stories you're telling yourself that may or may not be true.
I use a mix of structured exercises, assessments (selectively — I'm not an assessment-for-everything person), and honest conversation. A lot of the early work is around identifying your saboteurs and limiting beliefs — the narratives that sound rational but are actually holding you back. I find that the smartest people often have the most sophisticated saboteurs.
The goal of this phase is to be able to say with confidence: here are two or three directions that genuinely excite me, here's why they fit, and here's what I bring to the table. Not a vague sense — a clear articulation that you believe and that others will find compelling.
Phase 2: Making it happen
Once we have clarity, we turn it into action. That might mean sharpening your professional narrative, refining your LinkedIn and resume, building a focused networking strategy, or preparing for interviews in a way that actually conveys enthusiasm — because you'll finally be interviewing for things you're genuinely excited about.
I also do recruiting work, so I see both sides of the hiring equation. I know what makes candidates compelling and what makes hiring managers say yes. That perspective shapes everything I do on the coaching side.
I teach you how to use AI effectively at every stage of your search. Most people are either ignoring these tools or using them badly. I'll show you how to use them in genuinely strategic ways, not generic ones.
And as part of every engagement, I share my proprietary guides for the parts of the search that are relevant to you — networking, interviewing, negotiation, and more. They're frameworks I've built from years of coaching and recruiting work."
What to Expect
Engagements typically run 8–12 sessions over three to five months, meeting biweekly (or weekly if you want to move faster). Every engagement starts with a longer intake session, and I give homework between sessions — exercises, reflections, and investigations that make our time together more productive.
I also provide between-session support. If something comes up during the week — an idea, an opportunity, a moment of panic — you can reach out. I'm responsive and flexible.
The first conversation is always free. No pitch, no commitment. Just an honest exchange about where you are and whether working together makes sense.
What Makes This Different
I'm not a pure career coach, and I'm not a pure executive coach. I do both — and I also do recruiting and fractional CPO work. That breadth matters because I've sat in the rooms where hiring decisions get made, where leaders get developed, and where organizations succeed or fail. I'm not theorizing about the working world — I've operated in it for 25 years.
I also don't follow a strict coaching formula. I ask questions, but I also share what I'm seeing. I challenge assumptions. I name patterns. If I think you're selling yourself short, I'll tell you. If I think you're chasing something for the wrong reasons, I'll say that too. I balance the introspective work with practical realism — because figuring out what you want is only useful if it connects to what's actually possible.
Background
ICF and CTI-certified executive coach. Leadership Circle Profile certified practitioner. Stanford GSB (MBA). Harvard College (AB, Magna Cum Laude). Former COO and CPO at Fatherly. 25+ years of operating experience across media, technology, education, and the nonprofit sector. Founder of Wertheim Leadership Services.
Interested?
The best way to start is a conversation. Tell me a little about where you are, and we'll figure out if there's a fit.