2026 NOW Conference Coach A-L

Katherine Abad (she/her)

UC Santa Barbara, Talent Acquisition Supervisor

Katherine has 15 years of experience at UC Santa Barbara and is a UCSB Communication alumna with a background in Human Resources and talent acquisition. As Talent Acquisition Supervisor, she coaches staff, student employees, and applicants on career development, application materials, and interview readiness, often through short, focused coaching conversations.

Her coaching approach is strengths-based and collaborative: she listens for goals and values, asks reflective questions, and works with coachees to identify concrete next steps they can take right away....

Katherine Lee

Rise with Clarity, Higher Ed Coach & Career Strategist

Dr. Katherine In-Young Lee is a Higher Ed Coach & Career Strategist. She is the founder of Rise with Clarity, a coaching and consulting business for women of color faculty in higher education, and host of the Rise with Clarity Podcast. She helps women faculty to advance their careers with clarity and confidence. She also coaches on the topics of navigating elder caregiving (while maintaining one’s career) and exploring career pivots within and beyond academia.

As a former musician and trained ethnographer,...

Kristeen Barth

Inner Edge Leadership, Owner & Executive Coach

Kristeen Barth is an executive coach with over 20 years of real-world leadership experience in IT, strategic project management, and HR & organizational development. She’s worked across industries like telecommunications, consumer packaged goods, and financial services, leading up, down, and across organizations.

With an MBA from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential through the International Coaching Federation, Kristeen blends deep expertise and empathy to help leaders navigate their challenges with...

Kristen Hecht

Kristen Hecht LLC, Leadership Coach and Capacity-Builder

Kristen Hecht has 15+ years of experience in leadership development consulting, coaching, and workshop facilitation. She has provided organizational, team-based, and one-on one services to non-profit organizations, private foundations, membership associations, and academic institutions.

Kristen’s coaching approach supports coachees to create a more fulfilling and purposeful life, achieve more balance, move from feeling stuck to embracing possibility, work through emotionally charged issues, receive accountability on action commitments, and...

LaKedra Brown

DBL Connections Inc., Counselor/Therapist/Life Coach

Dr. LaKedra L. Brown is the CEO and Founder of DBL Connections and the visionary behind Epiphany516, a platform dedicated to holistic personal and professional growth. A highly sought-after life coach, business consultant, and forensic expert, Dr. Brown brings a dynamic, strengths-based approach to coaching that integrates clarity, purpose, and practical strategy.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, a Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling, and a Doctorate in Family...

LaToia Burkley

Your Big Debut, LLC, CEO / Executive Coach

LaToia Burkley specializes in activating, educating, and elevating the voices of high-achieving professionals so they can serve at their highest sense of self while gaining clarity and confidence along their career journey. A goal-oriented, certified Executive and Career Coach, LaToia is deeply passionate about pouring into her community through coaching and holding space for career pathing for individuals of all identities, backgrounds, and socioeconomic statuses.

Drawing on her expertise in Human Resources and Business Operations, LaToia helps clients identify and...

Linda Louie

Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Career Development Program Manager

I am a Gallup-certified Strengths Coach with 9+ years’ experience developing and running career coaching programs in the UC system at UC Berkeley, UCSF, and Berkeley Lab. I’ve worked with students and working professionals of all backgrounds (including researchers, transportation and security specialists, administrators, HR and finance professionals, and more).

I specialize in helping people get un-stuck. My coaching approach is empathetic, action-oriented, and strengths-focused. I help coachees hone in on a specific goal or challenge, and then identify skills, interests, and...

Lisa Harris

Certified Coach

Lisa Harris, Certified Coach serving adults & children ages 6-12, has over 20+ years experience advising international students and 5+ years experience advising military/veteran/dependent students. She has worked as an international student advisor at large public schools including UC Hastings College of Law, San Jose State University, as well as smaller private schools including the University of San Francisco and Palo Alto University. She has also held multiple regional and national level volunteer positions with NAFSA: Association of International Educators...

Lisa Laughter

UC Davis, Senior Career Coach

Lisa Laughter is a Senior Career Coach at UC Davis in Human Resources, Learning & Organizational Development, a motivational speaker, and a professional life coach with over 25 years of experience in academic advising, higher education, and career development. She began her career at Washington State University before becoming the inaugural Career Coach at UC Davis and UC Davis Health.

Lisa is a seasoned professional dedicated to guiding individuals toward their career aspirations. She has led transformative initiatives such as Career Development Week, Career...

Lorraine Armijos

LAR Insights, Executive Coach

Lorraine Armijos helps leaders stop firefighting and start leading. A U.S. Air Force veteran, her coaching journey began in the military, where she discovered a principle that still guides her work today: real growth happens when leaders feel both supported and challenged.

With 20 years of experience leading operations and developing leaders in complex organizations - including Fortune 500 healthcare systems - Lorraine transforms reactive operations into high-performing organizations by strengthening management infrastructure and growing the leaders who run it. She has coached and...