2024 NOW Conference Coaches

Margarita Akterskaia (she/her)

I'm a trained career and life coach who is passionate about other humans. My career as a coach started when I organized a boot camp for women in tech and evolved from individual guidance to empowering group participants. My approach is both Client-Centered and Strength-Based: I practice partnerships to define goals and unlock an individual's potential and leverage individual talents and experiences for impactful career progress.

Laura Paradise (she/her)

Laura Paradise is a certified life coach who specializes in career transitions, interview skills and self-esteem. Laura was trained at CTI and the Strozzi Institute. She works holistically with her clients, using her background in somatic coaching to strengthen presence, awareness of body language and ability to build rapport with others. A former nonprofit fundraiser and lobbyist, Laura earned a reputation for her genuine demeanor, a natural gift for persuasion and ability to build unlikely coalitions. Her clients learn to shamelessly and authentically promote themselves while...

Merideth Wakeman (she/her)

Merideth Wakeman is a talent development professional who has deep, corporate-level experience as a senior internal consultant and executive coach. She is as comfortable working with individual contributors and managers as she is coaching C-Suite executives and their direct reports. She can quickly build rapport with her clients and her goal as a coach is to guide individuals in finding the intersection of their talents and passions to enable them to reach their aspirations and do their best work every day.

Merideth started her career as a leadership and professional...

Carrie Siegel (she/her)

As a Certified Professional Diversity Coach (CPDC), I am open and qualified to coach across diverse lines, serving a variety of clients who feel stuck, discouraged, or unclear about how to proceed on a host of topics related to justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging.

I am also a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) and a Certified Coach with the International Coach Federation (ACC). As an MBTI® Certified Practitioner, I am qualified to administer and interpret MBTI® personality assessments. I have experience with incorporating Gallup's CliftonStrengths®...

Lisa Erck (she/her)

​My name is Lisa Erck, an ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC) and iPEC-trained Certified Professional Coach (CPC). I am passionate about helping individuals and organizations achieve their full potential. I specialize in personalized coaching and consulting services focusing on your personal development and professional growth.

As a Life and Leadership Core Energy Coach, I support you in identifying your individual needs and goals. Every session is personalized and tailored to your unique situation, helping you gain more clarity and understanding of yourself and achieve...

Peter Dudley (he/him)

Peter Dudley, ACC, is an author and certified leadership coach with a diverse background in tech startups, nonprofits, and Fortune 50 companies in a broad range of roles including corporate responsibility, employee engagement, fundraising, marketing, communications, technical writing, and software development. In 2022 he left nonprofit fundraising to open his own leadership and life coaching practice, Gray Bear Coaching LLC. In 2023 he also launched Gray Bear Publications. For 15 years before that, Peter managed Wells Fargo’s global workplace giving and employee volunteer programs....

Lisha Davidovits (she/her)

As a Success Coach, Lisha works with high-achieving millennials who have a history of success and have recently been promoted into a more senior role or are seeking to make that happen. Working together, she helps them navigate those transitions with less stress and more joy, in ways that are dynamic, interactive, and supportive. As a result, they gain confidence, courage, and clarity that furthers their success and well-being.

Lisha’s impact, knowledge, and experience are enhanced by:

20 years in coaching, consulting, and client relations roles Extensive mental...

Jennifer Coffey (she/her)

I love working with people who identify as highly sensitive, working in complex professional environments. I hold space to expand ideas, be heard, seen, understood, challenged, validated, and celebrated. I illuminate the innate wisdom that only you have to achieve your goals. I see you as a unique individual, with wisdom and talent.

I hold Co-Active Coaching Certification and an International Coaching Federation (ICF) Professional Certified Coach (PCC) Credential. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, I am drawn to transformational experiences like conscious dance, personal...

Diny Chen (she/her)

Diny Chen is an ICF-certified coach who brings curiosity, energy, commitment, and thoughtfulness. She is deeply invested in partnering with clients from diverse backgrounds to unlock their full potential and fulfillment. Her professional experiences span across the design, technology, and nonprofit industries. She currently works as a Program Manager at YouTube Music, serves as an advocacy lead for the Asians@ YouTube ERG, and volunteers her time as a coach for Google’s internal coaching program, Coaching For Everyone, and the Humanitarian Coaching network.

Cori Caldwell (she/her)

Pivot & Flow Career Strategy was founded three years ago with the mission of helping individuals and teams re-discover the purpose, flow, excitement, and energy of work they love. As the lead career strategist & coach, and Certified Sparketype Advisor (CSA), Cori teaches proven strategies for applying lasting mindset shifts and creates safe containers for clients to explore ‘what’s next’ in their careers. Focus areas include career growth planning, transitioning roles or industries, mitigating burnout, interview prep, and negotiation skill building. We work with professionals...