You chose the work you do because you want to make an impact on your community.

Or because you see the pain, suffering, injustices in the world around you and you know that something better is possible.

Or because you want to offer what you've got in support of healing, growth and justice so that we can all live our best lives.

Or because it's something that you just can't not do.

What if there are opportunities for you to have greater integrity, deepen your impact, live out your values and truly show up for the change you wish to see? 

Coaching as Activism is an anti-oppressive program for coaches, healers + leaders* who want to bring their commitments to healing, justice & liberation (for all) into their work & life.

*Leaders meaning: you don't have to be (or call yourself) a coach or healer. If your work is service-based and facilitates any kind of transformation with people, businesses or communities, this program might be for you!

“If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. If you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”

— AN ABORIGINAL ACTIVIST GROUP, Queensland, 1970S

Reading this quote for the first time changed me and here's why: 

THERE'S BEEN A DISCONNECT IN OUR APPROACH.

We've taken our complex humanity and our interconnectedness and simplified it. We've chosen to believe and teach that the only obstacle in the way of your dreams and the life you wish to live is you. In some cases this is true – in many others, it's not and sometimes it's both.

As leaders – who work directly with the mind, body and/or soul of a diverse group of people – we've denied, for far too long, the role that our cultural and institutional systems that we each navigate daily play in our ability to heal, grow and be free.  

I've dedicated the past 5 years to deeply exploring where and how personal growth and social justice intersect – initially, trying to find a bridge.

Instead of finding a bridge, I've realized that they're actually deeply intertwined. As the saying goes: "the personal is political." This truth is easy to miss when we choose to only focus on the individual and not the cultures and systems that the individual both affects and is affected by.

Our capacities to listen, hold space, guide, support, envision, heal and acknowledge the greatness in others are profoundly needed in our world.

Because we've chosen to use those capacities to transform the lives of those we serve, we also have a responsibility to transform the systems we live within that do not serve the whole.

The potential of humanity lies within the systems that we navigate every single day. Our belief systems, our family systems, our educational systems, economic, cultural, institutional, etc.

We, humans, created and sustain those systems and we're way past due for some wide-scale transformation.

When we bypass the sadness, rage and grief that comes with being human and the current state of our world, we miss out on the gifts within those emotions that can be harnessed for change.

And if we're talking love & light, "justice is what love looks like in public." (Cornel West)

Social change cannot happen without healing and healing cannot happen without justice.

Our individual wellbeing is directly tied to the wellbeing of us all.

Activism is not limited to protests and petitions, it's also about how you show up in your everyday life.

any of this resonating? you're in the right place.

Have you ever found yourself saying things like...

IF ANY OF THIS FEELS LIKE YOU, I'D LOVE TO INVITE YOU INTO THIS PROGRAM.

But before I give you all of the details, I want to share my intention with you: I hope to influence you and support the impact you wish to make in your communities. My goal is for you to sign up for this experience and conversation – only if it feels aligned with your vision. I also expect to learn from you – to be influenced by you. My overall intention is to infuse my commitments to justice and collective liberation for all into everything that I do. I want to support you in doing the same!

Wondering what you might get out of caa? Here's what's possible:

• Connect + cultivate relationships with other socially responsible coaches, healers and leaders. 
• Get a better understanding of how systems of injustice play out in your own life and in the lives of the people you serve so that you can actively take steps toward developing a practice and business that is available to all regardless of their social identities.
• Add more tools to your metaphorical toolbox for your work and life, i.e. activities, resources, strategies, questions, etc. 
• Strengthen your capacity to lead and confront these issues within your community + with your clients and hold space for those who are also learning and unlearning.
• Develop non-icky, ethical practices for business like: marketing, selling, copywriting, legal contracts, etc.
• Create a true ripple effect by using your work as a tool for social change.

*This is all a process and it's truly lifelong work. You won't reach enlightenment through this program, but you will receive frameworks to draw from that you can continue to integrate into your work and life way after this program is over.

Hey there! I'm Andréa (she/her pronouns).

I created this program because I SO love the transformative work that we do as coaches, healers, counselors, artists and teachers.

And if we're setting out to change lives and change the world, I don't want anything to be left on the table.

I'm a coach and facilitator who holds a B.A. degree concentrating on how personal growth, spirituality and social justice are intertwined as well as what it takes to engage in entrepreneurship consciously, with an anti-oppressive lens. A couple years ago, I wrote a blog post entitled "Why the Self-Help Industry isn't Changing the World," which tells a bit of the story of what led me to creating Coaching as Activism (you can check that out here).

You might be coming to this program looking for clear answers – I don't have those. What I do have, is an intention to facilitate the kind of experience where you can find your own answers to your questions (or maybe find more questions) and connect with other people with common values. This work isn't easy, but it is oh, so worth it and when we can come together around our visions for healing, justice and liberation, making that happen becomes that much more possible. So join us!

For some nitty gritty details: I'm from in Chicago, IL (and I love my city fiercely). I'm a Leo, an E/INFJ, a Projector in Human Design and I lovelovelove: Beyoncé, sunsets, mint tea, elephants and my trusty water bottle. I feel most led by the work of Audre Lorde, Octavia Butler, bell hooks, Adrienne Maree Brown, Alexis P. Morgan, Jenn McCabe, Desiree Adaway, Relational Uprising and so many more.

Want more stories from past CAA participants? Click here.