Private coaching for scientists
navigating what comes next.
Whether you’re leading a lab or figuring out what’s beyond it.
One-on-one coaching is the most focused, personalized way to work with me. Every session is built around what you bring to it, not a template designed for everyone.
Two different situations. One consistent starting point.
Most of my clients come to me at a moment when they’ve already tried to think their way through something, and it hasn’t worked. Not because they’re not smart enough. They absolutely are. But some problems require a thought partner, not just more thinking.
Both paths lead to the same place: a structured, focused engagement where you finally get to think this through with someone whose only job is to help you think more clearly.
If you're running a lab...
If you're staring at what comes next...
LEADERSHIP COACHING
You’re good at the science. It’s the people stuff where you need support.
You didn’t get a PhD to spend your days managing conflict, navigating department politics, or trying to figure out why your team isn’t as motivated as you are. And yet, here you are.
Leadership coaching is for scientists who are running labs, managing teams, or taking on institutional roles, and who want to show up more effectively in the parts of their work that have nothing to do with the science.
Difficult conversations you’ve been putting off, with postdocs, peers, or department heads
Navigating a new manager, institutional change, or a department culture shift
Managing lab performance without burning out in the process
Setting limits on your time and learning to say no without it costing you professionally
Building a leadership style that feels like you, not a performance of what a leader is supposed to look like
Showing up with confidence in high-stakes moments: grant reviews, faculty meetings, budget conversations
– 01
Onboarding & assessments
We start with onboarding exercises and complete DiSC and ELI assessments, which are reviewed in the early sessions to inform your goals.
– 02
Goal setting
We set up to three specific goals for our time together. From there, each session is driven by what you bring to it.
– 03
Biweekly sessions over six months
One hour every two weeks over Zoom. Fully present, no calls from the car.
– 04
Midpoint review
Around the halfway point, we revisit goals and adjust. The engagement adapts to what’s actually happening, not locked to a plan from month one.
Focus Points document before each session
Midpoint goal review & adjustment
Session notes within 24–48 hours
Assessment tools to explore your work style, communication patterns, and the beliefs shaping how you see your situation
Leadership Coaching Client Story: Meet Stacy
Through our work together, she developed a simple set of metrics that helped her monitor her bandwidth and see problems earlier. We role-played difficult conversations so she walked into them prepared. She revisited how she was allocating her time and learned to say no to commitments that weren’t serving her or her science.
CAREER COACHING
You’ve given yourself
a quiet deadline. It’s time to figure out what’s next.
Maybe funding changes made the decision for you. Maybe you’ve been quietly counting down to a moment when you’d give yourself permission to ask the question seriously. Either way, you’re here, staring at what comes next, and the picture isn’t getting clearer on its own.
Career transition coaching is for scientists who are ready to figure out what’s next, and who understand that figuring it out requires more than research and logic. It requires slowing down, examining assumptions, and building a path that’s aligned with what you actually want.
Exploring what you actually want from the next chapter: a harder question than it sounds
Building your Success Formula: a clear picture of what you need from a role to truly thrive
Navigating the practical side: conversations, positioning your background, managing uncertainty
Examining the assumptions you’re making about what’s possible and what you’re qualified for
Testing that formula against real options and refining it as you learn more
If you land a role mid-engagement, we shift focus to onboarding, because starting well is its own skill set
– 01
Exploration phase
We slow down first. We examine what you actually want, what assumptions you’re carrying, and what the right questions even are. This phase is not to be rushed.
– 02
Building your Success Formula
A clear picture of what you need from your next role and working environment to genuinely thrive, not just survive.
– 03
Evaluating & refining
We test your formula against real options. Actions are taken when they’re aligned with what you actually want, not before.
– 04
Six months, biweekly sessions
If you land a role during our engagement, we shift focus to onboarding, because that transition brings its own challenges.
Structured worksheets
Onboarding support if you land a role mid-engagement
Career Transition Coaching Client Story: Meet Jennifer
As we worked together, she kept returning to the same thing: she wanted project-based work, and no longer felt the pull toward leading large teams. We shifted focus to how she could show up effectively in her current role while planning her exit on her own terms.
What scientists say about our work together.
“She isn’t prescriptive in her approach; instead, she helps me step back, problem-solve, and see the bigger picture — including my own blind spots — with patience, empathy, and encouragement.”
— Katja B. Neuroscientist & Science Advisor
“She isn’t prescriptive in her approach; instead, she helps me step back, problem-solve, and see the bigger picture — including my own blind spots — with patience, empathy, and encouragement.”
— Katja B. Neuroscientist & Science Advisor
Questions people usually have before they book.
Scientists do their research before committing. That’s a feature, not a bug. Here are the questions I hear most often, answered as directly as I can.
Will career transition coaching result in a new job?
What I can give you is a process, a thought partner, and a clearer picture of what you want and how to go after it. What I can’t predict is timing. Neither of us can control when the right opportunity appears. We can control how prepared you are when it does.
How do I know this will actually work?
Coaching works when you show up for it. My best clients are thoughtful, honest, and curious about themselves, even when what they find isn’t entirely comfortable. Helping you navigate that discomfort is part of my job. I’ve seen it work with enough scientists to be confident in saying that.
I don't have a lot of time.
Is this only for people who are really struggling?
Not at all. Some of my clients are doing well by any external measure, they just know they could be operating at a higher level, or they can see a challenge coming and want to get ahead of it. You don’t have to be in crisis to benefit from a thought partner.
READY TO GET STARTED?
The first conversation is free.
It’s a chance to talk through what you’re navigating, ask anything you want to ask, and see if we’re a good fit. No pitch. No pressure. Just an honest conversation.
Not ready yet? Join my newsletter for leadership and career insights for scientists, once a month.