Our Vision

Tara Owens Antonipillai is a well-being consultant, speaker, and coach. Tara combines her unique expertise as a practicing attorney, positive psychology practitioner, and coach to help attorneys thrive. Tara also helps law firms and other organizations develop and expand workplace well-being programs in a wide variety of formats. She received both her undergraduate degree and her J.D. from Georgetown University and was a tax associate in Arnold & Porter’s DC office. She received her Master’s in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and did her coach training at Brown University. Tara is a member of the Board of the Institute for Well-being in Law, Co-chairs Well-being Week in Law, and is the Chair of the DC Bar Lawyer Assistance Committee.

Valerie is an international facilitator, author, speaker, Professional Certified Coach, certified Associate Diversity Coach, specializing in application and integration of mindfulness and leadership with a focus on diversity, social equity, and inclusion, and is Co-Director at Georgetown’s Institute for Transformational Leadership. She transformed her high-pressure, twenty-year career as a lawyer-lobbyist to human-scale work that fosters trustworthy and authentic connections. Grounded in extensive training and blending disciplines, Valerie is an ordained Buddhist Dharma teacher in the Plum Village tradition founded by Thich Nhat Hanh, a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and a certified Kundalini yoga teacher. She holds a Juris Doctorate and Masters degrees. An award-winning author, her latest books, "Hope Leans Forward: Braving Your Way toward Simplicity, Awakening, and Peace" (Broadleaf, 2022) received the Nautilus Gold Award for Eastern Spirituality for 2023, and she co-authored with Kaira Jewel Lingo and Marisela B. Gomez, MD, "Healing Our Way Home: Black Buddhist Teachings on Ancestors, Joy, and Liberation" (Parallax Press, 2024). She leads an annual pilgrimage to El Camino de Santiago, Spain, celebrating sacred places.

Michelle is an executive coach and author of Originate: Business Development for Lawyers. As a former litigator at an AmLaw 100 firm and in-house counsel for public and private companies, Michelle knows firsthand the challenges lawyers face. She combines this experience with her coaching expertise to help lawyers leverage their unique strengths to create authentic and sustainable paths to success. She is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) through the International Coach Federation (ICF) and is certified to administer the EQ-i2.0, MBTI and DiSC. She holds a JD from The George Washington University Law School, an MSW from The Catholic University of America, and a BA from Fordham University.

Meredith’s programs are grounded in evidence-based coaching methods, psychology findings, adult development, and corporate and nonprofit experience. Meredith spent the first decade of her career in marketing at Discovery Communications. Later, at Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, a cancer nonprofit that explores the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual dimensions of healing, she directed programs supporting people to live as long as and as well possible. She is an Associate Certified Coach through the International Coach Federation and is completing her Master’s in Psychology at Harvard University’s Extension School, where her focus is on leadership development including findings on gender and power.

Carolyn is an executive coach, facilitator, and leadership development specialist with over 15 years of experience. Her journey began as a management consultant at Price Waterhouse and later at McKinsey and Company. With Cultivating Leadership, Carolyn co-designed and runs the Growth Edge Certification series. She has a keen interest in supporting women to step into leadership positions. She writes and talks about developmental coaching and approaches her coaching and organizational work through a unique lens. Carolyn earned an A.B. in Economics from Brown University, an M.B.A. with distinction from the Wharton School, and an M.A. in International Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a Certified Somatic Coach through the Strozzi Institute and is a certified user of the Global Leadership Profile, the Leadership Circle, and the MBTI.

Maggie is an executive coach, Virginia Supreme Court Certified Mediator, parenting coordinator, psychotherapist, and speaker/educator. She understands firsthand the pros and cons associated with practicing in a law firm, as Maggie practiced corporate law prior to shifting her focus to alternative dispute resolution, psychotherapy, and executive coaching. Maggie has nearly two decades of experience representing, counseling, and coaching individuals in various personal and professional settings. She has a uniquely thorough comprehension of how psychology, interpersonal conflict resolution, and leadership potential intersect. She has a reputation for being particularly effective in helping clients to reach their goals. Maggie enthusiastically supports her clients in finding solutions to problems, increasing their quality of life and sense of well-being, and moving ever more confidently to actualize their fullest potential. She holds a JD from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, an MSW from The Catholic University of America, and a BA from The University of Virginia.

Jennifer has a 20-year career in executive coaching, facilitation, professional services firm management, and consulting. She understands first-hand the challenge of slowing down while feeling the need to run, and the stress, pressure, and sleep deprivation that come with building high-stakes careers. Her twenty-year career includes stints in government and consulting in the United States, China, Southeast Asia, and Europe, and a deep-rooted appreciation for cross-cultural engagement. She received her Certificate in Leadership Coaching for Organizational Performance from American University and is certified to administer the MBTI, Everything DiSC, and The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team.

Lori is an advocate for women in the legal profession with 15 years of experience as a health care regulatory lawyer in private practice in AmLaw 100 firms and in-house policy roles. She founded Mindful Return, a program for parents transitioning back to work after parental leave and is the author of Back to Work After Baby: How to Plan and Navigate a Mindful Return from Maternity Leave. A graduate of the WLF program herself, Lori is passionate about helping women lawyers succeed and facilitates workshops about working parenthood and time management. She graduated from Princeton University, and the Georgetown University Law.

Jen is an ICF certified coach (ACC) with a Master’s degree in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. She has over a decade of experience in law firms. Jen practiced law for 6 years with high profile structured finance and consumer finance groups at Chapman and Cutler, K&L Gates and Mayer Brown. She later served in leadership roles in learning professional development at Goodwin Procter and Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox, where she provided coaching, designed and facilitated training, and supported organizational change initiatives. Jen launched her independent coaching company, Wise Crossings, in 2021 to use her skills in coaching and facilitation to help women in law and other high-pressure professions build rich, balanced, and authentically successful lives and careers. From 2021-2022, Jen also served as a Fellow Coach with BetterUp where she coached professionals in a variety of industries and roles. Jen’s coach training is from Presence-Based Coaching®, her J.D. is from Georgetown University Law Center, and her B.A. in psychology is from Wheaton College.

Sheryl is a leadership consultant and executive coach with 25 years of experience. Sheryl works at the individual, team and system levels using a combination of executive coaching, leadership development, organizational development and strategic and business planning support. Prior to beginning her own practice in 2001, Sheryl spent a decade as a Senior Human Resources Executive in local government, giving her a unique insider perspective on the challenges and complexities of leadership life. She is a graduate of The Newfield Network, The Strozzi Institute, George Mason University, and Harvard Kennedy School. She is a contributing author to On Becoming a Leadership Coach.

Shannon Polly is one of the first 100 people in the world to have a Master in Applied Positive Psychology (the science of well-being) from the University of Pennsylvania. She has trained over 1,500 Army sergeants in psychological resilience. Having worked in law firms or with lawyers for over 20 years, she sees it as her mission to use empirically-based approaches to create resilient leaders, teams, and organizations. A co-author of the book, Character Strengths Matter: How to Live a Full Life, Shannon helps leaders align their roles with their strengths to make them more effective. Shannon graduated with honors from Yale College and has received a Graduate Certificate in Classical Acting from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, a Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Certificate in Leadership Coaching from Georgetown University.

Dana is a leader, coach, teacher and consultant serving professional services organizations. For almost 30 years, she’s brought her contagious passion for growth and development to individuals and organizations. She previously held senior leadership positions with Booz Allen Hamilton, where she managed a division that offered strategy, organization development, leadership development, talent management, learning, and change management consulting services. She is a frequent speaker and teacher on mindful leadership and building resilience in today’s demanding roles. Dana is a Professional Certified Coach through the International Coach Federation, is a graduate of Georgetown University’s Leadership Coaching Program and the Strozzi Institute, and is a certified corporate-based mindfulness teacher with the Potential Project.