Details

Certified Academic Life Coaches

United States

John Williams | Portland, OR

Coach Profile

John is the creator of the Academic Life Coaching Program.  He also writes for Newsweek and published the book Future-Proofed: Your Guide to Acing High School, the College Application and Beyond.

He started his career as a high school Latin teacher and started his life coach training in 2004.  He created the Academic Life Coaching Program in 2005 when he realized there was a big gap in what students were learning in school and what was really useful in life.  In 2009, he started training others who wanted to work with life coaching skills and youth.

If he had a super power it would be the ability to take abstract (but useful) concepts and translate them into ways teenagers can understand and apply in their lives.

He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife, Amois, and two daughters, Paloma and Georgia.  

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Gina Halsted | Boston, MA

Gina Halsted brings years of business, educational and coaching experience to Academic Life Coaching. She uses this knowledge to help students build a strong foundation for success in navigating high school and beyond. While her older son was applying to colleges, Gina used Life Coaching tools and techniques to help him discover and articulate his values, passions and visions, enriching his college interviews, essays, applications and ultimate school decision. She finds The Academic Life Coaching program provides a powerful structure for helping high school students achieve similar self understanding and leadership, while reducing stress and staying motivated.

After graduating from Tufts University with a degree in Psychology, Gina spent nearly twenty years with IBM in a career of sales and marketing management. She left the corporate world to spend more time with her children, which led to a curiosity about education, learning styles and the impact of diversity in schools.
Pursuing this interest, Gina earned a master's degree in Education from Harvard University and completed an extensive coaches training program with The Coaches Training Institute. She is a member of the International Coach Federation.

Gina lives near Boston, Massachusetts with her husband and two teenage sons. She enjoys cooking, gardening, and skiing, and has never seen an antique home she didn't love.

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Stephanie Kwong | Los Angeles, CA

Coach Profile

Stephanie graduated Summa Cum Laude from U.C. Berkeley with a B.A. in psychology and is a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society. She has extensive coaching experience with a broad spectrum of clients including corporate executives, entrepreneurs, creative types (actors, writers) and people in transition. Stephanie has always had a passion for working with young adults. With Academic Life Coaching, she places her focus on coaching teens to provide them with the key tools and essential skills they need to powerfully and effectively navigate high school and beyond. Stephanie has a gift to uncover what motivates people to be their best and succeed. She listens intently without judgment and has a natural ability to encourage, inspire and empower people. Having participated in a wide variety of different transformational life programs, Stephanie’s approach is heartfelt, goal-oriented and honors each individual and his or her unique process. Stephanie experiences total fulfillment when coaching her students and witnessing them living with more confidence, creating good game plans for success and making their dreams come true.

Stephanie has been training in the personal development field for 10+ years. She completed her extensive life coaching education with the Coaches Training Institute. Stephanie completed her training in Strategic Intervention with Tony Robbins and Cloe Madanes. She is a member of the International Coaches Federation.

Other titles that Stephanie holds is : dance machine, travel junkie, food enthusiast, photography devotee and comic relief! Her coaching colleagues have coined her "The Possibility Expert" - she sees possibility for everyone even when they can't see it (just yet) for themselves. 

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Monica Cobis | Atlanta, GA

Coach Profile

Monica Cobis ties her B.S. in Recreation and MEd in Educational Leadership, as well as her coaching facilitation process in a dynamic and engaging manner to build future global leaders. She has worked in non-profit management, government, Fortune 500 companies and as a University instructor. She has lived in Greece, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador and throughout the United States.

She also owns and operates her own walking tour company, Southern Odysseys. Her desire is to catapult students into reaching their academic dreams in an effective and efficient manner.  

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Hayden Lee | Los Angeles, CA

Coach Profile

Hayden's coaching website

Hayden graduated cum laude from UC San Diego with degrees in Psychology and Theatre and a minor in European Studies. After graduation, Hayden moved to Los Angeles to pursue work in the Entertainment Industry. He has worked as an actor, writer, casting director and producer. During college, Hayden mentored incoming freshman, worked as a peer counselor for students interested in studying abroad and later gained experience as an S.A.T. and college essay tutor. Through this work, he became passionate about working with teenagers and discovered his gift for helping them become successful young adults during the exciting period of preparing for college.

Hayden currently lives in Los Angeles, and enjoys SCUBA diving, beach volleyball, eating, and finding humor in every possible aspect of life.  

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Patrick McKee | Houston, TX

Coach Profile

Patrick earned a Master’s Degree in Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin and a Law Degree from the University of Houston Law Center. He worked for accounting firm Ernst & Young for three and a half years and for several years in the field of law. Patrick’s experience as a resident assistant in college and his volunteer work with Junior Achievement allowed him to discover his passion for helping students achieve greater success. His desire is to help each teenager he works with accomplish the things that matter most to them.

Patrick lives in Houston, Texas where he enjoys many outdoor activities such as hiking and snowboarding and avidly follows both college football and basketball. He also enjoys speaking Spanish, which he began learning while living in Mendoza, Argentina.  

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Stan Manley | Coburg, OR

Stan's coaching website

Stan on LinkedIn

Stan was President and co-owner in Manley Services, a benefits administration company established in 1987, which is now owned byPacificSource Health Plans. As a Sheldon High School baseball coach Stan was able to discover his passion for coaching and working with teens. In 2010 Stan changed career directions in order to combine coaching with his other great passion, fishing, by opening First Time Fishing, a guide service specializing in working with kids. 

Stan lives in Coburg, Oregon with his wife Liz and their two sons, Tyler, 24 and Zach, 21. He is also an author, publishing Day is Breaking in 2004. 

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Tricia Hodge | Charlotte, NC

Tricia attended Wingate University for economics and accounting. Leaving behind the corporate world after an extensive business career, Tricia joins the ALC team determined to make a difference in the lives of teens to help them achieve their potential as the leaders of our future. Her energy, passion and optimism inspires her to reach out and often volunteer her services to numerous students who would otherwise be unable to afford the program.

As an outdoor enthusiast, Tricia spends her leisure time on the water, riding horses and gardening. In addition to her passion for education and coaching, Tricia enjoys reading, music and dance.

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Cassidy Agustin | San Francisco Bay Area, CA

Cassidy graduated with honors from San Jose State University with a Bachelor of Science in Finance, then started her career in corporate banking. Experiencing success early in her career made her realize that she wanted to help others experience that as well. This desire led her to help college students through their post-graduation job application and interview process. Cassidy understands the immense pressure on teenagers to succeed academically, but she remains confident in the limitless potential of every student. Through coaching she wishes to empower students to get to where they want to be in school, at home and with themselves.

Cassidy lives in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and two sons. She is passionate about baking, reading, anything active and going on adventures with her family.  

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Alison Batey | Amherst, NH

Coach Profile

Alison attended the University of New Hampshire for both undergraduate and graduate school, obtaining a Bachelor of Art in Communication and a Master of Education in Special Education. Alison comes to coaching after having “coached” a number of students that she worked with as a teacher. Alison has also worked with teens and children through teaching swimming lessons and in church youth groups. This experience helps Alison identify students who need a bit more attention and coach them as they find their own path to success. She enjoys the unique perspective that teens have on life and find joy in their triumphs over the obstacles they face.

Alison lives in southern New Hampshire and enjoys training for triathlons and spending time with her family.  

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Meghan Sellars | Portland, OR

Coach Profile

Meghan graduated from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (SMFA) / Tufts University with BFA in interdisciplinary art. After graduation she began working as Assistant Dean of Admission at SMFA. During that time, Meghan realized that her efforts to make an impact in education would be better applied to working with students before they reached the college application process. Working as an Academic Life Coach allows Meghan to use her two main passions in life, creativity and helping students realize their potential.

Meghan in an active photographer and printmaker. As proud Portlander, she enjoys urban exploration and making collaborative art, even when it’s raining!  

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Leah Bustos Mazzola | Dallas, TX

Coach Profile

Leah's coaching website for teens

Leah grew up in a low-income household in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. She lived through the scope of difficult circumstances, but she transitioned herself from at-risk/high-risk youth to self-sufficient, successful professional, student, loving wife and mother. Her passion for helping young people reach their potential led her to pursue her education in the fields of criminology and psychology. Leah has a BS in Criminal Justice Administration and Management and she is currently a doctoral student in pursuit of a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology.

Leah founded and runs a non-profit in Dallas called TheyThinkAloud for High-Risk Youth Development and Job Readiness. Leah has found the concepts taught through Academic Life Coaching extremely powerful for high-risk, at-risk youth with a real interest in self-improvement.

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Teresa Grimaldi | Andover, CT

Teresa has a unique combination of affability, empathy and real world experience that align beautifully in her coaching work. She enjoys empowering and inspiring teenagers. Teresa came from a successful career in medicine to 11 years in Education as a high school Engineering teacher. During this tenure, she discovered an affinity for connecting with teens, especially when sharing one-on-one. If she had a magic wand she would enthusiastically wave it and solve all of the issues plaguing our educational systems.

She lives in Andover, Connecticut with her husband and the youngest of four amazing children.

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 International

Tina-Marie Meyer | Vancouver, Canada

Coach Profile

Tina-Marie has her own coaching practice and is currently working with the Gulf Islands School District as a Personalized Learning Coach for Windsor House—a publicly funded democratic K-12 school. She became a Certified Professional Co-Active Life Coach from the Coaches Training Institute in 2008, one of the largest accredited coach training institutions in the world. She completed an additional 200 hours of study in the field of leadership training, which qualified her to be a facilitator in Co-Active Training. She has additional education in Organizational and Relationship Systems Coaching through the Centre for Right Relationship. Tina-Marie completed her studies with the Learning Success Institute in 2010, first as a Learning Styles Workshop Facilitator and then as a Learning Success Coach.

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Sabrina Barn | Burnaby, Canada

Coach Profile

At the University of Essex Sabrina completed Bachelor degrees in both Criminology and Sociology. After moving to Vancouver, she volunteered at a counselling centre and very quickly realised that she wanted to work in a field where she could use her skills and life experiences to help people. It wasn't long after that she had an opportunity to teach English as a second language to teenagers which turned out to be a truly positive experience. After Sabrina had her son she decided that for a few years she'd like to be a stay-at-home mother. Three years ago Sabrina went back to college to gain a certificate in basic counselling skills, but found that the options available for the different types of counselling did not provide her with what she was looking for. Last year a good friend told Sabrina about ALC and after doing research into the training program and talking to John, she signed up to start within a month. As a ALC life coach Sabrina is pursuing her passion and the results are very rewarding. Currently, she is vice-president at Burnaby French Language Preschool and coaching clients to help them achieve their goals.

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 Rawan Albina | Dubai, UAE

Rawan Albina was born in Lebanon, raised in the Middle East, and has soaked-in the cultural diversity and richness of the region. She holds a BA in Business Administration, and is proficient in 3 languages: Arabic, French and English. Through numerous activities she has nurtured many talents that have enriched the person she is today.  

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Banan Hadidi | Dubai, UAE

As a Geology Graduate, Banan understands and knows the challenges and what it means to take an academic choice out of passion. She is very passionate about nature, the environment and how all things are part of a cycle, and a journey to a destination.  With 7 years of experience working with children and parents in child development centers in Dubai the UAE, she has had a number of training courses in different child development aspects (physical and emotional) and the challenges parents might come across while raising children.

In 2008 as part of the constant interaction with parents and children, she started to take coactive life coaching courses, as she felt a need to have some tools to be able to aid parents to find their answers and and be the best parent they could be.

2010: Now as a certified co-active coach (CPCC) certified and accredited by the Coaches Training Institute, John's Program is the perfect combination of coaching and empowerment. She holds lots of tools to enhance and accelerate the academic awareness to the people who need them the most (TEENAGERS).

Banan is Jordanian and lives in Dubai with her 4 year old son and her husband.  

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Birgitte Tindborg | Dubai, UAE

Birgitte Tindborg has a Bachelor’s degree in social education and has been working as a teacher in Denmark since 1992. In her work as a teacher, Birgitte witnessed first-hand, through parent consultations, the importance of communication between parents and their children of all age groups.

Being the mother of two teenagers herself, Birgitte is very passionate about working with the demographic. She has been conducting teenage workshops for teens, and separately, for the parents, since 2009. In 2010 she started a networking group “TeenGruppen Dubai” specifically for Danish teenagers.

Birgitte believes in creating community; that’s why in 2009 she assisted in starting the “Danish Business Women Dubai” networking group and has since been a member. She also believes in the importance of teaching children their mother tongue while living abroad, and has been teaching Danish to children in the “Danish school”.

What Birgitte brings to the coaching relationship is unique. She is curious, empathetic and has a positive and gentle way of giving everyone plenty of space to be seen and heard. Her life purpose is to help teenagers become more knowledgeable, communicative and curious about their own life, develop their personality and see what they can achieve – help them to find their goals in small achievable steps and make their visions and dreams come true.

Since 2005, Birgitte has been living in Dubai with her husband and their two teenagers.

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Academic Life Coaches in Training

 California

Curtis Brock | Los Angeles, CA

Coach Profile

As a single father with a young son, Curtis became a teacher in order to do work that mattered and still have the time to parent the way he wanted. He soon took teacher leader roles in the use of technology, student leadership, musical performance, providing students with learning experiences away from campus, and especially the affective development and skills of students in the activity of class meetings. Curtis completed a Masters of Education at UC Berkeley in order to become a principal, but after a few years he realized that he missed working with students - especially with teaching effective skills and learning about learning.

Curtis is a self-identified music nerd but also a runner and enthusiastic bicyclist. He lives in the Los Angeles area.

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Dana Collins | Orange County, CA

Coach Profile

Dana graduated from California State University, Fullerton in May 2006 with a degree in Child and Adolescent Development. She always dreamed of becoming a kindergarten teacher. However, once in the classroom she quickly realized her passion is to get to know the children and help them on an individual level, rather than to teach a class. This led her to Chapman University where she earned her Master’s Degree in Counseling with a School Counseling emphasis. During that time she interned at the elementary, middle, and high school level. Dana has worked with babies through adults. The most difficult question for her is, “What is your favorite age group?” because she enjoys the challenges and rewards of learners of all ages. Dana has also spent 10+ years as a camp counselor and youth counselor for her local church.

Dana was born and raised in Orange County, CA. She still resides there with her husband, Garry, and yellow lab, Lexa. She enjoys running, sailing, and going to Disneyland!

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Rob Ray | Fresno, CA

Coach Profile

Rob was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA and moved to California at the age of 14. The struggles and stress of moving across the country away from his family was lightened by his accomplishments on the football field and on the race track. Rob ran track & field for 5 years and played football for 13 years of his life. After high school, Rob attended De Anza College in Cupertino, CA playing football for the Dons before transferring to Fresno City College to continue his education. Rob is a certified EMT-1 and has had a very successful career in sales as a Sales Executive for a major food distributor in Fresno, CA. Rob is 10 years into his athletic coaching career and is a head football coach and also coaches track & field. He has a passion for seeing youth grow and advance academically as well as athletically!

Rob enjoys spending as much time as possible in Yosemite National Park hiking, horseback riding and enjoying nature. He follows his favorite teams from Pittsburgh closely and enjoys attending sporting events. If Rob could do one thing to make a difference in the world, it would be to help people live a positive lifestyle, mentally and physically! 

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David Smith | Palo Cedro, CA

Dave earned a BA degree in Psychology at Bethany University in Santa Cruz, CA. Dave Smith brings years of business, ministry, and coaching experience to Academic Life Coaching. This life experience has cultivated a heart, developed a perspective, and equipped him with the tools and skills to help individuals make real and positive movement toward realizing their potential. Dave has a passion to see teens and adults alike become clear about their life purpose, help them develop plans and strategies for realizing it, and then help them navigate the journey well.

Dave has two adult children, two teenage boys, and three grandchildren. His is married to a wonderful lady, Luanne. In his spare time he enjoys working around his ten acres in beautiful northern California, walking and hiking, golfing, building things, reading good books, writing, good conversations with friends, and just hanging out with his family. One of his, yet-to-be realized, dreams is to own a Victory motorcycle and go on some really cool road trips. 

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 Colorado

Jody Cabanillas | Denver & Boulder, CO

Jody studied International Trade and Relations at University of Northern Colorado for undergrad and earned her Master's degree in Multicultural Education from California State University. She has been a high school Spanish and Social Studies teacher in California and Colorado for 8 years and a community college instructor for 4 years. Feeling some frustration with the education system, she started exploring other career options. ALC was the perfect fit! Now Jody can teach skills she focused on at the college level in the high school setting to better empower teenagers and their families.

Jody loves to read, work-out and try out new recipes on family and friends. Her and her husband have taken their two daughters all over the world and are working hard to cultivate a love of diverse cultures.

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International

Raman Bhangoo | Vancouver, Canada

Coach Profile

Raman was born in Winnipeg & raised in Calgary & Vancouver. She graduated from BCIT with a diploma in Financial Management and went to work in the Corporate Banking World. While working full time, she earned her Bachelor of Commerce Degree from Thompson Rivers University and currently works as a Resourcing Consultant. Even though Raman enjoys her current field in HR, in the past few years she has been drawn to issues regarding today’s youth. When she hears or reads a story on bullying, gang violence, teen suicides, it stays with her for months and she feels a desire to be part of the solution. Raman became interested in the Academic Life Coaching program because she wanted to help teens realize their full potential regarding Academics, Communication, Leadership, and building Powerful Relationships. She has an easy time bonding with teenagers and forming a connection which is the foundation for an effective coach/client relationship.

Raman loves spending outdoor time with her husband and 2 kids in their beautiful city of Vancouver, BC (host city of the 2010 Winter Olympics). Raman loves dancing, running, cooking and entertaining. Her favorite past time is to sit in a sunny corner of the house with a good book.

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Lani Bortolotti | Ottawa, Canada

Lani brings years of business, educational and coaching experience to Academic Life Coaching. She is a teacher, certified academic advisor and human behaviour specialist but prior to teaching, Lani worked for many years as a communications specialist. Through her years of teaching and as the creator of the career discovery program for teens and young adults, “What do I Want to do With My Life?” Lani has guided, supported, and assisted teens and young adults during their journey of self-discovery and career development. With her clients, Lani emphasizes how they can clearly differentiate leadership and learning styles, strengths, and values while simultaneously developing and enhancing their career and life.

Lani lives in Ottawa with her husband Perry, a successful business owner, and two sons who are both working in a professional environment that they love. When Lani is not gloriously working with her clients, she is either playing golf, curling, running or entertaining her family and friends.

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Heather Bialkowski | Toronto, Canada

Heather was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She attended The University of Western Ontario where she completed an honors degree in Sociology. At university, she played on the varsity tennis and ski teams as well as volunteered in a local elementary school. Following graduation, Heather worked for Club Med as a childcare worker and tennis pro. After that, Heather moved to the Gold Coast, Australia for two exciting years to get her Masters in Teaching. While there, she had the opportunity to travel extensively throughout Australia and Southeast Asia.

Upon graduation, Heather moved to Seoul, South Korea to teach English for a year. Currently, Heather is the athletic director of a private school and a coach. She has always been passionate about sports and believes the principles children learn from team sports are valuable lessons to carry on throughout adulthood.

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Bukola Dairo | Lagos, Nigeria

Bukola (“Bukky”) is a Nigerian born has a background as a Chartered Accountant. She has successfully turned the gaps she experienced during her key developmental years to a special devotion to the development of teenagers and young adults. Bukola recognizes the potential in teenagers and young adults and uses her passion to assist them in their personal development into well balanced adults who can positively impact their communities. Over the years, Bukola has worked with faith based organizations and high schools as a volunteer and paid consultant. She has also founded “Cheerleaders” an Image and Career coaching company.

Bukola currently lives and works in Lagos, Nigeria as a Communication Champion with one of Africa’s leading financial institutions. It remains her dream to establish a Life Orientation School for young adults.

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Evelyne L. Thomas | Sharjah, UAE

Evelyne has been working and living in the Middle East for the past 26 years and has raised 3 children who are now working and living in the UK. She brings to Academic Life Coaching her experience as a language teacher in different high schools and education systems. She is passionate about self-development and is keen to help students in a way she would have liked to have been helped when she was a student. Already, Evelyne is using ALC tools while working with her students and is seeing immediate results in the way they become more engaged and interested in their studying.

When not working with her students, Evelyne loves working on her own self-development. She also enjoys being outdoors, cycling, swimming and gardening in the company of her four cats.

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Iowa

Larry Jackson | Dubuque, IA

Coach Profile

Coming from a background of personal struggles in his high school years, Larry has experienced first hand how students can get lost in a system of grades and career options. In spite of personal challenges he was able to attain Bachelors of Science degree in Business Administration, with Computer Science and also a Masters of Science in Counselor Education from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. Since 2006, Larry has been involved in an organization he founded called the J4BG Leadership Academy. He helps mentor and coach disadvantaged boys and girls near the downtown Dubuque community. With the help of the ALC program he hopes to provide youth with the necessary tools that will allow them to reach beyond their emotional and sociological challenges.

Larry was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin. In his spare time he enjoys spending time with his family, weight training, and camping. Larry resides in Dubuque, Iowa with his lovely wife Jamie, and his spunky daughter Gabrielle. 

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Maine

Carol Clark | Portland, ME

Coach Profile

Carol was born and raised in central Massachusetts and is a graduate of Clark University with a degree in business. During her final semester, Carol wrote a start-up business plan which resulted in a $92,000 SBA loan. In addition, Carol is a graduate of Coach U, Global Career Development Facilitation and a Barbra Sher Certified success Team Leader. Though Carol’s background has been eclectic (including industry experience in insurance, software, accounting, and real estate) there have been common threads throughout. The themes include personal development, training/education, career development, strategic planning and quality of life.

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New Jersey

Joseph Callender | Ramsey, NJ

Coach Profile

Joe grew up in Baltimore, MD but has lived in northern NJ since 1995. After high school, Joe joined the Air Force to travel the world. He is a veteran himself of Operation Desert Shield/ Storm. Joe worked in the Physical Therapy field while in the Air Force, treating thousands of retirees, veterans, active duty, and dignitaries over an eight-year period. After the Air Force, Joe received his Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology with Elementary Certification then taught 4th and 5th grade for 2 years. While he loved teaching, Joe grew disenchanted with the harsh realities of the education system. He knew it could be done differently. He just needed some time to find how to have an impact. Joe realized he had the passion to help others pursue more fruitful and satisfying career paths and continue his work with students through Academic Life Coaching.

Joe has been married for almost 18 years and is the father of 10-year-old identical twins.  

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Pennsylvania

 Amy Johnston | Philadelphia, PA

Amy earned her Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, PA. She has spent the last 14 years in the financial services industry in sales, marketing, and training roles which she brings to Academic Life coaching. During that time she earned the CRPC designation through the College of Financial Planning and made very strategic moves to develop the leadership skills that helped her advance in her career. She respects that each individual may think learn differently and at their own pace. Her greatest strength lies in her unique ability to make complicated ideas and information simple and easy to understand.

Throughout her career, Amy enjoyed the education aspect of what she did and started to pursue a teaching certificate. She came across the Academic Life Coaching program in 2010 and loves the idea of helping students not only understand their own thinking and learning styles but how to apply what they learn to better relate to their peers and teachers. Amy believes leadership is something that should be taught at a young age and that you just have to help a student uncover their own potential which will also show through on college applications.

Amy resides outside of Philadelphia with her husband, Dan. She enjoys running, music, reading, and watching the Pittsburgh Steelers. While it's not part of the Academic Life Coaching program, Amy is very passionate about the idea of Financial Literacy for students and is currently developing a program to help high school and college seniors better understand the concepts of budgeting, credit, savings and retirement because the choices they make early in their lives and careers can have a lasting impact on their future lifestyle and expenses.

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Lindsay Wick | Philadelphia, PA

Lindsay earned her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Cornell University, where she first became interested in adolescent development. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with two Master's degrees in Psychological Services and Professional Counseling, Lindsay continued to develop her skills working as an adolescent counselor specializing in adolescent mental health and substance abuse counseling. Throughout her counseling experience, Lindsay naturally gravitated towards helping teens cope with the stress of school, discover their passions, and investigate college and career opportunities.

Lindsay lives outside of Philadelphia, PA and is an avid Philly sports fan. She enjoys quality time with her goofy family and friends, reading, training for adventure runs and planning her 2013 wedding to her wonderful fiancé!  

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Tennessee

Bill Bala | Nashville, TN

Coach Profile

Bill spent over 20 years in the corporate world where he took notice of how some people were able to accelerate their career growth much faster than others and he was determined to understand why. As he progressed in his career, he had the opportunity to learn from many different types of leaders. He became passionate about personal development and focused his energy on mentoring others to help them identify their intrinsic motivations and passions that would help them maximize their potential. Having teenagers of his own, he realized that there are a whole set of skills not taught in schools that, if learned and applied, would increase a student’s potential to be successful in life. Bill’s goal is to share these concepts with as many people as possible and help generate excitement about how these concepts can change the future of teenagers across the world.

Bill lives in Nashville, TN with his wife, Susan, and two kids, Courtney and Logan.  

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Texas

Andrea Cruz | Harlingen, TX

Andrea Cruz is a proud educator in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. She is dedicated to the students and educators in the communities she serves. Having worked as a teacher and administrator in grades ranging from elementary to secondary and in districts ranging from 1A in size to 5A, she carries a wealth of experience. She has played the role of Curriculum Director, Director of an Early College High School, Assistant Principal, Dean of Instruction, and Teacher. Dr. Cruz is currently the Executive Director of Human Resources for the Mercedes Independent School District. As owner of A+ Educational Success, LLC, she also provides professional development and contracted services to school districts, as well as academic coaching to teenagers.

Her educational interests include induction year teachers, quality professional development, study skills, and coaching.

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Amanda McClure | Dallas, TX

Coach Profile

Amanda graduated Cum Laude from Texas A&M with a degree in Education. While teaching high school and middle school students, she realized the profound impact that individualized mentoring has on teens, and their ability to thrive and learn more effectively. This discovery led her to homeschool her own young son so that he could reap the benefits of one-on-one instruction. Feeling the need to give back to her community and stay involved in educating teens she is training with the Academic Life Coaching Program. As a coach she hopes to help students become more effective, efficient leaders so that they can lead fulfilling lives.

Amanda enjoys hanging out with her son and husband, visiting with friends, the great outdoors, traveling and trying out the awesome culinary selections around Dallas/Fort-Worth.  

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