Our Story

Why Change Coaches?

I was one of those people who never “fit in at work.” I spent 15 years on a traditional career path in HR, talent management, and learning and development at Fortune 500 companies, so this was much more than an isolated incident. Repeatedly having these experiences motivated me to drive real change in the workplace and organizational cultures for good.

I started with the traditional approach of attempting to make change from the inside, but I eventually discovered the potential of leadership and team coaching to change entire organizational cultures. This unconventional yet evidence-based approach was refreshing and a welcome respite from the traditional programs that were clearly not preparing executives to lead diverse teams, create cultures of belonging, or cultivate psychological safety on their teams.. I was motivated to inspire change in these cultures that were stuck at the surface level.

Through my own experiences and by observing others around me, I had learned that it wasn’t so much about the skills, values, and attitudes you bring to the table. What mattered in corporate culture was fitting in on a very superficial, surface level. Do you look the part? Have you bought into the competitive, relentless, undercutting standards of corporate leadership? Are you forced to keep your personal problems at home? It’s a terrible way to live. To make matters worse, I found it incredibly frustrating to realize that corporate leaders just didn’t have the people skills to work with people like me: someone different. Coaching emerged as my unique opportunity to develop them into leaders who prioritize belonging over fitting in.

Change Coaches is a team of leadership development professionals who embody the principles I wrote about in my book Leading Below the Surface: REAL leadership, empathetic listening, and psychological safety. We are similarly committed to changing workplace culture at its core.

Our work goes far beyond delivering out of the box 90-minute workshops. We’ll create a real bond with your team and get below the surface, and will go places where some other coaches may be afraid to go. We won’t have to tell you what needs to be done because, with a little guidance and inspiration, you’ll see the way forward and begin the lifelong transformation of becoming a Below the Surface Leader. The way we work with our clients makes them love us. While addressing large-scale organizational problems, through working with us, leaders also experience radical growth at an individual level. Whether you are trying to align as a team, create a culture of belonging, lead multi-generational teams, foster psychological safety, or extinguish toxicity from your workplace, we are here to help!

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Our Team

Each member of the Change Coaches team is here for a reason: because they share REAL leadership values (relatability, equity, awareness, and loyalty) in addition to being great at what they do. They also share a commitment and a willingness to go deeper than most other organizations would expect them to. When you work with Change Coaches, you experience the kind of psychologically safe environment where authentic transformation can take place. And you learn how to create that environment for your employees.

LaTonya Wilkins (she/her)

Founder and CEO

Kate Fylstra (she/her)

Operations Manager

Coaches and Consultants

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Adam Smego (he/him)

Leadership Coach
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Dorothy P. Liu, PCC (she/her)

Leadership Coach
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Nisha Gupta (she/her)

Leadership Coach
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Jane Rosenzwieg (she/her)

DEI Consultant
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Regina Stevenson (she/her)

HR Consultant