How I became a Life Coach
Woman’s Encore is my own “encore career”.
After earning my PhD at Temple University it was my doctoral dissertation, “Divorce in Late Life: Experiences of Older Women” that ignited my passion for the particular issues affecting mature women. I wanted to return to school and pursue a counseling career, but I was a single parent with a young son to support and many bills to pay. Twenty-five years later I discovered and trained in integral coaching through New Ventures West. My wish has come full circle. Woman’s Encore is my opportunity to fulfill my own dream of supporting women as they pursue their dreams.
My personal experience with coaching.
Getting certified as a life coach and working with my own coach as part of that process, was a transformative experience for me. The challenging circumstances that once defined my life became the backdrop of my life and I was able to cultivate different responses to familiar and recurring events. The freedom I experienced has enabled me to open myself to new possibilities—friendships, career and service.
Professional Experience
I began my professional career as an elementary teacher in Philadelphia. After I left the School District of Philadelphia, I was the Director of Training at Philadelphia Corporation for Aging and, later, at the Intergenerational Center at Temple University.
For the past fifteen years I have been the proprietor of my own business, TaylorConsulting LLC. My work has focused on youth mentoring, substance abuse prevention, intergenerational relationships, productive aging and non-profit capacity-building. My clients have included federal agencies, state and local governments, institutions of higher education, school districts and a wide variety of non-profit organizations.
My professional “legacy” is Across Ages, an evidenced-based intergenerational mentoring initiative that has served thousands of youths, and mobilized hundreds of older adults across the country as mentors and role models.
About Me
Most of all, I am a mother, a friend, and a caregiver. I am a coach, a writer, a teacher and a volunteer. I value integrity, compassion, kindness and conviction. I admire those who work to make their world a gentler, safer place. I believe in legacy, not the legacy of wealth but the generative legacy of action which encourages us to support and nurture the next generation so they can take their place as productive, healthy citizens of the world.