About Laura
People have always told me things.
Coach. Educator. Facilitator. Professional listener
For as long as I can remember, friends and near-strangers would open up to me. Something in the way I listen makes people feel safe enough to say what’s really true. I’ve spent more than 30 years turning that into my life’s work.
My own path has been anything but a straight line. After a double BA in International Relations and Psychology from UC Davis, I lived and taught English in Japan, living in a six-tatami-mat apartment. Since then I’ve worked in education, logistics, sales, art, and software. I’ve pivoted many times, and every pivot handed me data. Some of my best information came from things that didn’t work. I know how hard it is not to take a setback personally, because I’ve had to learn it myself, one experiment at a time.
Today I coach individuals and groups through life’s turning points: graduates finding their footing, professionals rethinking the climb, and people stepping into the most meaningful chapter of their lives. At 57, I still practice what I teach. I’m always experimenting, designing, and recalibrating. Lately that includes writing on Substack and hosting Boogie Heart Parties, a dance gathering built around connection and collective joy, because aliveness is research too.
I’m an ICF Associate Certified Coach and a certified Designing Your Life coach. I’ve been featured in The New York Times and on American Public Media. I teach inner fitness at Rancho La Puerta, and I’m currently studying with and supporting Gail Larsen in her Transformational Speaking and Transformational Listening programs at the Modern Elder Academy.
About Laura
People have always told me things.
Coach. Educator. Facilitator. Professional listener
For as long as I can remember, friends and near-strangers would open up to me. Something in the way I listen makes people feel safe enough to say what’s really true. I’ve spent more than 30 years turning that into my life’s work.
My own path has been anything but a straight line. After a double BA in International Relations and Psychology from UC Davis, I lived and taught English in Japan, living in a six-tatami-mat apartment. Since then I’ve worked in education, logistics, sales, art, and software. I’ve pivoted many times, and every pivot handed me data. Some of my best information came from things that didn’t work. I know how hard it is not to take a setback personally, because I’ve had to learn it myself, one experiment at a time.
Today I coach individuals and groups through life’s turning points: graduates finding their footing, professionals rethinking the climb, and people stepping into the most meaningful chapter of their lives. At 57, I still practice what I teach. I’m always experimenting, designing, and recalibrating. Lately that includes writing on Substack and hosting Boogie Heart Parties, a dance gathering built around connection and collective joy, because aliveness is research too.
I’m an ICF Associate Certified Coach and a certified Designing Your Life coach. I’ve been featured in The New York Times and on American Public Media. I teach inner fitness at Rancho La Puerta, and I’m currently studying with and supporting Gail Larsen in her Transformational Speaking and Transformational Listening programs at the Modern Elder Academy.
How I work
I listen for what’s said, and what isn’t.
I have a black belt in active listening. A Hawaiian friend said to me once: “we were given two ears and one mouth”; I aim to listen at least two times more than I speak. I pay attention to the pauses, the topics you skip, the moment your voice lifts or drops. My intuition is one of my sharpest tools, and I’ll gently name what I notice so you can decide what’s true.
No judgment. You think out loud.
Your half-formed ideas are welcome here, especially the ones you’ve never said to anyone. I give you room to wander, contradict yourself, and work things through in your own way. It’s your life, so it’s your process. Along the way, I’m your mirror, your co-pilot, and your accountability partner. And when you need it, I’m the one who’ll lovingly poke holes in your theory and ask the question you’ve been avoiding.
I think outside the box.
I’m a creative thinker, and I’ll often see a possibility from an angle you haven’t considered. Your next chapter doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s, and it rarely looks like the obvious option.
We experiment.
I love design thinking because it takes the pressure off getting it “right.” Instead of agonizing over one big decision, we try small, real-world experiments: a conversation, a short project, a test run. Each one gives you information. When something doesn’t work, that’s data too.
Little by little.
Big change rarely happens in one leap. I’ll help you build the muscle of trying, adjusting, and trying again, so setbacks become information instead of verdicts. Over time, you’ll find you trust yourself more and more.
How I work
I listen for what’s said, and what isn’t.
I have a black belt in active listening. A Hawaiian friend said to me once: “we were given two ears and one mouth”; I aim to listen at least two times more than I speak. I pay attention to the pauses, the topics you skip, the moment your voice lifts or drops. My intuition is one of my sharpest tools, and I’ll gently name what I notice so you can decide what’s true.
No judgment. You think out loud.
Your half-formed ideas are welcome here, especially the ones you’ve never said to anyone. I give you room to wander, contradict yourself, and work things through in your own way. It’s your life, so it’s your process. Along the way, I’m your mirror, your co-pilot, and your accountability partner. And when you need it, I’m the one who’ll lovingly poke holes in your theory and ask the question you’ve been avoiding.
I think outside the box.
I’m a creative thinker, and I’ll often see a possibility from an angle you haven’t considered. Your next chapter doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s, and it rarely looks like the obvious option.
We experiment.
I love design thinking because it takes the pressure off getting it “right.” Instead of agonizing over one big decision, we try small, real-world experiments: a conversation, a short project, a test run. Each one gives you information. When something doesn’t work, that’s data too.
Little by little.
Big change rarely happens in one leap. I’ll help you build the muscle of trying, adjusting, and trying again, so setbacks become information instead of verdicts. Over time, you’ll find you trust yourself more and more.
What I believe
Everyone carries something original, a certain way of seeing and giving that no one else can replicate. I believe each of us is a drop of the divine. My work is helping you remember what’s yours, and find where it belongs.
What I believe
Everyone carries something original, a certain way of seeing and giving that no one else can replicate. I believe each of us is a drop of the divine. My work is helping you remember what’s yours, and find where it belongs.
Ready to talk?
Book a free 15-minute call. Bring your question; I’ll bring my full attention.
Ready to talk?
Book a free 15-minute call. Bring your question; I’ll bring my full attention.
