Coaching

We help change leaders connect to, resource, and lead with their best selves. We do this work because we believe that to disrupt systems of oppression and create change “out there” we also need to do the work “in here” — and we’re passionate about helping people figure out what they need to show up in life, work, and community in more generative and liberatory ways.

Who We Coach

We coach social change leaders and teams who are:

  • Working to implement equitable, just, and/or anti-oppressive strategies, structures, and practices; and 

  • Navigating the complexities, tensions, and personal and relational growth this work involves.

This includes community organizers and individuals working in mission-driven organizations (e.g., nonprofits, philanthropies, and consultancies focused on social change).

We support roles such as community leaders, executives, directors, managers, strategy officers, program officers, and learning and evaluation staff — as well other consultants and coaches. And we are particularly interested in working with leaders and teams who are in the midst of personal or organizational pivots.

You might choose to work with us for a variety of reasons. Maybe you’re…

  • Looking for help clarifying your vision, values, or line of sight,

  • Working to expand your critical analysis and generative conflict skills,

  • Wrestling with operationalizing a new strategy,

  • Pivoting to lead within a new organizational structure or collective decision-making process, or

  • Grappling with how to wield, share, and build power in ways that feel authentic and just.

Or maybe you’re looking for support with something else! This work is messy and unpredictable.

If any of this sounds like you, let’s schedule a call and see how I can help…

Our Approach

Our approach combines our training in the Co-Active Coaching Model and Leading Equity and Inclusion in Organizations with 20+ years of hands-on experience facilitating learning and change with individuals, teams, and organizations.

Throughout our coaching relationship you can count on us to:

  • Engage you as a whole person,

  • Honor your strengths and lived experience,

  • Affirm and adapt to your learning, interaction, and processing styles,

  • Bring a systems lens (aka acknowledge where systems of power and oppression like white supremacy, cis-heteropatriarchy, capitalism, ableism/neuroableism, etc. operate at interpersonal, institutional, and structural levels beyond individual agency), and

  • Challenge you to translate your insights into action.

We are LGBTQIA+ and neurodiversity affirming — and our coaching approach is deeply informed by our own lived and learned experience, which you can learn more about here.

We are also certified to administer the Intercultural Conflict Style Inventory® and the Intercultural Development Inventory®, which we can incorporate into our work together if these tools feel relevant.

All that said, what we won’t do is tell you or your team what to do. We’re here to support you — and we believe you are fully capable of charting your own path forward.

Word of Mouth

  • "Compassionate, challenging, incisive, creative, funny, astute, culturally aware, organized, self-reflective, and always professional. These are a few of the many words that come to mind when I think of working with Kai."

    Michael Caines, Former Teaching Artist & Curriculum Writer at Free Arts NYC

  • "What stands out for me in Kai's coaching is her ability to listen and notice when there is more underneath what's being said. They designed a comfortable and open space, I didn't feel rushed or led in a particular direction."

    Lyndsay Nugent, United Way Greater Toronto

  • "Kai cares deeply about engaging those she works with to create meaningful and lasting change. Whenever I've hit a snag in my organization she has been the first person I call to help me think through solutions. She is innovative, devoted, smart, and analytic, and beyond fun to work with."

    Jennie Smith-Peers, Former Executive Director at the National Center for Creative Aging

Pricing & Payment

  • Individual coaching is available on a sliding scale. All rates include 2 x 1-hour coaching conversations per month — and responsive spot coaching/thought partnership in-between, as feels supportive.

    3-MONTH COACHING ENGAGEMENT RATES

    • Solidarity: $1,665

    • Full Cost: $2,250

    • Restorative: $2,835

    6-MONTH COACHING ENGAGEMENT RATES

    • Solidarity : $3,060

    • Full Cost: $4,050

    • Restorative: $5,040

    12-MONTH COACHING ENGAGEMENT RATES

    • Solidarity: $5,400

    • Full Cost: $7,200

    • Restorative: $9,000

    Notes

  • Here are some decision-making criteria we suggest you use to determine your rate:

    CHOOSE “SOLIDARITY” IF…

    • You work at a grassroots nonprofit,

    • Your organization's annual budget is < $1 million, and/or

    • You answer all or mostly “No” to the Financial Resources Questions below.

    CHOOSE “FULL COST” IF…

    • You work at a nonprofit,

    • Your organization's annual budget is between $1 million and $5 million, and/or

    • You answer a mix of “Yes” and “No” to the Financial Resources Questions below.

    CHOOSE “RESTORATIVE” IF…

    • You work at a large nonprofit, foundation, or for-profit business,

    • Your organization's annual budget is > $5 million, and/or

    • You answer all or mostly “Yes” to the Financial Resources Questions below.

    Financial Resources Questions

    • Is your board predominately high-income?

    • Is your board active in fundraising and/or does it have access to networks of wealth?

    • Did your organization receive grant funding or donations designated to support this coaching work?

    • Does your organizational budget regularly include a line item for staff professional development?

  • First off, we consider this scale a work in progress. If you have feedback, we welcome it — and an easy way to get it to us is to send us a message through our contact form.

    This current iteration of the sliding scale was developed using our local living wage as a starting point (calculated via the Economic Policy Institute’s Family Budget Calculator) — and is informed by research on the spectrum of rates charged by similar coaches/consultants, ongoing conversations with friends/collaborators Aisha Rios, Magenta Freeman, and Vidhya Shanker, and pay transparency role-models like AORTA and Both/And for whom we are deeply grateful.

    Many before us have made powerful cases for sliding scales. Instead of reinventing the wheel or re-presenting their wisdom, we prefer to highlight who we’ve learned from and we encourage you to engage with their ideas directly: 

    Finally, in addition to this sliding scale, as a white-led practice based in the United States we are committed to redistributing a portion of our annual earnings to Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC)-led grassroots groups in recognition of the need for reparations to address the past and present harms of colonialism, racial capitalism, and imperialism. We currently use the Honor Native Land Tax calculator to help determine the amount we donate.

  • A deposit of 50% of the total coaching fee will be due at the start of our work together.

    The remainder of the coaching fee will then be charged in monthly payments — with the final balance due within one month of our final coaching session.

Next Steps

Definitely interested in coaching? Let’s try a free, 30 minute session and see if we’d be a good fit.

Curious, but not quite ready to commit? We’re launching a couple of pay-what-you-can learning circles focused on two of our special interests:

  • Inside Job: Working within Systems to Change Systems

  • Ditching the Script: (Re)Designing Our Lives & Leadership to Affirm Our Neurodivergence

Why not join one of these circles to get a feel for our energy?

Have questions about coaching?