““It’s not about supplication; it’s about power. It’s not about asking, it’s about demanding. It’s not about convincing those who are currently in power, it’s about changing the very face of power itself.”
― Kimberle Williams Crenshaw
About the Fall 2023 Black Women Coach, Conductors Coaching Certification Program
Throughout history, Black Women have served as guides, supports and healers within the community. Their resilience, strength, caretaking and commitment has continued to support communities in the most transformative, revolutionary ways. As a result, many Black Women Changemakers have been depleted as they attempted to serve the growing needs of our families and communities.
Blooming Willow’s Black Women Coach, Conductors Coaching Certification Program was created to provide a space for healing, community care and growth for Black Women. During this six month coaching training program, Black Women are able to gather, connect and reimagine communities where Black Women are supported with Healing Centered Coaching and all people thrive. This six month offering provides an opportunity for Black Women to grow, heal, connect with powerful peers and build Healing Centered Coaching skills that will support them serve the community in a way that honors their humanity and allows them to show up powerfully.
The Black Women Coach, Conductors Coaching Certification Program creates a Healing Centered Coaching space that invites Black Women to center their own growth and healing as they become International Coaching Federation Accredited Certified Coaches. It’s intentional design serves as a train the trainer, that encourages students to grow and heal as they build coaching skills to facilitate Blooming Willow’s Healing Centered Coaching Model. The Model supports clients to Pause, Ground, Align and Act, allowing them to tap into their internal wisdom while leaning into a partnership that centers healing centered growth.
Black Women Coach, Conductors Coach Certification Program
Dates: September 23rd - March 16th 2023
Cost: $6,500
Location: Virtual
Students & Faculty: Self-Identified Black Women
Weekly Virtual Teleclass: All Saturday classes are from 9am-11am PST
76 Hour International Coaching Federation Accredited Program Components:
20 - Hours of Reading, Practice Coaching, Portfolio Assignments and Video Reviews (Per Month)
23 - Live Virtual Learning Sessions (First Session & Final Session are Mandatory)
20 - Practice Coaching Hours Completed with Peers and Clients Outside of Class (4 Per Month)
10 - Mentor Sessions (5 one-one and 5 group)
5 - Coaching Portfolio Assignments (1 Per Month)
Pass the International Coach Federation Coach Knowledge Assessment with a score of 70% or higher
Pass the Healing Centered Coaching Oral Competency Assessment with a score of 70% or Higher
6 Month Virtual Program:
Fall Cohort 2023 Cohort Dates .
Fall 2023 Black Women Coach Conductors Program
6 Month Program
Saturday, September 23rd, 2023 - Half-Day Session 9 am - 1 pm PST
Welcome to Healing Centered Coaching Core Competencies & Coach's Stand
Saturday, September 30th, 2023 9 am - 11 am PST
Asking Powerful Questions & Practicing Engaged Listening
Saturday, October 7th, 2023 9 am - 11 am PST
Curiosity, Interrupting & Acknowledgment
Saturday, October 14th, 2023 9 am - 11 am PST
Coaching Practice - Core Competencies Focus 1-7
Saturday, October 21st, 2023 9 am - 11 am PST
Healing Centered Coaching Mindset, Pausing & Supporting Safety
Saturday, October 28th, 2023 9 am - 11 am PST
Supporting Safety, Opening, Grounding & Expanding the Session
Saturday, November 4th, 2023 9 am - 11 am PST
Gathering and Clarifying the Clients Agenda
Saturday, November 11th, 2023 9 am - 11 am PST
Group Coaching Practice - Module 1&2 Competencies Focus: 3 Agenda's 1-16
Saturday, November 18th, 2023 9 am - 11 am PST
Exploring the 3 Agenda, Respecting the Client & Expanding the View
Saturday, December 2nd, 2023 9 am - 11 am PST
Visioning, Metaphors & Analogies
Saturday, December 9th, 2023 9 am - 11 am PST
Inviting Play to Support Clarity
Saturday, December 16th, 2023 9 am - 11 am PST
Group Coaching Practice - Module 3-I Competencies Focus: Play 1-22
Saturday, December 30th, 2023 9 am - 11 am PST
Exploring Limiting Beliefs & The Internal Community
Saturday, January 6th, 2024 9 am - 11 am PST
Accessing Inner Wisdom and Power
Saturday, January 13th, 2024 9 am - 11 am PST
Supporting Pausing, Reflection and Meaning Making
Saturday, January 20th, 2024 9 am - 11 am PST
Group Coaching Practice - Module 3-II Competencies Focus 1-27
Saturday, January 27th, 2024 9 am - 11 am PST
Supporting Pausing and Identifying Goals for Action
Saturday, February 3rd, 2024 9 am - 11 am PST
Co-Designing Healing Centered North Star Goals & Accountability
Saturday, February 10th, 2024 9 am - 11 am PST
Community Conversation & Practice
Saturday, February 17th, 2024 9 am - 11 am PST
Group Coaching Practice - Module 4+ Competencies Focus 1-30
Saturday, February 24th, 2024 9 am - 11 am PST
Community Conversation & Practice
Saturday, March 9th, 2024 9 am - 11 am PST
Community Close Out & Reflection
Saturday, March 16th, 2024 - Graduation Day 9 am - 11 am PST
Community Celebration & Reflection + Teach Back
Max – 24 Participants
*Please note that students are able to miss and make-up 15 hours of the scheduled sessions.
Program Cost: $6,500
Application Deadline: <New Extended Application Deadline> - Friday, September 22, 2023
*****We use a rolling admissions process for this cohort and the application pool will close once the cohort has been filled. Students being considered for the program may be invited to participate in an interview with Conductors Alumni prior to admission. *****
Conductors Lead Faculty
Leslie Avant-Brown, MPA, MCC
Leslie Avant-Brown, MPA, MCC
CEO - Principal Owner
Leslie Avant-Brown, Conductor #1 is an innovator, facilitator, coach and thought leader within movement work. Her relentless desire to fuel systems change in support of vulnerable communities has changed the fabric of this work. With her down to earth demeanor, she brings a unique mix of laughter, curiosity, healing, creativity and strategy to support conductors of change – those who are designing innovative strategies that benefit future generations. She believes that moving beyond traditional leadership approaches will revolutionize the way that people work and thrive. “I have dedicated my life to supporting communities to build trust, identify new leadership, increase diversity of voice and choice, incorporate growth and healing strategies and build sustainably. I do this because I know, what we plant today will bloom tomorrow”
In 2016, through a partnership with Beyond Emancipation, her CCRW Coaching Model (focused on foster and probation youth) received the notorious International Coaching Federation Prism Award Honorable Mention (Coming 2nd only to Coca-Cola Russia) for its innovative design supporting culture change. She went on to support the development of an ICF Accredited, Community Coaching Certification Program at Leadership that Works, the first of its kind. Through this pioneering effort, she certified over 100 coaches in this new community accreditation, radically shifting how communities are supported through coaching.
Leslie serves as CEO at her firm Blooming Willow Coaching, a culturally relevant, Healing Centered Coaching practice that allows her to partner with individuals, organizations and businesses. Her specialization areas include “all things” coaching including: one-on-one and group coaching, coaching facilitation, coach training, and designing sustainable coaching models that support growth and healing in communities.
Previously, she worked as the International Program Director for Leadership that Works, and supported the development, implementation and facilitation of cutting edge coaching programs that supported value-driven transformation in India, Europe and the United States.
Prior to earning her coaching certification Leslie worked in the nonprofit capacity building sector, supporting work that promoted social justice -- she has a background in leadership development and evaluation. “What brought me to the field of coaching was the idea of supporting deep change while aligning my strengths to support conductors of change.”
Leslie received her professional coaching certification through Leadership that Works and holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Michigan. In her free time, Leslie enjoys finding new adventures, spending time with her wife, belly laughing, eating delicious food and of course creating!!
Feedback Mentors
Nicky Avant-Brown, PCC
Like a rocket, Nicky's coaching is the vessel that clients access when a much broader perspective is required. From a more spacious point of view, clients get to see their full operating systems--the world and themselves in it. By observing from different angles clients are better positioned to see options, opportunities, limiting beliefs and the way forward.
For over 21 years, Nicky has been exploring the impact of our systems- and rule-based society on individuals. As a workshop facilitator, coaching trainer, department supervisor and program manager, she has designed empowerment curricula centered on internal capacity building, culture change, leadership and healing for organizations.
As a Professional Certified Coach (trained in Transformational Life Coaching and Healing Centered Community Coaching), Nicky considers herself to be an intuitive partner, a wise ally and a reflector of the space between what you didn't know then and what you do know now. She brings a sense of wonder and curiosity to every session.
Nicky's coaching opens space for traditional and non-traditional leaders to slow down and catch up to themselves, to explore needs, to envision success and to create fresh boundaries and agreements before taking brave steps forward.
DeShauna West-Anderson, MSW, PCC
Based out of the Bay Area, California, DeShauna received her Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology, with additional coursework in Forensic Psychology. During this time, DeShauna also began working for a non-profit agency that contracts with Alameda County Social Services supporting foster youth with navigating self-sufficiency. After working in this field, she realized that the core of our problems and stress often correlate with symptoms in our bodies. Starting with self, she decided to challenge her mind, body and spiritual alignment by beginning an Ashtanga yoga practice. Also, she discovered life coaching, which quickly became an important tool in all clientcentered and leadership work. This allowed her connections with others to become more than just a mentorship, but a partnership in their goals.
Through self-discoveries in yoga and coaching, DeShauna resolved to deepen the mind/body connection and received her 250-hour Teacher Training Certification (Power Vinyasa & Yoga Sculpt). DeShauna also realizes that mastering the “self” is a lifelong path, yet the journey there is where meaningful experience happens. In June 2018, she became a certified transformational coach through Leadership that Works and uses somatic tools to support individuals with bringing their authentic selves to the surface. DeShauna will also earn her 300-hour Teacher Training (continued yoga education) in December 2021. Her ultimate goal is to create a connection with individuals throughout their personal journey, with the hopes of helping to empower them to reach their desired destinations. DeShauna believes “Health is a state of body and wellness is a state existence.”
During DeShauna’s spare time she enjoys spending time with her husband, daughter, animals (she has a dog, cat, gecko, fishes) and different species of plants as well as geodes.