Stories 4 Good

In this episode, we will talk with Steve Graham. 

For the past decade, Steve has been a certified professional coach. He received his certification through UT Dallas' Organizational Behavior, Coaching, and Consulting program, which works with the International Coaching Federation. In addition to career coaching, Steve also serves as an adjunct professor at many colleges and universities and is the VP of Marketing & Human Resources for a media and broadcasting company. 

In his coaching work, Steve says that he likes to approach the relationship with clients as a partnership where both parties are on equal ground, working toward the same goals. Often clients seek Steve's services when they are experiencing change. He strives to help clients identify and jump over barriers, while questioning assumptions and seeking internal growth. There is not a "magic wand" approach with coaching, so the clients with the most successful outcomes are ready to make an investment in themselves by actively engaging with the information and insights that come from the coaching process. Fear is often one of the barriers to meaningful change, but with a coach like Steve that helps you "balance hope with reality," change is on the way! 

In this episode, we will talk with Melinda Rothouse and Charlotte Gullick, authors of Syncreate. 

Melinda Rothhouse's focus as a coach is creativity in all forms. In addition to being a career and leadership coach with Coaching 4 Good, she has many other professional roles as an author, facilitator, musician, educator, and consultant. Her background is based in psychology, religious and spiritual studies, and mindfulness. In addition to executive leadership coaching and team coaching in organizations, Melinda often works with creative professionals that are experiencing transitions or hoping to bring a creative idea to fruition. 

Charlotte Gullick is an accomplished novelist, essayist, editor, educator and Chair of the Creative Writing Department at Austin Community College (ACC). She and Melinda met at ACC while working on a study abroad project. As the pandemic was shutting things down, they decided they wanted to bring something creative and helpful into the world during the time spent in isolation. 

Syncreate was the product of the team's creative pandemic endeavor. The book aims to demystify the creative process, while re-writing the story of creativity for the US. You don't have to be a tortured artist all alone to be creative or bring creative ideas into reality; "creativity is your birthright." Syncreate uses a framework of "Play, Plan, Produce" to guide readers through the creative process in a way that is accessible and community focused.

Melinda and Charlotte were full of excellent recommendations and creative terms that we would like to provide our audience as references: 

• Dreux Carpenter & John Best
• Julia Cameron - Artists’ Way
• Divergent thinking
• left/right brain
• Hero’s journey
• Faith tenders - Charlotte coined this term in Syncreate
• Ruth Richards
• Dan Siegel
• Pomodoro - tomato timer
• Joseph Campbell 
• Shadowy aspects - Carl Jung
• Orpheus going into the underworld - The Wounded Researcher by Robert Romanyshyn
• Publisher: Mandorla Books
• Plane of possibility
• Frederick Buckner
• Natulius Book Awards: Books for a Better World
• Writer's League of Texas

In this episode, we will talk to Jen Slagle, life coach, mother, creative human, and so much more. 

Jen began her full-time foray into life coaching in May of 2020. Before that, she worked in corporate America in marketing, was a freelancer graphic design artist, as well as a stay at home mom, at different times in her working life after college. Jen believes that the experiences and connections from all of her roles have helped her to get to where she is today. 

Life coaching includes looking at 8 areas of your life, as Jen was trained at iPEC. Career is definitely one of them, but when you work with Jen, you should expect to be guided to becoming aligned with values and "unravel" yourself, which often means looking at other areas of your life that could be affecting your career. Jen coaches her clients into their energy, helping them identify their superpowers and triggers.

Most of Jen's clients are between the ages of 35 - 55, looking for jobs at the executive and C-suite level, and spend at least 3 months with her. While 1/3 of Jen's clients usually get jobs while they are working with her, she reminds the audience and potential clients that lasting change takes time. In addition to connecting with Jen through her website, you can also find her on LinkedIn!

A client of Angela's can expect to achieve connection with their wholeness and identify and work through limiting beliefs. Angela recently took and passed her coach certification that she received through Co-Active Training Institute in conjunction with Coaching For Everyone. In the Co-Active Coaching style, all clients are seen and treated as naturally creative, resourceful, and whole; you will be partners in the process. Coaching For Everyone is a dynamic new 501c3 nonprofit organization, designed to provide complimentary coaching and leadership services to traditionally under-resourced populations, particularly BIPOC young adults, K-12 educators, and nonprofit employees.

In addition to being a coach at Coaching 4 Good, Angela serves in the Client Relations Manager (CRM) position at Coaching 4 Good. That means she's the one who you'll talk to when you're searching for your coach or have questions about the services that we offer! It doesn't stop there though! Angela also owns and operates a business, AHA Moments Health & Wellness, with her lovely wife, Christi. They offer various coaching packages, as well as guided mindfulness sessions, Reiki, and Power of 8 circles. 

In this episode, the hosts (Michelle Poole & Kim Garmany) of the podcast introduce themselves, the premise of the show, and the business that supports it all!