By twenty-seven, however, despair had set in.  Despite having worked professionally and earning my union status, the prospects of my ultimate dream coming true seemed too uncertain.  I had fallen into a deep depression and over the course of a couple of years, I made the biggest change of my life.  I changed the way I thought.  I literally changed my mind.

On the other side, I discovered personal coaching as a client. Two years, later, I became one of the first coaches in the US to go through a formal training program and subsequently, helped start the International Coach Federation.  Within five years, I was a national bestselling author with “Take Yourself to the Top” on the Reuters Bestseller List and appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show along with dozens and dozens of other national and international news and broadcast outlets.

Suddenly, all my skills as a performer had been called on and I was living my dream—impacting how people thought, felt and behaved in organizations such as Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Eli Lilly, YUM Brands, McDonald’s, Burger King, The World Bank, and the Army Corps of Engineers, to name a few.

Speaking and coaching on several continents and across the US and four more award-winning books followed as I raised three children and one husband (tee hee).  September 11, 2001 affected my family greatly. Not due to loss of a family member but we lost jobs and shortly there-after discovered that one of our children has a life-long condition that challenges our resilience consistently.

Not one to shy away from challenges, I also became an Interfaith Minister in 2006 and ran for political office as a first-timer in 2017 and then again in 2019.  Community organizing, volunteering as the President of the band boosters at my kids’ high school and a myriad of other causes have kept me sharp and practicing positive leadership and the constant resilience that change requires.

Publications 

• NOW WHAT? 90 Days to a New Life Direction
  Amazon Bestseller, National Book Award Nominee
  New Publication, Third Revised and Updated Edition (May 2015)

• The Prosperity Plan: Ten Steps to Beating Odds and Creating Extraordinary Wealth (And Happiness)
  Runner-Up COVR Visionary Awards

• The Little Book On Meaning
  National Book Award Finalist alongside the Dalai Lama

• Take Yourself to the Top; The Secrets of America’s #1 Career Coach
  National Bestseller—Reuters Business Bestseller, Amazon

• Living Your Best Life:  How To Discover Your Life’s Blueprint for Success
  Amazon Bestseller

• Columnist and Contributing Editor REDBOOK Magazine

• Huffington Post Blogger

• President and Owner of InterCoach, Inc./Now What?® Coaching  (1997-present)
  Founder and Owner and operator of a full-service coaching based in Montclair, NJ. Executive and career direction coaching services. Tens of thousands of coaching hours performed. Creator of the Now What?® Methodology for Career Transition Coaching

Professional Speaker

• Corporate Clients include:  Eli-Lilly, Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, Ortho-McNeill Diagnostics, Glaxo-Smith 

• Kline, Schering Plough, Sofani, McDonald’s, YUM Brands, Burger King, Kimberley Clark, Bloomberg and Smith College, Alabama Power and Light company.

• Public Sector: NASA, Army Corps of Engineers, The World Bank, The City of Miami Beach

• Association Clients include: Healthcare Womens Business Association, The International Coach Federation, Women’s Food Service Forum (ALL-STAR SPEAKER for FIVE YEARS), Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers, National Association of Women Business Owners, Career Management Alliance and the Junior League of Women Voters

TEDx Talk Presenter

• How to Find Your Dream Job Without Ever Looking At Your Resume (1.5 million views)

Radio Personality

• Founding member International Coach Federation (ICF) Board Member ICF, including founding or co-founding Corporate Coaching, Credentialing and Ethics and Standards Committees
• Coach University Board Member
• CHOICE Magazine, the publication for Professional Coaching, Board Member

Training Credentials

• Founding Training Director Coach University
• Training Coordinator and Designer Claire Restaurant, NYC