B. DEORNELLAS,PCC,ESQ.
PROFESSIONAL COACH
ALIGN YOUR LIFE + DESIGN
As a professional coach, I specialize in life and career aspirations and transitions. I serve as an ally in realizing the life you want. My approach? A collaborative, thought-provoking process aimed at helping you clarify a vision for your future, identify obstacles to achieving that vision, and take action to overcome all obstacles.
At each crossroads, you have the opportunity to reflect and reimagine the future. Are you in a transition, want to thrive in self-employment, seek renewed purpose, or need to get unstuck?
Coaching can help you cultivate the clarity and resulting confidence to take action without anxiety.
EXPLORE COACHING
LIFE ASPIRATIONS
TRANSITIONS
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Perhaps you have unrealized dreams or goals for the future. Or maybe just a sense that you want more out of life. Maybe you're facing an unplanned transition. By working together, we can clarify what you want from the future and make it yours.
Having experienced transitions personally and professionally, and assisting many clients in transition, transitions have become both a skill and an interest of mine. Transitions come in many forms. Designing a new life after becoming a parent. Loss of relationships and the growing pains of a new relationship. Moving. Retirement. Grief. What I know for sure? We all need allies – especially when in transition.
We begin by envisioning the future and gaining insight about your hopes and desires. Together, we will work to transform your hopes into clear, actionable goals. We then explore the barriers to your goals, and define actions to overcome those barriers.
SEE BEYOND MY SELF-IMPOSED LIMITATIONS
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Brandy is a coach who is passionate about helping her clients reach the goals that matter most to them. Through skillful questioning, compassionate curiosity, and authentic relationship building, Brandy co-creates a safe space where clients are encouraged to dream big and "try on" other perspectives. Brandy helps me see beyond my self-imposed limitations and consider other vantage points to imagine the life I want to live and the impact I want to have in the world.
Brandy knows that supporting her clients on their path to achieving their big picture vision also requires breaking down the path into manageable milestones. As a small business owner, Brandy helps me stay on track and inspires accountability for living a life grounded in my core values. I have worked with Brandy informally and formally over the past 10 years and I recommend her coaching practice without any hesitation.
- C. AGUILAR
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
CAREER ASPIRATIONS
TRANSITIONS
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Maybe work feels like exchanging the hours of your life for a paycheck. Maybe you want to get unstuck, find fulfillment, and grow. I serve as a strategic partner to help you realize your career aspirations.
Perhaps you don't know what you want. Coaching will help you get intentional as you define your path forward. We start by understanding your design. What aspects of your life and work are engaging and energizing? What is essential to you? What are your core values? What is inherently motivating?
Together, we'll consider all of your options and think expansively about what's possible. Next, we'll map what we've learned about your design against your options to reveal the best path forward (with some help from data science and design thinking).
Once you know what you want, we'll get strategic to help you realize your vision. This can include developing a job search strategy and articulating your value proposition via your resume, online profiles, cover letters, and interviews. Our work is aimed at helping you develop the clarity and confidence to act without anxiety.
Perhaps you know your design, have a vision, and just feel overwhelmed with making it happen. Wherever you are, we can design your way forward, together.
THE GUIDING FORCE I'VE NEVER HAD AND ALWAYS NEEDED
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I’m so grateful to have found Brandy and had the opportunity to work with her. Brandy was the guiding force I’ve never had and always needed. She’s proactive yet gentle, a visionary yet realist.
After a few sessions, she helped me surface a career field that blends the essential skills and passions I was most interested in; truth be told, I never even knew this job or career field existed.
Brandy also helped me to identify the different paths forward to achieve them with a step-by-step plan. Each session with her felt like I was talking to a long time friend and produced so many “lightbulb moments” and actionable plans. Brandy truly helped me to uncover so many new and exciting future opportunities.
- K. STERLING
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA
SMALL BUSINESS
I've partnered with clients to tackle the many decisions and issues that emerge in the life cycle of owning a business. The goal? To help my clients find personal and financial fulfillment in their small business.
You and your business are unique, so our approach to coaching will be curated to your needs. Wherever you're at, whatever your goals, we'll design your way forward.
+ Clarify your vision for your business
+ Build a business plan including defining your client base, brand, and offerings
+ Feel enthusiastic and motivated to build and evolve your business
+ Develop a strategic plan to reach your customer base
+ Clarify your business financial goals and define how you'll get there
+ Navigate employee challenges or difficult decisions with a thought partner
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HIGHLY RECOMMEND FOR ANYONE GETTING A BUSINESS OFF THE GROUND
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I've been working with Brandy for about two months, and just in that short time she has had a major impact on the way I've been thinking about my career, my goals, and my interactions with others as I go through this period of transition. I'm 58, was recently laid off, am starting a small business, and have had a lot to consider.
Brandy is super smart, compassionate, knowledgeable, and has a very results-oriented, actionable approach to her coaching. I always have homework after our sessions, and it is always helpful.
I'd highly recommend her to anyone in a career transition or anyone getting a business off the ground who feels they need support. She totally knows what she's doing, and she's great at it. If you're hesitating about coaching, Brandy will quickly make you realize it is worth it.
- J. GREEN
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA
RELATIONSHIPS
As a certified relationship facilitator and mediator, I help clients improve their personal and professional relationships.
Maybe you long for close, meaningful personal relationships, or seek to heal or grow current relationships. Maybe you've relocated to a new home and are struggling to feel rooted, or want to build community. Coaching can help.
I often hear from clients that the greatest barrier to experiencing joy in the workplace is a lack of healthy relationships. Together, we can help you garner the respect and cooperation that you need to grow in your role and enjoy your workplace.
With intimate relationships, my role is to help new relationships grow, healthy relationships become optimal, and struggling relationships become reinvigorated. I utilize an assessment that explores communication, conflict resolution, finances, parenting, family, friends, and more. This serves as the basis for a compassionate conversation proven to strengthen relationships.
OTHER AREAS
TO EXPLORE
The methodology of coaching can be applied to any area of life. Do you have an issue or need a change that doesn't quite fit into the categories above? That's okay.
Life is messy. Sometimes our lives don't fit into neat boxes about what is working and what isn't. Maybe the whole of your life - personal wellness, career, relationships - feels out of line with what you want. The good news? My approach to coaching addresses the whole person - in all its complexity.
art: quentin monge
LEARN MORE
WHAT IS LIFE DESIGN?
Too often, who we are and what we want does not inform our reality. I help clients align their innate design and their life design. How?
A well-designed life begins with understanding your design. Together, we'll answer some fundamental questions through conversation, assessments, exercises, and other resources all thoughtfully curated for you.
Once we understand your design, we'll consider the possibilities for your life. What are the professional settings that will reward you for being exactly you? What roles will energize and engage you? How can you transform your relationships, habits, and hobbies to create alignment? I'll partner with you as you take action to realize a well-designed life.
YOUR
DESIGN
Who you are + what you want:
Values
Strengths
Passions
Purpose/ Mission
Motivators
Priorities
Joys
YOUR
LIFE
How you structure your life:
Professional Role
Home
Family
Friendships
Habits
Hobbies
Boundaries
COACHING FAQs
Q: So, what is coaching?
The International Coaching Federation (ICF) - the leading international governing body for the coaching profession - defines coaching as: ". . . partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. The process of coaching often unlocks previously untapped sources of imagination, productivity, and leadership."
Q: What are the benefits of coaching?
The benefits of coaching are unique to each person. Here are some benefits shared by former clients:
Gain clarity of purpose and direction
Transition careers
Experience greater fulfillment at work
Have better relationships
Grow in self-awareness
Overcome life challenges
Navigate important life decisions
Address internal obstacles to thriving
Feel more confident
Develop leadership skills
Start a business
Reduce anxiety
Successfully negotiate a promotion
Prioritize what was essential
Q: What is the coaching process like?
My approach is fluid, organic, and tailored to each client. At the beginning of our relationship, we'll define overarching goals for our coaching work. We then begin each session defining specific objectives for our discussion.
You'll always walk away with clear next steps you can take to make progress between our sessions. I often follow-up post-session with resources and tools.
Q: What are a few words to describe your approach to coaching?
Holistic
Comprehensive
Curated
Encouraging
Motivating
Action-Oriented
Strategic
Q: Where will we meet?
My office is in Berkeley, California. Currently, sessions are held remotely via phone or video. How we meet can change session-by-session.
Q: How often will we meet?
How often we meet is up to you! Starting out, most of my clients work with me once a week or once every other week. We can adjust our cadence as needed.
Q: How many sessions will I need?
We don't have to predict the total number of sessions at the onset - we will plan session-by-session to ensure you get the right number of sessions for you. Typically, my clients work with me for an average of eight sessions over the course of a few months. Many clients return for a monthly, quarterly, or occasional sessions.
If you are in career transition and would benefit from an efficient, concrete timeline, I offer an eight-week career transition plan.
Q: Do you help with documents like a resume and cover letter?
Yes. If during the course of our work together, you need assistance with drafting language for your LinkedIn profile, re-thinking your resume, or crafting a thoughtful cover letter, we can tackle these tasks together.
Q: What if I have other questions?
Set up a complimentary coaching consultation below!