Beth's Bio

My Values: Authenticity, Trust, Creativity, Beauty, Integrity, Nature.

My Mantra: “Creativity in Service of Others”

My Story:
There are two things I love: Creating. And helping others create.

I’ve been fortunate enough to radically reinvent my career no fewer than five times in order to bring both of these into my work regardless of the company or role.

The current career incarnation is balancing a private practice of coaching clients with just enough training and consulting work to keep a toe in the corporate world.

Previously, I spent seven years in New York writing print and television commercials for both Chiat/Day and Ogilvy on clients like Reebok, IBM, American Express and Unilever. That was followed by an equal number of years doing training, corporate culture and people development work.

My last corporate gig was based in Hong Kong as the regional manager of training and people development for 5,000+ employees across Ogilvy’s Asia/Pacific region. That meant developing regional training strategies, cultivating networks of trainers, authoring knowledge management systems, overhauling global orientation programs, and building initiatives to enhance corporate culture. As a trainer, I trotted from country to country to teach and facilitate brand strategy, creative ideation, and career self-management.

At some point, my own personal journey of discovery and introspection became a rather insistent and unrelenting voice, so I left Hong Kong and pursued a year’s sabbatical. With an around-the-world ticket in hand, I took in massive doses of inspiration, from a drawing course in Tokyo to riding through India astride a Royal Enfield motorbike, to attending the Dalai Lama’s teachings, to working on an organic farm in New Zealand. I spent time in the U.S. with my family. And together, we launched an adoption reunion search through which I successfully reunited with my biological family.

That year of discovery has never really ended, it simply stretched on and on until one day, I was living a whole new life. It’s a thrill to now be in Shanghai, finding my Asian roots as well as my capacity to support this city’s vibrant community of entrepreneurs and artists.

I believe that life gives us countless opportunities to reinvent our realities and ourselves. We are always at choice. And with enough awareness, courage and self-acceptance, we can steer our choices in a direction that allows us to shine as individuals, while also finding and fulfilling our place in the bigger context of the world around us.

I don’t really think of my work as “work,” but when I’m not doing it, I love playing with words and paints and cameras. I know I’ve got a book or two gestating within. I try to keep up with yoga and meditation practices. And I’m a big believer in carving out space and time for good old-fashioned daydreaming and goofing off.

Right. Time to roll the credits: I’ve got a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia, USA and a copywriting diploma from the Portfolio Center in Atlanta, Georgia. My coaching certification is through Coach for Life in California, and I hold an Associate Certified Coach designation from the International Coach Federation. I’m Meyers-Briggs accredited, a certified hand analyst, and have completed over 200 hours of training with the Enneagram Institute.