• - Tammy Schuring, VP, Veracode

    "From the outside looking in, many thought I had it all (well at least almost had it all). I have a great marriage, two awesome children, a high flying career, a big house in the right neighborhood, a close and loving family, and many friends. It took a lot to build the stability and the success that I enjoyed for most of my adult life, a life that many envied. The one thing they could all see was I carried extra weight. My physical body was heavier than the stereotype the media wants us all to buy into. What people didn't see was how heavy things were on the inside and what it took to keep all of the plates spinning in the air.

    I don't recall a time in my life that I was not a "big girl". Even as a young child I look back and see the pictures of a toddler with rolls on her stomach and even her cute little legs. Food was something that was used to soothe me, entice me, reward me and comfort me from the very beginning of my life onwards. When I say food, I mean primarily sugar and carbs. My mother told me recently that she used to feed me bottles with sugar water in them to get me to sleep. I obsessed over food, especially sugar, all the time. There was a constant stream of thoughts in the background as I used food as a way to manage the stress of achieving and maintaining success in all areas of my life. Actually, I used food to manage all emotions.

    The way I felt about myself involved two competing thought patterns. On the one side I was very proud of myself for working hard and achieving countless things in my life - accepted to a great university, degree in mathematics, married an amazing (and hot) man, had two awesome kids, manifested a career in that afforded my husband to stay home with the kids, became an executive, a board member, traveled, enjoyed many fulfilling friendships, in good health, and a part of a very close family. On the other side was something that ate at me from the inside my entire life, it made me feel I was not enough, it consumed my thoughts constantly, and in my mind's eye, it eclipsed every accomplishment I ever had... I was HEAVY. What I didn't realize until I started to work with Stacia is the physical heaviness I saw in the mirror was the tip of the iceberg compared to the heaviness I carried inside.

    I started working with Stacia as my coach in 2019. I had just gone through one of the toughest periods of my life when my son was diagnosed with depression and anxiety after attempting suicide. I went all in to get him the best care team and I began to adjust to our new normal. I was terrified and in many ways I was alone. My husband wasn't ready to fully face what was happening with our son. I felt I needed to keep working so that financially we could afford the programs, therapists, psychiatrists, and whatever it took to give our son and the rest of the family the support we needed. I forced myself to show up at a new job where I was miserable each day as I was worried about my son, but faking it as I felt I had to keep all of the plates spinning. I accepted the job while in distress and what looked great on paper, was a horrible fit for me in terms of alignment with my boss, the CEO. I was fired for the first time in my life from that job.

    With Stacia's amazing, insightful, and patient coaching I was able to put down some of the plates I was spinning. I was able to slow down, breathe, and process what was happening. The support she provided was priceless. I was seeing a therapist or two at the same time, but I needed to put down the heavy weight I was carrying, not just to walk through this crisis, but to reach for my ultimate dream of walking lighter through life both mentally and physically.

    Stacia guided me to uncover the root causes of my stress. She walked me through the process of seeing past traumas I buried (usually coated with sugar) and working through them to lighten the baseline load I had no idea I was carrying. No wonder everything felt so heavy! There was so much excess weight I didn't even see! As the layers became exposed, I walked through the hard stuff with Stacia as my guide. We looked into my past, my belief systems, my value systems. We looked into my relationships and we talked about what my heart really truly wanted in life.

    The transformation is indescribable. I realized my biggest dreams, the things that matter most to me, not the things that outwardly everyone applauded in the past. I was in a loving marriage of over 25 years when we started our work, but I wanted an even deeper relationship with my husband. I did the work and I have my dream connection with him today. Connection is what I value the most. I experienced a deeper connection with my family and friends. We worked on some issues I carried regarding my relationship with money, my deep rooted issues with food, and above all - my relationship with myself.

    As I felt this lightness of being, the most amazing thing started to happen...the physical weight started to come off. I did the work. It was not a miracle, but I had done the work many times before. I shed over 70 lbs and I have kept it off for over a year. Wow!!! What a bow to put on all of the transformation I found inside.

    Life is not perfect and I don't expect it to be. I no longer push myself to achieve a concept of perfection. I no longer beat myself up that I am not perfect at everything or anything. I know there is no such thing as perfect. I have made amazing progress and that is what I want now, more progress. There is no way I could have reached this level of joy or been poised to reach for my next set of dreams without having Stacia as my coach."

  • - David Feinstein, M.D., Senior Medical Director, United Healthcare

    "I was really stuck in a rut for quite a few years. I wasn’t depressed or despondent, but life was just one big, boring routine. I was feeling stuck in both my personal and professional life. There were several changes I knew I needed (and wanted) to make, but it all seemed overwhelming and I was somewhat paralyzed. Working with Stacia, I was not only able to see to the impact of NOT taking action in my life, but I was able to envision what I actually wanted and take the necessary steps to get there. With her help, I was able to get unstuck, move across the country to a new city, buy a new home, and develop a new healthy relationship. I am learning to expand my horizons and am even planning a trip to Europe. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I will continue working with Stacia as I near retirement in a couple of years and explore this new chapter of my life!"

  • - Darlene Sylvan, Master Reiki Practitioner, Attuned Energetics

    "I came to Stacia because I needed to make a major pivot in my business. As an Reiki and energy practioner, Covid entirely altered the landscape of how I did business and worked with my clients. Stacia was not only empathetic to everything that was going on in both my business and in my life, but she helped to me explore several options on how to continue my business given the circumstances. Working with her, I was able to not only re-envision my business, but to also get clear on next steps for several outstanding situations in my personal life as well. Stacia was literally a lifesaver for my business. And my mindset."

  • - Matt Corpos, Security and Privacy, Balbix

    “The group Stacia led at HP gave me a fuller picture of my coworkers' lives and helped me to relate to and understand them better. Hearing about their challenges and life circumstances helped me develop my listening skills and gain empathy. Being part of the group also helped me to open up and get relief from personal challenges that I was previously facing alone. Having a safe place to share my experience was truly invaluable at a key time in my life. I'm so glad that Stacia created the group and provided encouragement throughout.”

  • - Laura Sovacool, Event Planner and Hospitality Manager

    “During my time with Stacia, I was not only able to reflect on my schooling and future career, but also on my own identity and what my true passions are. Our first meeting became somewhat emotional as I realized that maybe what I have been doing so far wasn’t exactly what I wanted for my future. After discussing this, she helped me remind myself who I am and what I truly enjoy by guiding me to prioritize this part of my life. It is very apparent that she not only cares about helping you career build and cultivate financial success, but also encourage personal growth and development."

  • - Donn Dobkin, former CIO, CFO, GM

    “I’ve been pretty successful my whole career, and this wasn’t initially on my radar. I realize that top-performing athletes and executives almost always get coaching so I thought I’d give it a try, but I didn’t expect much. I’ve always been self-sufficient and quite confident in myself, and I didn’t go into coaching with much purpose.

    But my goodness, that changed in a hurry. There were several blind spots that Stacia uncovered, and opportunities that I hadn’t been seeing. There were places where my normally- winning formulas were only partially effective or not even applicable, and we worked through different ways to approach these opportunities with great results. Beyond the professional benefit It was truly a joyous evolution. And I had some unexpected breakthroughs in my personal life as well.

    Later, after helping me expand my successes in Silicon Valley startups, Stacia helped me make a completely different kind of career move. I’m now a professional photographer. It’s another big win for me.

    I can’t thank her enough!!”

  • - Shari Clare, former Lead Technical Writer, Voltage Security

    "Although dramatic cultural changes are a fact of life in the corporate world, when the small software company that I had worked at for 7 years was purchased by a large, multinational tech company, it left many of us feeling adrift and uncertain. Stacia’s group provided a welcome harbor that helped many of us in our organization weather some adverse conditions over which we had little control. On a more personal level, the group helped me to become a better listener, especially around topics that can be challenging to discuss."

  • - Steve M., Sr. Director of IT Security, Facebook (Meta)

    "As a new manager, I knew there was more to managing people than just 1:1's and annual reviews. But what I found most challenging was performance evaluations. I knew what to do, but it was the person to person part that I found uncomfortable. Stacia helped me to find an new way to approach about these conversations. Additionally, she helped me to uplevel my commuincation with my team in all areas. And the results aren't limited to my work, my wife says I'm a much better communicator at home as well. She was definitely able to provide insight into this are for me, and my leadership impact as well."