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Leadership
Dan Pogue, ACC President
Randy Coats, ACC President- Elect
Aurora Geis, PCC Past- President
Carissa Gay, MCC Past President
Susana Clavello, PCC Past President
Cora Lonning, MBA Treasurer
Kerri Burchill, PhD, MCC Director of Professional Development/ Masterminds | Having owned and operated businesses for over three decades, Dan Pogue is a seasoned leader, business owner, executive and leadership coach. He is passionate about helping people achieve success and make a positive impact in their business and personal lives. Dan is an EQ-i 2.0 and EQ-i 360 certified coach, a Trust Quotient coach, and a CLCI Certified Professional Coach. In business, Dan has received numerous awards from the military and corporations. Training, coaching, and mentoring emerging leaders was one of Dan's many roles in the Air Force. Dan is CEO, Founder, and Principle at Thriving Leaders Group. In this role, he focuses on developing and refining leadership competencies, management expertise, and business capabilities so that they can achieve success in their chosen industry and market. In addition, Dan has served on and led three non-profit organizations (NPOs). Dan holds two master's degrees from Webster University, Information Technology Management and Business Management & Leadership and a bachelor's degree in Business Management from Southern Nazarene University. For any questions about our chapter, contact president@ICFSA.org Dr. Randy Coats’ passion for coaching is grounded in three beliefs: - Everybody wants to grow and achieve more Through the Coats Leadership Group, Randy offers clients ICF-certified coaching fueled by 35+ years in many leadership roles as a military officer/commander and civilian leader. His journey has taken him from a rural upbringing to amazing experiences living and working with diverse professionals in five countries. He holds three graduate degrees, including a DBA in Strategy and Innovation, and coached part-time (pro bono) for seven years. In 2023, Randy left an executive position to focus full-time on serving others through coaching. You can contact Randy Coats at presidentelect@icfsa.org Aurora Geis has over 25 years of experience in executive leadership roles across diverse industries like financial services, energy, startups, and workforce development. She leverages her expertise to guide leaders, teams, and emerging leaders in developing their emotional intelligence (EQ). This focus equips them with the self-awareness and social skills crucial for effective leadership. Aurora helps leaders build their authentic leadership style. Through her coaching, they gain the confidence and strategies to lead with purpose and impact. Aurora holds her Professional Coaching Certification (PCC) from the ICF and is certified as an iPEC Energy Leadership Index Coach(ELI-MP), EQ-i 2.0 and EQ-i 360 through MHI and LEADNow Stewart Leadership. Additionally, she serves as an ICF Mentor Coach, guiding aspiring coaches through the ICF Core Competencies. She is currently the VP of Strategic Relationships & Coach Consultant with New Apprenticeship, a National DOL Program Training Sponsor for College Degreed IT Apprenticeship Programs that train early career talent in Tech. Furthermore, she founded A GO STRATEGY, a minority and woman-owned firm offering coaching and consulting to businesses, executives, and aspiring leaders. Through her value-based coaching approach, she empowers them to build successful companies, cultures, and careers with a sense of purpose. You can contact Aurora Geis at contact@icfsa.org or past-president@icfsa.org With 20 years in nonprofit, academic, and corporate leadership roles, Carissa's focus has always been coaching and training high-impact leaders. She's passionate about helping professionals identify and maximize their leadership brand. Carissa has developed programs for business, government and nonprofit organizations to create strong organizational cultures through effective communication. After serving as a trainer for a national team of coaches, she founded Courageous Leaders, a coaching and training organization specializing in leadership, communication, and career development. She serves as the Southwest Regional Representative for the Center for Coaching Excellence dedicated to training leaders in the conversational coaching skills that produce high-performing teams. Carissa holds degrees in English and Christian Education and a Master’s in Counseling. She is a Master Certified Coach with the ICF and has certifications in emotional intelligence, career management, and neuroscience. Susana is passionate about helping individuals who are experiencing a great deal of unbalance and overwhelm in their lives. Making lasting changes, growing from adversity, building resilience, and overcoming negative ways of thinking. Susana’s mission is to help people look inward, ignite their passion, discover their true sense of self, regain control of their lives, and increase their productivity and joy of living. Her vision is to provide an extraordinary coaching and training experience, and to make a positive impact on the individual, the organization, and the community. Susana’s approach to coaching is compassion first, then compliance. What this means is that I coach my clients by tapping into their strengths, values, hopes, dreams, and potential. By focusing on the positive, people feel empowered and bring out the best in them. When people become more aware of who they truly are at their core, and believe in themselves and their abilities, they become more self-confident and solution-focused, and ready to embrace any challenge. Cora is a learning professional focusing on growing business through developing people. She believes playing to strengths and building knowledge is your game changer. Cora is future focused, with a learning mindset. She turns tension into productive energy, conflict into innovation, and differences into synergy. Cora is your partner to transition people from the most challenging part of business to your differentiator! She has a deep understanding of the drivers behind the actions; and the need behind the communication. Her MBA in Organizational Development and BA in Communication provide foundational theory. While her extensive experience as an OD practitioner and coach brings practical application. Cora has provided leadership teams insights to the human element for over 25 years. You can contact Cora Lonning at treasurer@icfsa.org Dr. Kerri Burchill is President of North Star Coaching, a leadership development company that specializes in helping leaders slow down to go fast and achieve ambitious goals through coaching, leadership training and team development. While Kerri is an entrepreneur now, she didn’t start off that way. Her career began as a middle school teacher, then administrator, next professor, followed by director of organizational development and finally to her work now as speaker, coach, consultant and facilitator. Along that journey, she has spent 15 years in university, with master’s degrees in education and in Human Resource Management, plus a PhD in educational leadership. Kerri entertains audiences with stories from her experiences living in three countries and her insights working with a variety of leaders and industries. You can contact Kerri Burchill at professionaldevelopment@icfsa.org |
Pepper Wilson Director of Membership Engagement 
Amber Christensen Secretary | Pepper has 15+ years of experience in leading a learning organization for a Fortune 100 company. She partners with executive leaders interested in making a leadership transition, or those experiencing a leadership challenge. She believes: -To educate is to empower. -People want to do and be their best. -Coaching is a transformational process. Pepper maintains a fierce focus on her family and friends. You will find her cheering in the stands at basketball and volleyball games or catching her guilty pleasure TV show, Moonshine Masters. She’s currently working on honing her coaching skills and working toward her coaching certification. You can contact Pepper Wilson at membership@icfsa.org Amber Christensen is the founder of Be Growable Coaching. She holds a Master's degree in Family and Human Development, earned in 2002. With a background in Marriage and Family Therapy, Amber spent two decades working as a business partner and executive assistant in a financial planning firm. Observing agents in the financial planning world struggle to develop their businesses, she developed a keen interest in executive and professional coaching. In July 2024, Amber completed her ICF Level 2 Executive and Professional Coaching Program at the University of Texas at Dallas and is set to receive her Certified Neuro Transformational Coach (CNTC) certification by October 2024. Amber considers it a privilege to collaborate with clients, helping them discover new insights, build on their strengths, and flourish in their personal and professional growth. You can contact Amber Christensen at secretary@icfsa.org |
Cathryn Baker, CPC Director of Marketing and Outreach |
Cathryn Baker is a seasoned leader and entrepreneur with a career spanning over 35 years in the staffing industry. Cathryn co-founded two successful Texas-based staffing companies and served on the board of the Texas Association of Staffing. She had several roles during her board tenure, including President. Today, Cathryn is the co-founder of Avanzara’, a coaching and consulting firm that empowers businesses and individuals to reach their full potential. Drawing upon her extensive business knowledge and leadership experience, Cathryn guides clients towards achieving their goals, enhancing their team dynamics, and optimizing their business acceleration. Cathryn holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Minnesota. She is pursuing a Certified Professional Coach certification through iPEC’s ICF accredited program and is a certified Energy Leadership Index (ELI) Master Practitioner. She is also a certified Predictive Index Master Analyst. She currently lives with her husband on a ranch in the Texas Hill Country. You can reach Cathryn Baker at marketing@icfsa.org |
Bruce Wayne Harrison, PCC Director of Partnerships | Bruce Wayne Harrison - Transformational Coach & Business Leader With over 20 years of dedicated service in the Air Force, Bruce Wayne Harrison has empowered thousands of military members and their families through top-down leadership and coaching. His journey continued in corporate HR roles at Tampa International Airport and Amazon, where he cultivated talent and drove organizational success. He also excelled in a small company, supporting TSA contracts across multiple airports as Director of Operations, showcasing his ability to deliver results in high-pressure environments. Now, as a passionate coach and owner of his own real estate brokerage, Bruce is committed to helping individuals and teams unlock their potential and achieve their dreams. Join him on a transformative journey where barriers are broken, and a future of endless possibilities is built. You can reach Bruce at partnership@icfsa.org |
