By Caroline Ouwerkerk, TechChange Impact Coach

After five years as a certified coach, facilitator, and community builder, I’m delighted to be a part of TechChange’s newest Talent initiative: Impact Coach. This incredible offering pairs social impact professionals with leadership and career coaches to help them discover their goals, plan for difficult transitions, and achieve their full potential. Impact Coach is the only coaching platform specifically designed for purpose-driven leaders in global development, climate change, philanthropy, and non-profit work.

But I’m not here to toot my own horn. I wanted to share a profile of just three of our amazing coaches, each of whom embody the wealth of experience, expertise, and can-do-it-ness needed to get you to the next level in your social impact career. 

Mercy Githanji

Areas of Expertise: Global Development; Food Insecurity; Social Enterprise; Children and Youth; Non-profits

When Mercy Githanji resigned from her plush banking job without a back-up plan, many people in her life thought she had lost her mind. But she no longer connected with the work, and wanted to find a new job that aligned with her passions. She “sensed people’s judgmental states, and even felt isolated with no one to turn to for support.” Since then, Mercy has served in leadership roles in development and events management, and become a certified coach to ensure that no one has to feel like she did when she ventured out on her own. 

Mercy says that she “aims to to listen, support, and validate anyone’s decision to pursue their dreams. I never want anyone to feel alone or unsupported if I can help it.” The British-educated Kenyan native runs her own consulting and coaching practice, and is an expert in managing difficult transitions such as returning from abroad. She assists clients in coping with and overcoming fears, indecisiveness, and doubts associated with these periods of change.

If you’re reading this blog, I’m willing to bet that it’s because you’re considering coaching. Take it from Mercy: “Coaching is truly transformative, a gift you give to yourself. Have you ever wondered why even the most accomplished athletes rely on coaches? A coach challenges you, motivates you, and instills a belief in yourself that says, ‘I can do this!’”

Caroline Korda Poole 

Areas of Expertise: Global Development; Food Insecurity; Social Enterprise; Children and Youth; Non-profits

Caroline Korda Pool has the blend of technical skills, job search know-how, and empathy that, taken together, provide a powerful, solution-oriented container for working with coaching clients. She’s worked in global development, nonprofits, elite universities, and consulting firms–with all sorts of people–so she understands the social impact of the job market broadly, and delights in coming up with new ideas and resources for clients to take after every meeting. 

Caroline has even consulted for her alma mater, the prestigious University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she did both her Bachelor’s and Masters in Public Health, and nearby Duke University, helping their graduates find their way in the rapidly evolving job market. Whether it’s finding a job after school, returning to paid work, or a transition into social impact from other fields, it’s her goal to make every client “feel truly seen and heard, as well as empowered with tools and information to move forward with confidence in the career search.”

A talented public speaker who often does career-building webinars for Devex and other development platforms, Caroline says that the best advice she’s ever received is NOT to give advice. She shared: “I really believe that each of us has our own best answers for ourselves within our own hearts and minds. Part of my coaching practice is built around giving clients tools to look within and to trust themselves for what they know to be true.” 

Radhika Bhatt

Areas of Expertise: Climate Change; Tech for Good; Social Enterprise; Education; Non-Profit

Radhika Bhatt is a climate career coach with a decade of experience in the social impact industry, a generalist with a wide-ranging skill set including design, program management, systems thinking, coaching, and recruiting. She is a self-proclaimed “serial career changer” who’s hopped from Fortune 500 companies, to start-ups, to nonprofits and government agencies– all of which has given her the lived experience of navigating multiple career changes across different industries. 

Radhika has coached career changers on how to effectively tell their career stories to employers, network strategically, ace interviews, and land impactful jobs in the climate and social impact industries. She’s previously partnered with climate organizations like Terra.do, Climate People, and Earth Advisors to help 300+ climate jobseekers craft effective job search strategies and find opportunities in a tough job market and delights in working with people from traditional career paths who are yearning to do something different. 

When I asked Radhika what she would say to someone who was considering coaching, but wasn’t sure about making the jump, she shared: “A simple question to ask yourself is this: am I ready to invest in myself? If you are, then your coach can help you find solutions that are in line with your strengths, your goals for yourself, and help you find pathways you haven’t yet thought of or explored. Or, maybe you’re still thinking through your goals or challenges, and you need direction or accountability–that’s also something a coach can help you with. But, you must first take the brave action of stepping into yourself – whether that is time, money, or action. Coaches, mentors, and opportunities can support you the rest of the way.” 

If you’ve made it this far, I hope you too make the decision to give yourself– or a professional you care about– the investment of a professional social impact coach. Don’t just take it from me! Caitlin Loehr, who recently worked with Caroline Korda Poole (featured above), said that coaching “helped me to arrive at answers to the questions swirling in my mind about my career path and how to achieve my goals…I felt like I had a much more strategic approach to the application process for several jobs– including the one I recently landed at Cadmus!”

Learn more about Impact Coach’s cost-effective offerings for social impact professionals and teams at www.impactcoach.com.