About Blooming Willow Coaching
Blooming Willow Coaching Institute was founded by Coach Leslie Avant-Brown, a visionary Changemaker with a demonstrated track record of leading transformative initiatives across various roles—as an executive, entrepreneur, community leader, and advocate. Through her own journey of burnout, she discovered that coaching could address the unique struggles faced by Changemakers. In 2012, she launched Blooming Willow Coaching, which has since evolved into Blooming Willow Coaching Institute, an innovative organization blending coaching, healing, transformation, and education.
Crafted for Changemakers, our signature Healing Centered Coaching® empowers individuals through a process of deep pause and reflection, enabling them to realign with their core aspirations. This catalyzes purposeful, growth-oriented action, fostering both transformation and healing. Within a supportive and compassionate environment, we not only nurture aspirations but also thoughtfully challenge them, cultivating the essential empathy, resilience, and strategic insight clients need to truly thrive.
Whether you're seeking personal or professional growth through one-on-one coaching, improving team dynamics with group sessions, or pursuing an International Coaching Federation-accredited certification, Blooming Willow Coaching Institute is your trusted partner on the path to meaningful change.
Hear More About Our Approach on the Video Above….
What is Healing Centered Life Coaching?®
Healing Centered Life Coaching® offers a comprehensive and transformative path for both personal and professional development. Unlike traditional leadership coaching, which often compartmentalizes different aspects of growth, this framework empowers Changemakers to embrace their authentic, multi-faceted selves. Participants are guided to craft impactful, purpose-driven growth goals, deeply rooted in their values and honoring their humanity. This creates a healing-centered foundation from which they develop tailored strategies, effectively navigating towards their envisioned future.
The Healing Centered Coaching Model ®
At the heart of Blooming Willow Coaching lies our signature Healing Centered Coaching® framework—a transformative process that empowers Changemakers to Pause, Ground, Align, and Act with clarity and intention. This meticulously developed model, created by CEO Leslie Avant-Brown, emerged from years of supporting global leaders. Leslie recognized a critical need: to help these dedicated individuals balance their unwavering commitment to others with the essential work of honoring their own humanity and well-being.
This insight led to the creation of a unique sanctuary where Changemakers can cultivate growth and healing as they pursue powerful change. Here, they are guided to Pause, dedicating vital time for self-reflection and restoration; to Ground, achieving clarity on their focus and desired outcomes; to Align, exploring possibilities, seizing opportunities, and devising strategies to navigate challenges; and ultimately, to Act, committing to powerful, sustainable steps that both advance their cause and nurture the Changemaker themselves.
The journey begins with the Pause, a powerful opportunity for Changemakers to step back from the demands of daily life. This intentional moment of stillness allows clients to disengage from external pressures and focus inward. Within a Healing Centered Coaching® session, the Pause creates a safe and supportive space for clients to connect with themselves, fostering self-awareness and prioritizing their own growth and healing. It’s a moment to breathe, reflect, and prepare for meaningful transformation.
In the Ground phase, clients take the lead as the primary experts in their own lives. This phase is dedicated to helping Changemakers define their coaching agenda and articulate their desired outcomes. With the coach’s supportive guidance, clients are encouraged to explore their deeper motivations, gaining clarity about what truly matters to them and what they hope to achieve. This phase lays the foundation for a purposeful and personalized coaching experience.
The Align phase invites clients to explore the possibilities that align with their goals while also identifying potential barriers that could stand in their way. Through this process, Changemakers gain enhanced clarity and confidence as they strategize actionable steps toward their objectives. This phase is about creating alignment between their aspirations and the practical steps needed to achieve them, empowering clients to move forward with purpose and intention.
The final phase, Act, is where the vision becomes reality. Here, Changemakers develop a clear and actionable plan to progress toward their goals. This phase also emphasizes the importance of identifying resources and support systems that will sustain their healing and growth beyond the coaching session. By the end of this phase, clients leave with a roadmap for success and the tools to continue their journey with confidence and resilience.
Benefits of Healing Centered Life Coaching®
Supports Growth
Healing Centered Coaching® Supports Growth by by encouraging clients to set clear goals during each session. This intentional process positions clients as the architects of their own journey, keeping them in control of their growth both during and after coaching. With the support of a Healing Centered Coach, clients learn to tap into their inner resources and strengths to achieve their desired outcomes. This approach not only fosters growth but also builds resilience and boost confidence.
Enhance Clarity
Healing Centered Coaching® Enhances Clarity & Next Steps by fostering a space for deliberate reflection. Through this process, coaches cultivate a safe, supportive environment where clients can deeply explore their thoughts, emotions, and core beliefs. This journey of self-examination leads to a richer understanding of themselves and a clearer perception of what truly matters, ultimately revealing well-defined paths to progress.
Inspires Authentic Leadership & Builds Confidence
Healing-Centered Coaching® Inspires Authentic Leadership & Building Confidence by supporing clients to cultivate self-awareness, resilience, and emotional intelligence. This holistic approach addresses the mind, body, and spirit, fostering a leadership style that harmonizes vulnerability with strength. Through this transformative journey, leaders learn to trust their instincts, motivate their teams, and lead authentically, creating meaningful and lasting impacts.
Catalyzes Healing
Healing Centered Coaching® Catalyzes Healing by empowering clients to recognize the intrinsic link between their healing journey and personal growth. Through our holistic methodology, many clients find an invaluable opportunity to pause, and deeply reflect on their current state of being. This intentional pause enables them to identify areas where healing can catalyze future growth, and to pinpoint the supportive partners, effective strategies, and essential resources needed to nurture their overall well-being.
Improves Decision Making
Healing Centered Coaching® Improves Decision-Making by creating a dedicated space for clients to reflect, brainstorm, and strategize. Through this process, individuals develop greater self-awareness and gain clarity on their values and priorities. This enables them to make choices that are in true alignment with themselves, fostering a sense of empowerment and confidence in their ability to make decisions.
Fosters Accountability
Healing Centered Coaching® Fosters Accountability through a deliberate and collaborative partnership between coach and client. This approach emphasizes setting clear goals, establishing timelines, and implementing structured processes to help clients remain focused and committed to their objectives. With regular check-ins and consistent practices, coaches provide the guidance and encouragement clients need to stay on track, ensuring steady progress toward their goals.
Who we work with…..
Who We Serve
Blooming Willow Coaching is designed for:
Changemakers seeking to create meaningful social impact
Entrepreneurs building purpose-driven businesses
Intrapreneurs driving innovation within organizations
Business Leaders ready to lead with authenticity and purpose
Policy Makers committed to creating positive systemic change
Activists working to transform communities and movements
If you're ready to step into your most authentic, powerful self while creating the impact you're meant to make in the world, Blooming Willow Coaching Institute is here to support your journey.
Meet Our Team
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Leslie Avant-Brown, CEO
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Lorrie Fickas, Adminstrative Coordinator
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Georgia Toland, Operations Director
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Nix Avant-Brown, Client Relationship Executive
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Anisha Desai, ACC
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Oseloka Idigbe, MPA, LLP, CPC
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Stephanie Lowe (Liu), ACC
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Yvonne Rodriguez, Ph.D., CPC
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Shor Salkas, MPH, ACC
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DeShauna West-Anderson, MA, PCC
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Michael Wise, PCC
Meet Our Founder & CEO, Leslie Avant-Brown, MPA, MCC
Meet Blooming Willow Coaching Founder & CEO Leslie Avant Brown
“I have dedicated my life to supporting Changemakers to grow and heal as they design strategies and systems that support liberation. I do this because I know, what we plant today will bloom tomorrow.”
- Leslie Avant Brown, Founder
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Leslie serves as CEO at her firm Blooming Willow Coaching, a culturally relevant Healing Centered Coaching practice that allows her to partner with individuals, organizations, foundations and businesses. Her specialization areas include "all things" coaching including: one-on-one and group coaching, training, and designing sustainable systems that embed a coaching approach. Through her firm, she also runs a program she designed, the highly acclaimed Conductors Coaching Certification Program, an International Coaching Federation Accredited Certification Program geared towards Changemakers committed to serving vulnerable communities with Healing Centered Coaching.
Prior to earning her coaching certification Leslie worked in the nonprofit capacity building sector, supporting work that promoted social justice -- she has a background in leadership development and evaluation. “What brought me to the field of coaching was the idea of supporting deep change while aligning my strengths to support conductors of change.”