Testimonials

"I have had several coaching sessions with Ms. Fitzsimmons since the beginning of the Aspiring Leader Program (ALP). Each session, Ms. Fitzsimmons was knowledgeable and organized. We built on my career goals, leadership style, and interview skills. We did an exercise on knowing myself better and being aware of how I react to difficult situations. We discussed ways to better manage my reactions during stressful events. She also helped me to see ways that I could better communicate with my team.

Since beginning ALP and coaching with Ms. Fitzsimmons, I have been promoted to a supervisory position. I credit her coaching to helping me achieve this goal. Her guidance was key to becoming a better interviewee, and it has continued to help me as a new supervisor. Her coaching was critical to my recent success, and I am very appreciative of the help that she has provided me."

Government Client

"Dr. Fitzsimmons, 

I want to express a very heartfelt "thank you" for taking the time to meet with me for coaching, and offering your service to the Aspiring Leader Program. My sessions with you have been undoubtedly one of the most valuable aspects of the program for me. You have truly helped me to recognize certain strengths within myself, and have better enabled me to affect positive change around me, regardless of the environments in which I find myself. You have facilitated a better understanding and application of the concepts to which I have been introduced over the course of the last 7months. For all of this, I am extremely grateful."

Thank you, Government Client

"My decision to work with Theodora arose from a certain restlessness - a desire to more fully explore my personal and professional potential. As a highly educated woman with an established career, I felt as though I was channeling my energy into too many diverse tracts subsequently diminishing my efforts and outcomes. As a result of Theodora's coaching, I have been able to clarify what is most important to me and have begun to concretely and holistically craft a life that gives prominence to those priorities.

Theodora has a distinct ability to guide rather than lead - she asks tough questions, knows the right tools, and provides a safe space that allows her clients to tease out alternate possibilities. She is able to listen and discern both the context and the underlying subtext in a way that provided me a fresh perspective and helped to quickly hone in on areas where the real work needed to take place.

As a woman, it is inspiring to have such a confident, competent and calm female presence help me draw my own blueprint. It's amazing how she was able to push (albeit not in any particular pre-determined direction) and motivate me to push myself. I deeply appreciate her insistence on a whole-life approach, idealistic but realistic goal setting, and her willingness to work within the confines of my scattered schedule. 

I trust that while my experience was unique, it was representative of her passion for coaching and her commitment to her clients' success."

--Kelly W

"Theodora completely changed my perception of myself. I came to her hoping she could coach me to talk less, pace my statements, and listen more. I'm very vocal, a trait I had long written off as a character flaw. She listened and applied her exceptional critical thinking skills to determine the root cause and identify the stress those "rants" put on my body. Theodora was extremely patient as she guided me through my own internal process of acceptance and modification. She showed me that the behavior tended to breach my control and cause me embarrassment when I reacted to circumstances that conflicted with my core purpose, which she also helped me identify. She helped me see that, when harnessed, my voice could be a catalyst for change. I'd never thought of my fault as an asset before! She showed me that this is a valuable leadership quality, though I'm still letting that idea sink in as I've never considered myself a leader in the past. She also helped me strategize which situations are best met with silence or minimal explanation.

Change is a continual process, and I'm not there yet, but Theodora gave me an awareness of myself that helped initiate and illuminate my metamorphosis. She helped me see what I'd deemed a flaw as a virtue, when leveraged appropriately. She helped me uncover my purpose--which I know always guided my actions and reactions by the familiarity of it once it was in black and white--but she forced me to put words to it. Doing that not only helped me understand my behavior, but also prompted us to strategize about ways I could better meet that purpose in the future. Thanks to Theodora, I not only have better self-awareness and understanding but I also have better self-acceptance and a strategy for how to fulfill my purpose in the future--and that's priceless!"

--Felicia K