A woman with straight dark hair and wearing a red top, resting her chin on her hand and smiling softly. The background is a light beige with yellow star-like decorations around her.

Deep dive

with me

1:1 coaching that helps creatives go from stuck and confused to actively building a thriving career.

You have my full attention.

join the waitlist

“the BEST invesment you could make”

  • "Melissa’s focus on taking small action steps got me from having writer's block in my childhood bedroom into a coworking space surrounded by community, re-committing to a morning routine, creating writing sprints, and hiring the help I needed to meet my personal love and money goals. It was the best investment I could have made for myself and my projects. We were able to focus on not just my creations but me as the creator also." 

    — Arielle C., TV writer and producer

  • "Melissa has a great intelligence and creative sensibility. She skillfully navigates both self-discovery and direction, helping me to focus deliberately on my inner voice and trust my instincts more deeply. With her guidance, I was able to work much faster than I would have on my own. This experience has been truly transformative”

    -Michele B., designer

  • "I loved working with Melissa! I call her my sage. She helped me to conceptualize my dream of having a solo art show. She guided me through the steps I needed to put in place week by week. I was worried that I was too old to start this new thing! Worried I would embarrass myself and was my art even good enough!? Working with Melissa, I gained confidence, started posting more, sharing more and finally gained just enough 'fuck it' attitude to show my work in real life in my solo show! It's never too late! So grateful for her guidance."

    - Lisa Reardon, artist

  • “Since working with Melissa, my thoughts have shifted from “I never finish anything” to “I can do that.” I use the tools she taught me every day, and I’ve noticed a huge difference in my ability to put myself out there, give myself credit, and see what I am actually capable of accomplishing every day. She helped me see myself in the way that I want to be seen. Her work is transformative – it’s amazing what she can fit into a series of video calls.”

    — Bridget Badore, Photographer

  • “Thank you for not only introducing me to the opportunity itself -- but even moreso helping me find some answers in myself of what values I'm looking for, the ways of working that energize me most, being able to experiment and jump into work itself (vs. application paralysis) and overall trusting myself more through a process that never really ends. ”

    — Nina R., facilitator and brand strategist

  • I hope you are doing well! I just wanted to let you know that I got a new job and I gave notice to my job on Friday - I feel so relieved and grateful. 

    I just wanted to thank you for the work we did together because it was a huge part of my confidence and preparation. Very excited!

    - Maya A., Product Marketing and Musician

  • "Meeting with XXX was, after all, one of your first "homeworks" for me. And it led to a job. Thank you for getting inside my head and helping me speak more confidently about myself throughout this process. Our sessions gave me a much needed confidence boost that helped me go after these opportunities aggressively”

    - Past Client, Journalist

  • A blue speech bubble with a quote about creative ambition and originality.
  • Green speech bubble with white text about managing multiple projects and feeling overwhelmed.
  • A red speech bubble with white text that says: 'My heart aches and my gut yearns to make waves and turn heads in my industry. I know I have the talent to warrant it but I need help playing bigger.'

From confused to confident

Illustration of a smartphone with a red outline, blue dots on the top and bottom edges, and yellow symbols on the screen.

See yourself more clearly

Uncover powerful insights about your unique gifts and how to wield your personal story to support your goals. 

Illustration of a stopwatch with a yellow face, blue outer rim, and black markings, showing the time at 1:16, with a red loop at the top.

Figure out what you (really) want

Cut through your own mental noise and get ruthlessly honest on what’s at the heart of what you want more of.   

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Get into action

Translate your vision for your next work chapter into a clear set of goals and actually start taking action.

Client Spotlights

  • A young woman with curly, dark hair and light brown skin resting her face on her hand, sitting near a window with sunlight. She is wearing a black top and looks directly at the camera with a slight smile.

    Sydney Lowe

    is a creative producer and creative executive working in film, TV, photo and artist programming.

    Read More
  • A man with a beard wearing a yellow cap, white sweatshirt with a unicorn design, and black shorts standing in an art gallery among four mannequins dressed in unique and artistic clothing.

    Edwin Mohney

    is a multifaceted artist working in the worlds of fashion and film. They make clothing and ephemera that celebrate craft, originality, and the power of creativity.

    read more
  • A woman with curly blonde hair, wearing a black turtleneck, smiling, standing outdoors in front of large green leaves.

    Tessa Anais Crespo

    is an artist who works in film, architecture, design and a maker who weaves and welds in multiple textiles and materials.

    Read More
  • A woman sitting at a wooden desk with a coffee mug, closed pink laptop, and art supplies, smiling at the camera in a cozy room with a white wall decorated with notes, calendar, and yarn.

    Pooja Amy Shah, MD

    is an integrative medicine physician who blends the best of Western medical science with Eastern and Earth-based healing practices.

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  • A young woman holding a bright green and orange sign promoting a neighborhood picnic, smiling outdoors at a park.

    Serena Bian

    is a community and movement builder who helps steer the Office of the Surgeon General’s work addressing loneliness and connection, through a systems lens.

    Read more
  • A smiling woman with dreadlocks wearing a colorful patterned shirt, denim overalls, pearl necklace, and gold earrings, standing in front of a textile mural with a tiger and a woman with black hair.

    Bria Dinkins

    is a director and costume designer currently working on wardrobe teams for film and theater productions in NYC.

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  • Nina Rayburn

    is a strategist connecting dots – building new clients & partners around big goals and answering sticky research questions.

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  • A woman with shoulder-length black hair and glasses taking a selfie against a dark gray background.

    Marissa W. Chen

    is an events and hospitality professional in mission-driven, creative fields focusing on client relations, sales and production.

    Read More
  • A woman with long dark hair smiling in front of a stone wall, wearing a white button-up shirt and layered necklaces.

    Shweta Bhatt

    is a storyteller, writer, and community gatherer.

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  • A smiling man in a black jacket and baseball cap holding a professional camera with a mounted microphone, standing against a plain gray background.

    Alex Sherrill

    is a video director and DP at Sherrill Creative.

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  • A young woman with long, styled dreadlocks stands outdoors in front of a colorful, striped building with trees and cars nearby.

    Sarian Sankoh

    a vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and composer.

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  • A woman with wavy brown hair and wearing a black top standing in front of a framed poster displaying numerous black-and-white line drawings of human figures in profile.

    Elaina Morgan

    is a multidisciplinary artist, musician, DJ, and yoga teacher.

    Read More
  • A woman with short hair and sunglasses, wearing a business suit, is sitting on a pink sofa in a cozy cafe or lounge, smiling at the camera.

    Sophia Rabb

    is a writer, instructional designer, and adventurer who is constantly learning more things to teach.

    Read More
  • Black and white photo of a woman with curly hair, smiling, wearing a light-colored sweater and a necklace, against a plain background.

    Malissa Smith

    is a creative director and entrepreneur who runs RARE MEDIUM studio.

    Read More

“Melissa’s coaching style is…”

  • “Melissa has an incredible way of holding space without taking on any of the client’s agency away. I worked with Melissa in the midst of a massive shift in my life, both in my career and my understanding of myself. With compassion and openness, she was able to take the nebulous feelings and ideas I shared and transform them into a pointed focus so I could gently be guided towards actionable steps.”

    — Xenia Viray, artist, writer, healer

  • "Melissa’s coaching style is a seamless blend of professional strategizing and emotional counsel that was incredibly constructive in addressing my existential and basic needs as an aspiring creative professional. It was a total improvement to where my personal artistic life meets the professional world as well as the place where my current occupation transforms into a lifelong calling."

    - Al Veiluva, visual designer

  • “Melissa’s approach prompts you to rethink the structures and walls you have built within your own narrative to re-lay a more coherent and sincere foundation. She brings patience and an acute understanding of the difficulties that the deconstruction process brings, and gracefully shows you the ways and means of finding your own story and how to tell it."

    - Marissa Chen, events and hospitality professional

  • "I came to Melissa initially because there was this gap — between how others saw me and how I viewed myself. Through the sweat and the tears, Melissa has become the first person that I wanted to share good news with, and the first person that I wanted to process bloopers with.

    It’s the best investment in yourself that you could make.

    -Celine K., lawyer

  • "Melissa meets you where you are and offers, suggests, reframes, and surprises as she empowers you to walk your path meaningfully. She is a master of the coaching craft with tools and frameworks to match any and all occasions (or predicaments) and wields empathy, grit and kindness in everything."

    -Robyn , marketing expert and coach

  • “What I love most about Melissa's coaching style is her ability to seamlessly zoom in and out—balancing life's big questions with pragmatic steps to ensure that your intentions and actions remain in harmony. “

    - Ariana Allensworth, artist and design director

why coherence?

FAQs

  • Coaching is a lightly structured conversation where my role is to ask you powerful questions that extract new insights, help you reframe your situation to find new perspective, create accountability where there used to be none, and hand you exercises and tools along the way that are designed to move you into a place of intentional action. 

    Having a good coach is like having a beloved teammate who stimulates, shakes and challenges your brain; holds, repairs, and believes in your heart; values, encourages, and listens to your gut. It’s like having an older sibling whose perspective you respect who calls you on your BS, but also champions you like no other.  

  • I offer 1:1 coaching where I work with clients on a weekly or biweekly for 45 min sessions. Book an intro call to see if we're a good fit.

    From there, we find a regular time to meet and you pay as you go. I meet with clients either weekly or every other week.

  • Once we decide to work together, I will send you a list of questions to learn more about you and your specific coaching goals.

    The first call is called a "Discovery Call" because it's primary purpose is for me to get to know who I am coaching (you!) and to wrap the session feeling really aligned on what your goals are for our time together.

    While I don't move clients through a rigid, cookie cutter process, I do reference the Coherence Framework that I've developed informed by over 2000 coaching hours helping creatives level up in their work.

    It is my job as your coach to orient you within the nine steps of the framework and to pull out specific exercises that fit where you are in your process of creating a compelling work chapter.

  • I largely work with “Creatives” and ‘creative people’. Or at least people who know they want more creative expression in their day-to-day.

    You don’t have to fully identify as an artist or capital “C” creative to work with me. You just know you are someone who doesn't neatly fit into boxes.

    I also work well with coaches, therapists or people in helping professions as I have personal experience that I can apply.

    In the past I have worked with clients in film, fashion, podcasting, music, design, events, fine art and the more hybrid interdisciplinary arts like participatory design, experience design, theater arts, etc.

    But if you don't see your creative medium here, don't be deterred. I am quite open about who I support.

  • While the average coaching engagement is around 10-16 sessions, I am open to meeting for the length of time that maps to your needs. If you know you just need 3-4 clarity sessions or if you feel like you want support over many months during a bigger transition, I only take on clients that I know I can show up for their anticipated time window of wanting coaching support.

  • A coach who focuses on supporting creatives has a sharpened attunement to the specific needs of a creative person: encouragement to express their unique perspective and make and share their creations, a way of translating big ideas onto real space and time, prioritization and not getting distracted from their goals, and ultimately helping them continue to believe that their creativity matters and deserves to be shared and acknowledged.

    A good creative coach can listen and understand your language of how you express your creativity and speak back to you in your language so that you can fully understand how to move your goals forward.

  • Coaching is a financial and time commitment. It’s also the difference between you staying stuck in a painful cycle and finally breaking out and feeling true momentum toward goals that you feel are tailor made for you. It’s a wild concept to put a price tag on that level of impact to your life. I often hear that one session with me was way more impactful that years of therapy. So, yes, I think it’s worth it! But you should read my client testimonials and spotlights to hear it from them.

Join the waitlist

No more Excuses.

 No more Stuck.

More being seen.

More space.

More momentum.

More hell yeah!

No more Excuses.  No more Stuck. More being seen. More space. More momentum. More hell yeah!

“I really needed this experience.”

  • “I now feel brave enough to pursue a career path that I think I’ve always wanted. I feel like I have a new career goal that I’m not only excited about but I also believe is possible.”

    — Christine Inzer, Illustrator and Author

  • "I was stuck in a job that was unfulfilling and in an isolating place, with Melissa’s help, I was able to switch careers, move cities, and develop strategies and skills that have allowed me to take control over my life, labor, and creative practice."

    - Bria D., Costume Designer

  • “Melissa is truly amazing! I have already accomplished so much that I wouldn't have done on my own if I was not pushed to do so!"

    - Steph J., Special Projects Designer

  • “I was growing an existing interior design business and launching a new furniture and lighting design business. I have no idea how the years would have unfolded without her sound guidance.  I have landed on solid ground and am confident and equipped to move forward as a creative, entrepreneur and leader for the next season”

    - Ann Edgerton, Interior Designer

  • “Working with Melissa was a transformative experience. She helped me articulate, re-frame and shape what had felt like disparate parts of my professional (and personal) life into a coherent narrative that I can feel really proud of. I left our time together with a plan to evolve my career to the next level, and, equally important, with the confidence to do so.”

    - Gabriela D., Arts Policy Strategist

Not your average life coach.

Okay but yes - I am certified and experienced.

I trained with the best at the Co-Active Training Institute and have reached PCC status (requiring 500 paid coaching hours). Six years into my business, I have 3K+ client sessions under my belt.

I am built for this.

What do you get when you mix the daughter of a counselor and a restaurant owner? = Me! A coach that provides, as one client put it, “a seamless blend of professional strategizing and emotional counsel” to help enterprising creative types.

I “design think” my way into everything.

Design thinking is an approach to problem-solving and innovation with five stages: empathize, define, prototype, test, iterate. I apply this framework to my client calls as we move from clarification to articulation to experimentation to launch. I have facilitated design thinking workshops and am certified in UX design.

I’m really good with words.

I’m a writer and skilled communicator. I help my clients elevate the way they talk about themselves, sharpening their understanding of their creative style and what’s important to tell.

I like talking money.  

I help my 1:1 clients figure out how to target their income goals, price their work, and get better at talking about money. It makes me incredibly happy when clients tell me that they changed to a better savings account, paid off debt, or successfully booked clients with their new rates.

I cannot help but connect people to new opportunities. 

I have facilitated SO many new professional, business, friendship, and romantic connections (including one married couple!) over my career because I’m naturally connecting people in my ever growing network. Could you be next?

I have been there

I know the ache of knowing I could be living up to some bigger potential and that MY thing was right under my nose but out of reach.

 

I hopped around to a new job every ≈1.2 years in my 20s and was about to give up on ever finding a job that suited me, and then I found coaching and that satisfying *click* when what you’re really good at, love doing, and other people value come together. 

If you haven’t found your thing yet, don’t despair! I’ve seen countless clients arrive to coaching feeling totally overwhelmed and feel relieved that in just a few sessions they have a whole new perspective on what’s possible.

Join the waitlist