ABOUT

Welcome!

You’re here because you aspire to elevate your leadership, team, culture, and agency to new heights, and it would be my privilege to assist you.

Driven by a passion for learning and in my pursuit of answers, I have spent the past two decades mentoring emerging and seasoned leaders across California and in more than 20 countries, helping them realize positive and sustainable change. I’ve also been deeply engrossed in the pursuit of building high-performing teams to address our most significant social and environmental issues.

In 2017, I founded this small business dedicated to teaching what I’ve learned, and continue to learn. Since the launch, I have assisted government leaders—from top-level executives to front-line supervisors—in reaching their goals.

With master’s and PhD degrees from UC Davis, and experience consulting with international governments and United Nations agencies, I bring an extensively rich background and an engaging, diverse perspective to life and leadership.

Professional Highlights

  • 15+ years of consultancy, specializing in serving government agencies

  • 20 years in leadership roles, including:

    -   Founder & CEO, Leadership Coaching & Training (Sacramento)

    -   Executive Director, UC Collaboration Center (Davis)

    -   Senior Consultant, International Association for Facilitation & Change (Mexico)

    - Member, US Delegation to the UN Human Rights Council (Switzerland)

  • Master’s and PhD research on team leadership, participation, and outcomes

  • Certified conflict coach, 360° assessor, and professional facilitator

Clients’ experience working with me

  • “Tara’s guidance has been truly transformational, strengthening my leadership by helping me become more a present, responsive, and balanced person. She is insightful, strategic, constructive and always honest. It’s not an exaggeration to say that my career and life are now different, and much improved, thanks to Tara.”

    Wade Crowfoot, Secretary, CA Natural Resources Agency

  • "Tara’s honest feedback and practical, action-oriented style helped me make immediate progress on evolving my approach to solving problems more centered on my values— lessons I have taken even outside of the workplace. My time with Tara was a life-changing gift.”

    Courtney Prideaux Smith, Principal Deputy Executive Officer, CARB

  • “Tara listens to her clients, hones in on the key spoken and unspoken issues, and offers an array of practical, easily implemented tools to address the root causes. Because of my work with Tara, I have experienced a profound shift in how I manage my time, how I support my team, and the way I feel about and approach challenges.”

    Pete Skala, Director, CPUC Energy Division

  • "After a few sessions with Tara, I feel more confident in myself as a leader because she identified strengths that I wasn’t aware I had, recognized ways I'd been holding myself back, and provided concrete strategies to continuously increase my self-awareness to maximize my impact."

    Melanie Wallace, Deputy Director, CA Conservation Corps

  • "Best investment you can make! Tara taught me lifelong lessons that will help guide me throughout my career."

    Hazel Miranda, Chief of Staff, CARB

  • “Tara’s adaptability to work with different people and personalities and her breadth of knowledge, experience, feedback provided and deliverables were outstanding and unparalleled as evident from comments provided by the team and my own experience. It was a truly life changing experience and has made me a better public servant.”

    Amrith Gunasekara, Former Executive Science Advisor, CDFA

  • “Tara is incredibly gifted as a coach and trainer. She is warm, intuitive, and insightful. She understood me and my needs immediately. And within a few sessions, Tara helped me to be aware of and address the thoughts and beliefs holding me back professionally and personally.”

    Andrea Nelson, Manager, San Francisco’s Mayor’s Office

  • “Tara identified some areas where—what I thought was happening—was not what was actually happening. I found that insightful, and it has colored the way I look at work situations since. Her approach is the most useful for me, largely because she provides insights that I wouldn't otherwise get.”

    Todd Sax, Former Deputy Director, DTSC

  • “Tara's sessions were well organized, well researched and customized to my goals. Tara's format allowed me to study the material in my own time, and we were able to dedicate time to play-act situations that compelled me to work through those uncomfortable conversations we all face sometimes.”

    Geetika Joshi, Manager, CDFA

Do you want to build your confidence? Communication skills? A stronger team? And have a more balanced, fulfilling work life?

Whatever your leadership goals, I’m here to support you.