After working in the corporate world for nearly three decades, I started to wonder, what’s next? A friend suggested I become an executive coach, but I wasn’t convinced … until I read about a program by Mobius Executive Leadership. In that moment, I knew this was what I was meant to do next.

Amid working full-time, leading a non-profit organization, and raising a family, I took the leap. And just 11-months after starting the coaching course, I had become an executive coach, a trauma-informed coach and consultant, and the founder and manager of a coaching business. Acorn Patters Leadership Coaching LLC was born out of the idea that the “best is still yet to come” in our lives if we believe it, hold on to this hope, let ourselves be guided, and be willing to put in the necessary work.

What motivates me to do this work? It’s a combination of things. What I learned:

• during my Jesuit college education, which teaches to the mind, heart, and hands of a students so they can go out into the world in service of others

• the experience at my children’s preschool, where parents were continually asked to consider “what do children really need” and to hone in on their observational skills so they can be more present and less reactive

• how Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) scores, adult development, stress, anxiety, trauma, and burn out can influence individuals, effecting how they show up at work and home

I believe that if we take our inner work seriously to become the best version of ourselves, both personally and professionally, we will not only lift up ourselves, but also those around us, truly influencing generations to come.

It is a privilege to work together with individuals on what is most important to them in their lives. As a pro-bono coach through Grounded Idealist, I have had the honor to coach public servants in transition. And as someone Interested in community building, it is a great joy facilitate Open Stance workshops in my community.

My education and professional experiences also play a significant role in what I bring to coaching.

I received a B.A. in International Language Business from the University of Scranton.

Then for 25+ years I worked with SAP, starting as a technical writer, going on to lead a global team of writers, and recognized as a top performer. For almost a decade after that, I worked as a consultant. Then moving agency side, I was part of the SAP Global Marketing team, working as a project manager, in naming/brand strategy, and was a "voice of the brand" for this 110,000+ employee company.

As a Fulbright scholar, I conducted research and studied environmental business at the University of Freiburg, Germany.

This experience played a fundamental role in co-founding Lexington Zero Waste Collaborative, a local nonprofit in Massachusetts. During my six-year tenure as co-president, I helped build the organization from the ground up, creating the board of directors, developing strategic planning, and implementing programming.