Centered Leadership
A Cohort Experience Supporting Social Change Leaders in Times of Uncertainty
May to October 2025
“To be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognized need of the human soul.”
-Simone Weil
These are uncertain, concerning, and unprecedented times. The political and funding landscapes are shifting under our feet. We’re re-examining our strategies, goals and vision and our teams are looking to us to set the tone and chart the way forward.
As leaders of organizations working towards change, we need one another more than ever, and we need to resource ourselves.
We may feel overwhelmed, depleted or stuck as we navigate the many needs, challenges and opportunities of the moment and tapping the wisest versions of ourselves is more critical than ever. We need to be centered, resilient and focused.
The Centered Leadership Cohort creates a container of support for you to ground, nourish yourself, and fuel your work during these challenging times. We create space for individual and collective reflection and practice, along with an opportunity to experience the delightful alchemy of an intimate community of fellow changemakers who are, similarly, committed to their own growth and up to big things in this world.
What this program offers
The Centered Leadership Cohort is a space for practice, learning, and development for senior leaders of social change organizations. We offer a combination of 1:1 executive coaching and collective community practice, as well as specific leadership content, frameworks, and practices that leaders can work with to access a greater sense of groundedness, possibility, and clarity. The program includes:
Content + Practices - monthly live virtual 90-min cohort sessions where we learn and reflect together, exploring a range of leadership content and practices. Example topics include having hard conversations, giving and receiving feedback, and building psychological safety, among others.
Executive 1:1 Coaching - monthly hour-long 1:1 executive coaching sessions with a certified integral coach who will meet you exactly where you are, supporting both practical challenges that arise as well as the possibility for deeper development underneath.
Community - a safe, intimate and compassionate container for senior leaders to explore challenges, learn from one another, and build meaningful and lasting relationships with peers.
Resources - the program incorporates leadership tools and frameworks, somatic practices, poetry, reflection prompts and more to support grounding, learning, and growth.
Results you can expect
Find more grace and ease as you lead with impact through the chaos of this current moment.
Develop greater trust in yourself and your leadership.
Experience a sense of power within your sphere of influence.
Get clear on what is yours to do so that you focus where you can have the most impact.
Deepen your sense of well-being, resilience and groundedness.
Find more ease relationally as you navigate challenges.
Build meaningful connections with other leaders facing similar challenges.
The Centered Leadership Program is a fit for you if:
You are a leader of a mission-driven organization in an executive, operational or programmatic role. You may be an Executive Director or part of the Executive Team, Managing Director, Chief of Staff, or Director. (Ask us if you have questions.)
You are keen for additional support in the form of both 1:1 coaching as well as a cohort of support from other leaders.
You can commit approximately 3-4 hours per month to growing your leadership. This includes individual coaching, a live cohort call, and some time in between working with practices and reflection exercises designed to support your growth.
You are open to self-reflection, practice, and evolution.
This program is probably NOT for you if …
You're looking for quick fixes or prefer to stay focused only on tactical approaches to leadership.
You're not ready to explore the connection between your inner world and how you show up as a leader.
You struggle to share honestly and openly in a group setting (in this case, you may want to reach out to us to learn more about individual coaching).
You're navigating severe depression or anxiety and aren't currently working with a licensed mental health professional. (This workshop is a wonderful complement to therapy, but it’s not a replacement for it.)
Program Details
Cost: Participation in the 6-month cohort is offered at $3000. This includes monthly live sessions, monthly executive coaching sessions, and access to all resources. We have some scholarship support available.
Dates: The cohort will meet for 90 minutes monthly, May through October 2025, generally on the third Thursday of the month. Individual 1:1 coaching sessions will be scheduled monthly to fit with your schedule once the program begins.
Cohort: We intend to build an engaged, diverse and intimate cohort of social change leaders. We anticipate the cohort size to be around 10-15 leaders.
Application & Deadline: Please indicate your interest in our Centered Leadership program by filling out our interest form. The deadline is April 30.
Questions: Please reach out with any questions! You can reach us at centeredleadershipcohort@gmail.com. Or schedule 15 minutes to chat with Vanessa or Molly below.
Dates & Times
Our 90 min group sessions will generally take place on the third Thursday of each month, starting May 15, and concluding on October 23.
Each session will be held at 9-10:30am PDT // 12-1:30pm EDT // 5-6:30pm BST // 6-7:30pm CEST
The dates for each sessions are:
May 15
June 26
July 17
August 21
September 18
October 23
About Your Facilitators
Vanessa Pierce
Vanessa is a leadership and life coach, strategy facilitator, trainer, and management consultant with two decades of experience in team building, campaign management, and strategy development.
Most recently, she served as Chief of Staff at the Sunrise Project, where she supported the rapid growth of a global organization across 8 countries while fostering a vibrant organizational culture and impactful programs. Some of her previous work includes advising the Climate Breakthrough Project to help climate leaders design and launch high-risk, high-reward mitigation strategies.
Vanessa is passionate about supporting the inner healing and transformation that is essential in supporting the systemic transformation we are seeking in our social change efforts. She is a Green Corps alumna, a Grinnell College graduate, and received her certification as an Integral Coach from New Ventures West. Vanessa’s Linked In.
Molly Christiansen
Molly is a coach, strategic advisor, facilitator and consultant to mission-driven leaders, teams and organizations. Molly brings 20+ years building, leading and advising growing high-impact organizations.
As the second employee of Living Goods, a global non-profit that strengthens community health systems across Africa, she served in various leadership roles as the organization grew to over $30M in revenue and improved the lives of over 5M people. She has also worked with Think of Us, Fistula Foundation, Acumen, IDEO.org, Vision Spring, and UCSF.
Molly is committed to building a more just future where all people can flourish. Molly is a certified Integral Coach through New Ventures West and holds an MBA and a Masters in Public Health from the University of Michigan and a BA from Brown University. You can learn more on Molly’s website or Molly’s LinkedIn.
Join Us!
Want to learn more before diving in?
Join us for an information session!
Information Session 1:
Thursday, April 17
9:30-10:30 am PT / 12:30 - 1:00 pm ET
Information Session 2:
Thursday April 24th
9:30-10:30 am PT / 12:30 - 1:30 pm ET