As a Thai-American woman married to a Black multiracial man, I often witnessed the impact of systems built to maintain existing power structures. This led me to become a professional social worker so I could be a more effective champion for marginalized identities by expanding the understanding and perspectives of others. I discovered coaching as a social work grad student interning in an employee assistance program and fell in love with it immediately.
My work centers on helping leaders become change agents - not just surviving organizational dynamics but transforming them. I help leaders become antifragile, so that exposure to chaos and uncertainty makes them stronger rather than depleting them. This means learning to lead by design through emotional intelligence, strategic thinking, and strengths awareness rather than defaulting to what's comfortable or expected.
My own experience with limiting self-narratives shapes how I work with clients. I understand what it takes to recognize and move beyond the stories we tell ourselves about our capabilities while also acknowledging the very real systemic barriers—subtle acts of exclusion, double standards, cultures that reward conformity—that contribute to those narratives. I'm particularly attuned to how imposter syndrome functions as a systemic issue that exacerbates normal self-doubt and fails to recognize the impact of bias and exclusion, especially for marginalized identities.
What clients often tell me is that the coaching pushes them beyond their comfort zones while providing genuine support. We work with real workplace scenarios and stress-test strategies using emotional intelligence, Red Team Thinking, and CliftonStrengths. The goal isn't to fit a narrow definition of leadership, but to transform the systems that created those definitions. Whether you have organizational backing or you're driving change within your current sphere of influence, that systemic transformation is what creates genuine inclusion. I help clients identify and dismantle what's limiting them and their organizations, then leverage their strengths in new and unusual ways to create the change they want to see.
Jacqueline Ashley, DSW, PCC
—Dr. Jacqueline Ashley