Her Story
About Chéri
I started my coaching journey when I was working for the Department of Education, where I was given the privilege of having my own coach and the opportunity to reimagine our coaching program. With my cunning mind, I worked out having a coach of my own so I could speak authentically about the experience, even though coaching was only offered to team leaders, managers, supervisors, and executives at the time, and I was none of the above. When I had my own experience of being coached and tapping into some of the ways of being and thinking that I automatically engaged in, it was fascinating to me how once you pause and someone else asks questions who is totally unbiased and doesn't have any stake in what you decide to do, I had tremendous breakthroughs. That convinced me that coaching was extremely effective and underutilized, and I wanted to make sure that more people, especially people that look like myself who are minorities, had access to a coach. Back in 2000, we weren't as open about mental health and therapy as we are today since COVID, so this was really a way that people could talk and seek support without a negative label. Over 25 years, I've coached way over 5,000 hours across the federal sector, private sector, academia, pharma, tech, and biotech at all levels from CEO and founder to individual contributor. I created the Diva Breakthrough Experience framework for high-achieving, wealth-creating women who are often breadwinners carrying the invisible burden of ensuring their family has medical benefits while still being mommy, wife, daughter, sister, and sometimes caregiver.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Chéri
01What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I meet people where they are, so I'm not cookie cutter at all. I really like to get to know people and get to know the person behind the name. One general thing I tell everybody is to pause and ensure that the most important relationship is the one they need to nurture and cultivate. Beyond their religious and spiritual beliefs, right below that is their relationship with themselves. If that relationship is jacked up, then that's the one that shows up in every other relationship. So I basically ask, how are you doing with taking care of the relationship with yourself? People, and women in particular, are moving so fast and doing so many things. It's just so important to really kind of take stock of where you are, because if you keep blinking, life just passes you by. You can't get that time or those years back. Really just kind of pace yourself and recognize that the 8 well-being domains that include things like your financial fitness, your physical fitness, your mental fitness, your social life, your environment, your physical environment, all the things that impact us, they're all interconnected and interrelated, and so we actually can't segment ourselves.
02What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
My relationship with God is central to my life, and I am a student of the Bible, studying it. Of course, I never practice it perfectly because that is an impossibility since we are imperfect humans. However, I'm always trying to get up. The Bible says you'll fall 7 times, but if you fall 7 times, that means you've gotten up at least 6, right? You just gotta keep putting one foot in front of the other, not judging other people, and really expecting the best from people. People actually show up and surprise you when you have a positive outlook. Now some people will disappoint us at times, but that goes back to imperfection, and we have to have grace and give people grace. I really believe in boundaries for yourself and others, but they're really for your own well-being. We can't control whether someone breaches a boundary we've set for ourselves. We can only control the boundary we set and what we do about it. The 8 well-being domains are all interconnected and interrelated, including financial fitness, physical fitness, mental fitness, social life, and physical environment.
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