Member since July 2024
I am an experienced speaker who frequently addresses topics such as calming the inner critic, finding your purpose, coaching the "whole person," optimizing healthy work environments, authentic leadership, transformational change, reimagining possibilities, startups and entrepreneurship, hidden disabilities, and women and non-majority populations in business. As the Founder and Owner of Purpose-Filled Solutions and Evolutions LLC, I specialize in business consulting, leadership and mental fitness coaching, and helping individuals and organizations stop sabotaging themselves, (re)discover their purpose, and achieve their vision of success.
I describe myself as a "Solutions Navigator" and servant leader who helps people calm their inner critic and feel seen, heard, and valued as we navigate challenges and opportunities to BEcome their vision of extraordinary for themselves, their teams, and their companies. I have three decades of experience in executive and leadership coaching, training, mentoring, business development, program and project leadership, and implementing civility, inclusion, equity, and diversity (CIED) to foster belonging in the workplace in corporate, nonprofit, and government agency environments, as well as in other aspects of life.
My life purpose is to help others find and live into theirs. I help people feel seen, heard, and valued by helping them interrupt their internal narrative, calm their judgment of "self, others, and circumstances," and "get curious" to achieve outcomes that are right for them. As a "Solutions Navigator" and servant leader, I use coaching, training, and customized consulting services to help people navigate challenges and opportunities to BEcome their vision of extraordinary for themselves, their teams, and their companies.
I have directly assisted over 2,130 leaders, businesses, and companies of all sizes in all stages of growth and provided training and technical assistance to thousands more in government, nonprofit, and corporate (insurance industry) roles. Leaders I work with overcome challenges, identify opportunities and challenge mindsets, implement action plans, achieve goals, and ultimately thrive and scale. They also learn how to attract, hire, and retain talented employees to achieve their visions of success.
I have worked with clients internally and externally who have represented a wide variety of races, ethnicities, genders, beliefs, hidden and visible disabilities, and other diverse and non-majority populations and groups who want to be treated as the individual human beings they are. Almost 50% of my current clients identify as neurodiverse.
A Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coaching Federation (ICF), a certified mental fitness coach with Positive Intelligence® (CPQC), an AI-Powered Certified Coach, and an economic and community development expert who leads with a focus on civility, inclusion, equity, and belonging, I founded Purpose-Filled Solutions & Evolutions®, an Executive Leadership Coaching and Business Consulting firm. I also host 'What the Why?!? With Barbara Anne,” a streaming television talk show that is in its fifth season after converting to a podcast in Season Four ( https://www.youtube.com/@WhatTheWhy-Podcast). Additionally, I serve as Director of Compliance & Engagement for a mission-based, nonprofit lender that makes loans to small businesses, and I have extensive leadership experience in government, nonprofit, and corporate roles.
I have spoken to audiences ranging from 1 to 1,000, with an average of 50-100. That does not include my talk show and podcast experiences. I speak on various topics, ranging from business development and non-dilutive funding (lending), community and economic development, government, and change management to leadership, mental health and mental fitness, treating people as the unique human BEings they are, and overcoming trauma.
My education includes a Master of Science in Executive Leadership, a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (Honors), and an Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts, with a focus on Business Communications. My credentials include (but are not limited to) the International Coaching Federation (ICF) Professional Certified Coach (PCC), Certified Executive Leadership Coach (CELC), and Certified Professional Coach (CPC) in Executive Coaching.
In my "spare time," I co-founded two other companies, participate in multiple professional organizations in leadership and volunteer mentor roles, such as with the Founder Institute (FI), and serve on the boards of four start-up FI graduates. I am a 2nd-degree black belt and a member of the International Okinawa Goju-Ryu Kenshi-Kai Karate Kobudo-Jutsu Association, and I train in other martial arts with family and friends. Lastly, I love singing, spending time with my family, playing with my furry and shell babies, sci-fi and comedies, and spending time reflecting, meditating, learning, and exercising my creative side.
What drives me is my unwavering belief in the power of authentic leadership and the potential within every individual. My overarching vision is to foster a world where every individual feels authentically seen, heard, and valued for the unique, perfectly created or made human BEing they are. I am dedicated to creating civil and inclusive environments where the value of what makes us similar and different is welcomed and acknowledged as essential to success.
One of my most recent and memorable speaking experiences was participating in the Kindness Matters Conference, where I engaged with industry leaders and shared insights on the importance of workplace civility and kindness. The feedback from attendees highlighted how deeply her message resonated, inspiring many to pledge to adopt a more compassionate approach in their professional lives and foster a sense of community.
My favorite personal story is about how I, a partially disabled Black/multiracial woman, rose above seemingly insurmountable challenges to earn my first-degree black belt in traditional Okinawan Karate and a Master of Science in Executive Leadership. Both took place within a year of my 50th birthday, as I transitioned from a role grandfathered in from the Obama Presidential Administration into the first Trump Administration.
My Sensei later told me he had never seen anyone, of any gender, in decades of black-belt tests, repeatedly get up and keep going every time I got knocked down. I replied something along the lines of, "What other choice did I have?" To me, that test was representative of how I've lived my whole life and a perfect example of my superpower—resilience. Even after having to adjust to life with Long Covid/Post Acute Sequelae of Sars Cov-2 (PASC), I have gone on to earn my second-degree black belt, launch and grow my company, co-found two other companies, host a talk show that is turning into a podcast, serve in another full-time leadership role, become a mentor in two programs, and serve on multiple advisory boards. I'm also working on my next karate rank advancement.
I can and have shared stories from the stage and in interviews that include professional stories where I was brought in to change environments and succeeded (and did not, in some instances), how I handled challenges ranging from bias and discrimination to forming diverse and inclusive teams and partnerships that excelled, overseeing training, coaching, and small business lending programs and the many clients who were helped through that, the challenges of fundraising, starting, running and closing a business, and what it was like to work under two very different presidential administrations and being rewarded for performance with unique types of recognition such as getting to go bowling under the White House.
I can and also have shared personal stories about growing up in a multi-racial household, how I survived to adulthood despite choices I sometimes made, being a mixed-race dancer on a country dance team in the 90s, resuming martial arts training in my 40s, raising a child on the autism spectrum, overcoming trauma from sexual assaults, and one physical assault that left me partially disabled, losing my father when I was only seven years old, finding my purpose, my battle with weight issues and hidden disabilities, losing my youngest sister to an overdose, and more.
My journey is guided by a deep-rooted desire to empower others and create meaningful change in business and life. My experiences as a leader and coach have deepened my commitment to fostering authentic, inclusive, and possibilities-oriented leadership in both professional and personal environments. This passion fueled me to start my coaching and consulting firm, where my work is summed up in coaching, training, and guiding others realize their 'why.'
I have overcome work and life challenges I would not wish on anyone else, and they have helped me become who I am today. I was born to parents who were married at a time when it was still illegal in seven states. I was born almost two years after they married, the oldest of five. My dad wanted a son, so after having two daughters in a row, he taught me to do everything he would have taught a boy. One of my siblings, a boy, died shortly after birth. My dad would finally get his son when I was about to turn five, and another daughter just before I turned seven.
My dad died in a car accident weeks after my seventh birthday. My mother was 28 and was widowed with a seven-year-old, five-year-old, two-year-old, and a seven-week-old baby. In many ways, I was her "support partner" and took on many responsibilities that would not be legal for a child of that age to handle. My life was both happy and challenging. I attended a private Christian school on a scholarship for five years until my mom graduated from college, and our scholarship was revoked now that she could "return to work."
After leaving that extreme "bubble," I went to a very large public high school where I mostly excelled academically but struggled to find a place to "fit in" because I was mixed race and was no longer in an environment where I was constantly indoctrinated with varied extreme religious messages. Choir, drama, track (throwing events), and friends helped me realize that being different was a blessing, not a curse. So, I lived into that. Being different, authentic, and honest would eventually become the guiding principles that shape me to this day.
One of my most recent and memorable speaking experiences was participating in the Kindness Matters Conference, where I engaged with industry leaders and shared insights on the importance of workplace civility and kindness. The feedback from attendees highlighted how deeply her message resonated, inspiring many to pledge to adopt a more compassionate approach in their professional lives and foster a sense of community.
My favorite personal story is about how I, a partially disabled Black/multiracial woman, rose above seemingly insurmountable challenges to earn my first-degree black belt in traditional Okinawan Karate and a Master of Science in Executive Leadership. Both took place within a year of my 50th birthday, as I transitioned from a role grandfathered in from the Obama Presidential Administration into the first Trump Administration.
My Sensei later told me he had never seen anyone, of any gender, in decades of black-belt tests, repeatedly get up and keep going every time I got knocked down. I replied something along the lines of, "What other choice did I have?" To me, that test was representative of how I've lived my whole life and a perfect example of my superpower—resilience. Even after having to adjust to life with Long Covid/Post Acute Sequelae of Sars Cov-2 (PASC), I have gone on to earn my second-degree black belt, launch and grow my company, co-found two other companies, host a talk show that is turning into a podcast, serve in another full-time leadership role, become a mentor in two programs, and serve on multiple advisory boards. I'm also working on my next karate rank advancement.
I can and have shared stories from the stage and in interviews that include professional stories where I was brought in to change environments and succeeded (and did not, in some instances), how I handled challenges ranging from bias and discrimination to forming diverse and inclusive teams and partnerships that excelled, overseeing training, coaching, and small business lending programs and the many clients who were helped through that, the challenges of fundraising, starting, running and closing a business, and what it was like to work under two very different presidential administrations and being rewarded for performance with unique types of recognition such as getting to go bowling under the White House.
I can and also have shared personal stories about growing up in a multi-racial household, how I survived to adulthood despite choices I sometimes made, being a mixed-race dancer on a country dance team in the 90s, resuming martial arts training in my 40s, raising a child on the autism spectrum, overcoming trauma from sexual assaults, and one physical assault that left me partially disabled, losing my father when I was only seven years old, finding my purpose, my battle with weight issues and hidden disabilities, losing my youngest sister to an overdose, and more.
My journey is guided by a deep-rooted desire to empower others and create meaningful change in business and life. My experiences as a leader and coach have deepened my commitment to fostering authentic, inclusive, and possibilities-oriented leadership in both professional and personal environments. This passion fueled me to start my coaching and consulting firm, where my work is summed up in coaching, training, and guiding others realize their 'why.'
I have overcome work and life challenges I would not wish on anyone else, and they have helped me become who I am today. I was born to parents who were married at a time when it was still illegal in seven states. I was born almost two years after they married, the oldest of five. My dad wanted a son, so after having two daughters in a row, he taught me to do everything he would have taught a boy. One of my siblings, a boy, died shortly after birth. My dad would finally get his son when I was about to turn five, and another daughter just before I turned seven.
My dad died in a car accident weeks after my seventh birthday. My mother was 28 and was widowed with a seven-year-old, five-year-old, two-year-old, and a seven-week-old baby. In many ways, I was her "support partner" and took on many responsibilities that would not be legal for a child of that age to handle. My life was both happy and challenging. I attended a private Christian school on a scholarship for five years until my mom graduated from college, and our scholarship was revoked now that she could "return to work."
After leaving that extreme "bubble," I went to a very large public high school where I mostly excelled academically but struggled to find a place to "fit in" because I was mixed race and was no longer in an environment where I was constantly indoctrinated with varied extreme religious messages. Choir, drama, track (throwing events), and friends helped me realize that being different was a blessing, not a curse. So, I lived into that. Being different, authentic, and honest would eventually become the guiding principles that shape me to this day.
