CM: When did you complete the Transformative Coaching Essentials program and what are some of the most valuable things you got out of it?
MT: I completed the program just this past month! I came in with decades of leadership and facilitation experience, but this training offered something different. Beyond what I think will be some lifelong friendships with my fellow coaches and the TCE team, I gained dozens of practical tools and embodied practices that help shift beliefs, mindsets, and behaviors. It deepened my presence as a coach — helped me trust silence more, listen with my whole body, and create space for transformation without rushing to fix or solve.
CM: Do you consider yourself a life coach? If no, how would you describe who you are professionally?
MT: Professionally, I describe myself as a consultant and coach, but not in the ‘life coach’ sense most people think of. I bring a unique perspective as a Black woman, mother, grandmother, artist, and organizational leader with an awakened heart. My coaching resonates with people who are not just seeking professional susccess, put personal and spiritual alignment. I understand what it means to carry leadership and caregiving responsibilities in systems not built for people like me — and I hold space for clients navigating those same realities. Launching this business was an act of resistance and resilience. It’s about reclaming my power as a solopreneur on the path toward healing, soveriegnty, and generational legacy.
CM: What would you say to somebody who told you they were thinking about becoming a life coach?
MT: Don’t walk into this thinking it’s just another class or credential. If you really want to become a coach, be prepared to do the same deep work you hope to guide others through. There will be moments the mirror turns on you — when something gets revealed that gets uncomfortable or inconvenient. You might want to look away. But that’s the moment to dig in! That’s the gift.
Also, if you’re uncomfortable being seen, maybe don’t sit in the middle of the circle. Cami had a way of locking eyes with me a lot — partly because of where I sat, but also because she saw what needed to be witnessed. That’s part of the work too: letting yourself be seen, even when it’s hard.
CM: What is one misperception you believe people have about coaches (whether designated “life coach” or something else)?
MT: One big misperception is that coaches are basically strategy partners. Someone to help you prioritize your to-do list or hold you accountable like a productivity buddy. Sure…we can do that. But if that’s all you want, you’re missing the magic. Coaching at its best isn’t about managing tasks. It’s about being seen. Having someone hold a mirror to your patterns, longings, resistance, and your brilliance. Someone who knows how to ask the hard questions and stay with you in the pause, not just push you toward a plan.
That’s especially true for the folks I hold space for. People who are navigating burnout, pressure, and complex identities in systems that don’t always see them clearly. The coaching relationship becomes a space of return: to Self, purpose, and possibility.
CM: What is your coaching specialty?
MT: I work with anyone if it feels like a good fit. But my specialty is coaching Black women and other leaders of color, especially those working in nonprofit, public health, harm reduction, and social justice spaces.
Many of my clients are navigating burnout, boundary fatigue, inherited survival patterns, or the weight of being “the only” in their organizations. My coaching offers space to reconnect, not as a productivity tool, but as a sacred act. I integrate somatic awareness, nervous system work, and mindset practices to help clients build inner trust, interrupt old patterns, and make aligned decisions with more clarity and ease.
This work isn’t about becoming someone new, but more like remembering who you were before the world told you who to be. I recently launched Rooted, a group coaching experience designed specifically for Black women who want to deepen their self-trust, expand their leadership, and cultivate resilience in community. I’m excited to expand this side of my practice and offer more spaces like Rooted for collective growth and transformation.
CM: Are you a full-time coach?
MT: I’m both a coach and a consultant, and I hold each role with intention. Coaching now makes up a significant part of my work, and I’m intentionally pivoting more in that direction. It’s more consistent, more relational, and honestly, I think it will be more sustainable than consulting in this current socio-economic environment. Most of my coaching is through my 1:1 practice and Rooted. But I still do selective consulting with nonprofits and public health agencies, supporting teams through leadership transitions, strategic planning, and capacity building.
The throughline in all of it is transformation. Whether I’m working with an individual or a full leadership team, I’m always aiming to create space for alignment, healing, and change that lasts.
CM: What do you do other than coaching?
MT: Outside of coaching, I’m spending a lot of time learning about AI and how community-based organizations can leverage it to deepen their work and expand their impact.
I also read voraciously, and I have a wildly eclectic taste in music that I share with my son Chris and grandson Malcolm. The grandbaby just took a deep dive into grunge, which has been both hilarious and nostalgic. I’m working on a book inspired by a recent trip to Ghana that reconnected me to ancestral memory and storytelling. And when I have spare time, I love to draw and make clunky little tchotchkes out of clay — the kind of imperfect beauty that just makes my heart happy.
CM: Do you have a website dedicated to your coaching business?
MT: Yes — I do have a dedicated website: www.cadenceconsulting.
community. You’ll find more about my coaching and consulting work there. CM: Do you have social media accounts that you use primarily for your coaching business?
MT: For social media, the best place to connect with me is on LinkedIn where I try to post once a week. Nowadays, I’m pretty ambivalent about social platforms, but you might see me on IG again at some point in the future.
