Seoul · Manila Wire
The Women Leaders Association, the largest publisher and events organization for women professionals with 43,000 members and more than 130 regional chapters, today announced LauraLynn Jansen, Ph.D., PCC, as the first official Coaching Partner of its Portland chapter, PortlandWomenLeaders.org. The appointment launches the association's new Coaching Partners program in the Portland metro area, giving members direct access to coaches who have been carefully screened for credentials, track record, and client results.
The Coaching Partners program was created to solve a problem the association's members raise constantly: coaching is one of the highest-impact investments a professional woman can make in her career — and one of the hardest to shop for. Coaching titles are unregulated, quality varies enormously, and a leader evaluating coaches on her own has little way to verify who is genuinely proven. Under the new program, the Women Leaders Association does much of that screening on the member's behalf. Every Coaching Partner is vetted for recognized certifications, verifiable experience, and excellent client reviews before being presented to members, so each chapter's professionals can book a consultation with confidence, have a great experience, and keep rising in their careers.
Jansen brings a rare combination of research depth and practical wisdom. An author and innovator in humanizing leadership, she has spent 26 years as a professional Co-Active coach and leadership facilitator, and holds a Ph.D. in leadership and change from Antioch University. At the core of her work is a commitment to dignity - the principle that guided her doctoral research on how humanization occurs, honored with the Academy of Management's 2023 Promising Dissertation Award. A Fetzer scholar and fellow of the International Humanistic Management Association, her research pinpoints a key driver of performance and retention: the question employees and clients are silently asking, "Do you actually see me?" Her real-world experience spans healthcare, nonprofits, private enterprise, and the U.S. Military - including service as a U.S. Air Force Health Education Director, integrative health coaching in hospital cancer programs, and 14 years co-creating and leading a coaching-mentorship program for girls in foster care - and she has spoken, taught, and worked with clients in countries around the world, including her signature keynote, The Power of the Space Between Us: Moving Beyond Autopilot Thinking to Create Human-Centered Interaction. For Portland members, her coaching moves leaders and teams beyond autopilot thinking - strengthening trust, deepening collaboration, and elevating performance - and, as AI reshapes how organizations communicate, keeps them anchored in the human nuance technology cannot replace. Her conviction: efficiency without trust isn't progress - it's a liability.
"In a world where technology is accelerating faster than human connection, the leaders who stand out aren't the ones with the best systems — they're the ones who make people feel seen, valued, and respected," said Jansen. "My research keeps finding the same silent question at the center of performance and retention: Do you actually see me? Coaching is where leaders learn to answer it — shifting from autopilot thinking to intentional leadership, with tools they can use immediately. I'm honored to partner with the Women Leaders Association and to help Portland's women professionals keep rising."
Portland-area members can now view Jansen's full profile, schedule a complimentary 30-minute discovery session - a conversation about what you are seeking from coaching and whether you are a fit - directly through her calendar, or send her a private note through the site, at https://PortlandWomenLeaders.org/coaching.html?coach=LauraLynnJansen
"Plenty of coaches have experience; LauraLynn has evidence," said Lydia Price, 2026 Volunteer Chair of the Women Leaders Association. "A Ph.D. in leadership and change, twenty-six years of coaching practice, and research honored with the Academy of Management's 2023 Promising Dissertation Award — when we vet for credentials, experience, and results, a coach whose methods are backed by award-winning research is exactly what this program was built to deliver to our Portland members."
The Portland launch is part of a national rollout, with the association planning to extend the Coaching Partners program across its network of more than 130 chapters, pairing each city's members with coaches selected for that market.
The Coaching Partners program extends the association's broader mission of giving professional women both the structural transparency and the individual support they need to advance. Research from Pew and others estimates that women still earn roughly 15 percent less than men on average, and most women have little visibility into which employers actually advance women fairly. The Women Leaders Association has invested heavily in closing that information gap: its Glass Ceiling Score project, uses big data to score most major U.S. employers on how fairly they promote women into management and executive roles, and its chapters publish Best Women Employers rankings, compensation studies, and annual Top 50 Women Leaders awards. Coaching Partners adds the complementary, personal dimension: once a member can see the landscape clearly, a proven coach helps her move through it.
About LauraLynn Jansen
LauraLynn Jansen, Ph.D., PCC, is an author, professional coach, leadership innovator, and speaker (LLJansen.com). She holds a Ph.D. in leadership and change from Antioch University, where her doctoral research on how humanization occurs was honored with the Academy of Management's 2023 Promising Dissertation Award, along with an M.A. in Integrative Health Education from the California Institute of Integral Studies and a B.A. from San Francisco State University. An ICF Professional Certified Coach and a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach since 2005, she is a Fetzer scholar, a fellow of the International Humanistic Management Association, and a co-leader of the International Coaching Federation's Kaleidoscope Member Resource Group, part of ICF's DEIB work supporting members across the full spectrum of sexual and gender identities and experiences. Her experience spans healthcare, nonprofits, private enterprise, and the U.S. Military, and she has spoken, taught, and worked with clients internationally. Portland members can schedule a complimentary 30-minute discovery session through her profile above.
About the Women Leaders Association
The Women Leaders Association is a non-profit committed to the development and advancement of women in the corporate arena. With 43,000 members and more than 130 chapters in major cities, it is the largest publisher and events organization serving women professionals, producing conferences, leadership programs, original research, and daily publications for its members. We also celebrate the top 50 business women in each city, publish a Glass Ceiling Score ranking how well most employers advance women, and then recognize the best women's employers in each city from these rankings.
Events Near You: https://WomanLeaders.org/r/
Best Employers Near You: https://WomanLeaders.org/r/GlassCeiling
Media Contact: Women Leaders Association, Service@WomanLeaders.org
Free Portland Women Leaders Resources — available to all women in the Portland metro at no charge:
Media Contact:
Lydia Price
Women Leaders Association
Lydia@WomanLeaders.org
678-427-6771
