Agora Coaching & Training Solutions
Where Better Conversations Happen.
A place where people and organizations gain the clarity needed to move forward.
The Story Behind Agora
Back in 2018, I was preparing to launch my business.
There was just one problem. I had no business name.
I had pages and pages of ideas. Every time I thought I'd found the right one, I'd wake up the next morning convinced I hadn't.
Then a friend asked a question that changed everything.
Not: "What should you call the business?"
But: "What is the spirit of this business?"
The answer had nothing to do with coaching, consulting, or training.
It had everything to do with creating a place.
A place where people could gather, think together, wrestle with important questions, and move forward with greater clarity.
A few days later she sent me a voice message with one word:
Agora.
The name comes from ancient Greece, where the Agora served as a gathering place for conversation, learning, commerce, and community.
The moment I heard it, I knew. Nearly a decade later, that vision still guides everything we do.
Meet Valeyne
For more than 20 years, I've worked in leadership, human resources, operations, sales, and business.
I've led teams, supported leaders, facilitated development programs, and partnered with organizations across seven industries.
I've also spent thousands of hours in conversation with people navigating growth, change, uncertainty, and important decisions.
Over time, I've come to believe something simple:
Many of the challenges we face are not solved by having better answers.
They're solved by creating space for better conversations.
Conversations that help people think more clearly.
See themselves more honestly.
Understand one another more fully.
And move forward with greater confidence and intention.
That's the work I love.
And it's the work I feel honored to do.
What Shapes My Work
Professional training. Lived experience. A deep curiosity about people, leadership, and what helps individuals and organizations move forward.
My work draws from leadership development, coaching, organizational development, strengths-based development, personality theory, trauma-informed practices, somatic approaches, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and adult development.
Selected training and certifications include:
ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC)
Faculty Member, Awaken Coach Institute
Gallup CliftonStrengths® Coach
MBTI Certified Practitioner
Ubuntu Certified Coach
Psychology of Leadership (eCornell)
Coaching the Unconscious Mind Training (Melissa Tiers)
Connect. Restore. Reclaim. Certification (Thomas Hübl & Dr. Richard Schwartz)
Extensive continuing education in Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Ongoing study in trauma-informed and somatic approaches to coaching and leadership development
Beyond The Work
People sometimes assume coaches have everything figured out.
I don't.
I'm still learning. Still growing. Still asking questions.
When I'm not coaching, facilitating, or speaking, you'll usually find me near water with my husband, meditating with my dog, searching for shark teeth, writing, watching a sunset, or having a conversation that goes much deeper than expected.
I'm endlessly curious about people.
What helps them grow.
What gets in their way.
What helps them trust themselves.
And what becomes possible when they do.
Because long before coaching became my profession, curiosity was simply part of who I am.
Start a Conversation
Whether you're navigating a decision, developing leaders, strengthening a team, or exploring what's next, I'd love to learn more.
Most of us never learned to:
Discern and trust the voice of our Inner Leader
Live authentically and with presence in the power of now
Bravely and powerfully live in our truth
Establish boundaries clearly and kindly
Recognize, get curious about and unlearn our social conditioning
Emotionally regulate and feel all of our emotions without self-abandoning
Radically love, accept and trust ourselves
Now, more than ever, we have a unique responsibility and I want us to reclaim our agency to:
Have an unshakable knowing that we are always enough
Feel safe in the embrace of life so we can experience our limitless potential
Lead ourselves and our teams with integrity, values alignment and confidence, without sacrificing our well-being or personal life
Be agents of change for harmful systems of oppression, injustice and inequality
Inspire and encourage other rising leaders on a similar healing journey
My Training
First and foremost, I am both a student and a teacher of Inner Leadership. I cannot and will not claim to be an expert that “has it all figured out”. Instead, I walk alongside others from a place of daily lived experience and acknowledge that my message is my own medicine, too. My approach to Inner Leader work is informed by my own Intuition and experiential wisdom, amplified by extensive training in transformational coaching practices and leadership development programs.
I have worked in 6 industries, led teams of up to 40 people and supported leaders and senior executives to set the strategic direction for organizations of up to 35K people. I've provided leadership development training to over 50 organizations and walked alongside thousands of leaders in their personal and professional growth journey.
Formal Credentials
PCC Credential Holder & PCC Certified Assessor through the International Coaching Federation (ICF)
Quadruple-Certified Professional Coach (CPC) through Awaken Coach Institute (2021), Gallup CliftonStrengths® Coach (2017) and International Coach Academy (2012), Ubuntu Certified Coach (2024).
Senior Faculty Member at Awaken Coach Institute
Psychology in Leadership Certification through eCornell University
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Training Practitioner through CPP
A sampling of some of the tools and resources that inform my approach include:
- The research of and thought leadership from Adam Grant, Brene Brown, Byron Katie, Gallup, Glennon Doyle, Henry Cloud, Kim Chestney, Kristin Neff, Patrick Lencioni, Richard Schwartz at Internal Family Systems, Tara Brach and Thomas Hübl.
- The spiritual teachings of prophets from various world religions along with Eckhart Tolle, Joseph Campbell, Ken Wilber, Megan Watterson and Richard Rohr.
- Assessments grounded in science and research; CliftonStrengths® (formerly known as StrengthsFinder), DiSC, Emotional Intelligence, Enneagram, Gallup Q12 Engagement Survey, Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), The 6 Working Types of Genius and PDI Profilor 360 Feedback.
- Positive Psychology Tools and Resources accessible for the purposes of coaching.
- The coaching, leadership and mentorship from some incredibly gifted teachers I've had along the way; Andrea Leda, Christi Byerly, my first inspiration to become a Coach (the late) Kelly VanReeth, Kristin Fritz and Leon VanderPol to name a select few.
- The exceptional modeling of leadership in the workplace as I've witnessed through countless other leaders that have served as great influencers, role models and teachers across different eras of my work life.
When I was 7, I was stung by over 100 hornets and lived to tell about it. Anaphylactic shock anyone? OUCHH!
I grew up in a rural community in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. I was raised a Pittsburgh Steeler's fan (a National Football League team for those that unfamiliar with American Football). Despite many attempts from some of my in-laws, I have consciously decided to retain this part of my 'cultural conditioning' and I fly my "terrible towel" proudly. 
I am a pilot's wife and first met my husband when working as a Customer Service Agent for US Airways Express. I used to marshal and deice his airplane and we exchanged email addresses. The rest is history!
I may have been a speaker at Ivy league universities, but I do not hold a formal university degree. The school of hard knocks, training mentioned earlier and the journey back home to my Inner Leader have been my ultimate teachers. I used to feel a lot of shame about lacking a degree which contributed to unhealthy cycles of comparison, hustling, people-pleasing, perfectionism and imposter syndrome. The journey to learn how to stand confidently in my inner power is what helps me to rest in my 'enoughness' and proudly own my experience!
I love animals - pretty much all animals, but more specifically, I love to pet my dog, walk my dog, play fetch with my dog and watch cute dog reels on instagram.
I collect sharks teeth - BIG TIME! On beach vacations we have competitions to see who can find the biggest, smallest, sharpest, dullest, etc. Extra bonus points for finding any part of a prehistoric "Megalodon" shark tooth.
I'm a Pisces. I love clear lake water, calm ocean water, warm salt baths, hot jacuzzis, refreshing pools on hot days, drinking more than half my body weight in water each day, deep sea fishing, boating, windsurfing, SUP'ing, snorkeling and floating on water. If you want to join me on vacation, we'll need to incorporate water (and maybe a castle).
From the time I was a little girl, I remember wanting to own a convertible. In 2015, at a time when my stress was at an all time high, I bought "Poni" (pictured). I didn't know it then, but it was just one other way I was trying to stuff my emotions. As you can guess, the dopamine hit was only temporary until I needed something else to feel better. Now that I've learned healthier ways to work with my emotions, I feel pretty fortunate to gallop around town in Poni more freely!
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Based in the Chicago, Illinois area, providing executive coaching, leadership development, team building workshops, and facilitation for leaders and organizations throughout the Chicago suburbs and worldwide