Witch Stuff
Resourced
Coaching
Bank on Yourself
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I have limited availability for 1:1 creative, career, and personal coaching.
Visit resourcedcoaching.com for details.
Energy coaching requires a touch of sorcery and a lot of practical magic.
In addition to my professional writing, I spent the past fifteen years working as an educator and documentary film producer. In both roles, I found myself working intuitively as a coach and a guide. That’s when I realized that guiding someone on their journey (a.k.a seriously good witchery) is one of my passions—and my gifts.
I like to think it’s because not only do I see the best in creators, I bring out the best in them.
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As a film professor at Northwestern University in Qatar (NUQ), one of my students was nominated for a Student Oscar, and another had his documentary purchased by Al Jazeera. NUQ undergrads that I mentored went on to USC, UCLA, and NYU film schools.
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However, my coaching success extends to my professional career as well.
The most important work I do as a producer is helping directors through adversity, obstacles, and doubt. I take that job seriously, and as a result, the projects I’ve produced have been award-nominated and nationally distributed, creating a launch pad for the directors.
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None of this is by accident, coincidence, or luck. It happened because I know how to take people to the next level in their creative lives and careers.
Teaching Experience
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Northwestern University in Qatar
Lecturer in Communications
In 2010, I was recruited to join the faculty at NUQ. During my six-year tenure, I taught Cinematography, Directing, Script to Screen, and special topics courses.
I traveled to three countries with my students and founded and ran the school’s largest extracurricular organization, a filmmaking group called Studio 20Q.
While at NUQ, my classes were filled to capacity and had long waitlists. But my proudest accomplishment was forming lifelong friendships with my students, who are now my peers and colleagues.
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Wolcott College Prep
Media & Theatre Instructor
Wolcott is a private high school for students with learning differences. While there, I taught Theatre and Media, redeveloping my classes to accommodate diverse learners.
I also revamped the media program’s equipment and curriculum, including using grant funds to create media kits that were properly outfitted and accessible.
I still enjoy lasting relationships with my Wolcott students, who have gone on to collegiate careers.
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Arts Education
Classroom Instruction & Curriculum Development
For the past twenty years, I have served numerous organizations that educate unique student populations including female filmmakers from West Asia, BIPOCs who have fallen victim to the school-to-prison pipeline, people with learning differences, and artists with physical disabilities.
These experiences strengthened and diversified my teaching methods. I’m always stretching myself to work with new students, adapt to new classrooms, and reimagine my curriculum.
Drawing out a creator’s best work means stretching them past their limits in a way that is affirming.
This is why I focus on strength-based coaching. My goal is to challenge a creator to improve their work while also increasing their confidence.
One way I did this in my classroom was by giving students ample opportunity to revise their assignments before receiving a final grade.
The emphasis on ‘process’ over ‘product’ demonstrates that good work results from revision and reflection, not innate talent or IQ.
I bring this ethos into my coaching practice and my classroom.
Publications on Teaching
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How Failure in the Classroom is More Instructive Than Success
Some of America’s most dynamic innovators of the past two decades experienced routine failure. Unfortunately, because traditional academic settings often penalize failure and discourage risk, many of those innovators had to leave college to achieve their goals.
From a young age, students quickly discover that “knowing the right answer is far more important than asking a thoughtful question.”
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How You Can Help the Genius in the Classroom
Teaching a gifted student is an act of humility. Some of my brightest students fall asleep in class, rarely heed my advice, and still produce stunning work.
If I ever encounter a true prodigy, perhaps I might convince myself that I am responsible for stoking the fires of her nascent talents. I might puff up my chest and purport that she needs my tutelage in order to advance. But the most talented students can also be the most challenging to teach, and the least in need of mentorship.