Karen Semon

Karen is a professional certified coach (PCC) through the International Coaching Federation, and a Spiritual Director through Sustainable Faith (2009). She brings over 15 years of experience as a Leadership and Executive coach working with corporate, individuals, pastors, and teams. She has a Doctor of Ministry degree from Ashland Theological Seminary (2020), focused on Formational Leadership, and obtained her coaching education at the University of Texas, Dallas in 2007.

Karen’s work has primarily focused on coaching mid and senior level executives, small business owners, and pastors. She has focused on developing leaders, helping them discern career direction, transition to the next level as a leader, learn to communicate more effectively, build effective teams, develop stronger interpersonal skills, build their emotional intelligence, and more effectively manage conflict. Although Karen’s background has focused on leaders, she has blessed many as a good spiritual listening partner for people with challenging marriages, step-parenting, childhood wounding, and deep loneliness. A significant part of her weekly work presently consists of leading people through the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius and offering spiritual direction and inner healing prayer.

Through her work as an executive coach Karen has witnessed leaders desiring to improve their leadership skills. Karen has discovered that under the surface lies the various other challenges that interfere with leadership. It could be a wound from childhood, such as abuse, shame, or a lack of a clearly formed identity in their spiritual core. Many times leaders hide their past emotional wounds, and it comes out as aggression, poor interpersonal skills, extreme competition, or a strong lack of trust, to name a few complicating factors. The challenge is that people are complex, and exploration of both their spiritual and emotional health may be required. Karen believes in the integration of Formational Prayer, Spiritual Direction and Coaching to help people incorporate their spiritual path into their life and work journey.