Our Team

Meet the Team

Each of our coaches brings a unique set of skills, expertise, and approaches to their practice. They recognize that one size does not fit all and are committed to customizing their approach to meet the specific needs and aspiration of each individual with whom they work.

Dr. Grace Churchill, CEO & Founder

With 30 years of experience as an executive, an entrepreneur and one who has navigated the transition from executive to entrepreneur, Grace has become one of the foremost businesswomen, thought leaders and trusted advisors of our generation. She is known for her unconventional yet highly effective method for creating consensus, excitement, and commitment.

Katie Attard, Head of Business Operations

Katie has worked in Operations her entire career, specializing in working with small to medium size startups and businesses to help them scale and thrive through proven operations frameworks. She works with passionate CEOs and Founders as a Partner to facilitate execution and follow through of projects and tasks to keep the business moving forward.

Trish Petersen, Director Client Experience

Trish is a dedicated professional with extensive experience in fostering goal-focused, nurturing environments. She brings a unique blend of quality service delivery experience, deep curiosity,  and innovative problem solving, all with heart and presence. As a resourceful alchemist, Trish is focused on creating an experience that ensures the continued delight of stakeholders at Grace Churchill and Associates.

Jelena Janzen, Executive Assistant

Jelena is responsible for keeping things organized and streamlined. Having over a decade of experience as an Administrative Professional, Jelena takes pride in being able to utilize her skills in contributing to successful administrative operations at Grace Churchill & Associates.

Tamar Kagan, Coach

Tamar has over fifteen years experience coaching leaders and professionals to move their career or business to the next level. Her extensive experience spans private, non-profit, and public sectors. She believes strongly that coaching is the greatest pathway to wholeness and takes a holistic approach to working with clients.

Emily O’Barr, Coach

Emily is a Personal Development, Leadership, and Somatic Coach who thrives at helping her clients find authentic paths to resilience. Trained as a Massage Therapist/Bodyworker, she uses the mind and the body to assist her clients in building awareness, learning to manage stress, transforming stuck patterns, and creating lasting change. Emily also has extensive training in Nervous System Regulation and Trauma Resolution work.

Valeria Vélez, Coach & Facilitator

Valeria is a Mexican Certified Coach and Consultant dedicated to evoking leadership in individuals, helping them reach their full potential. With a background in Human Resources, she transitioned from a successful ten-year corporate career to pursue her passion for independent coaching. She conducts coaching sessions in both Spanish and English.

Wendy Finlason, Coach & Facilitator

Wendy transitioned from a corporate career to entrepreneurship. She has 25 years of experience in designing and facilitating scaled human capital strategies and initiatives with both start-up and global organizations. Wendy brings strong business acumen, focus, passion and challenge to her clients.

Louise Poisson, Coach & Facilitator

Louise is a Bilingual (French and English) Executive Coach and Trainer with over 30 years of experience working with various individuals, groups and teams. Louise is a creative coach who uses neuroscience, ontology, positive intelligence and other well-researched and established concepts, to accompany leaders facing complex challenges at work.

Sonal Sodha, Coach & Facilitator

Prior to transitioning to executive coaching and facilitating leadership development, Sonal spent over two decades in healthcare as a pharmacist and worked in the pharmaceutical industry in sales, marketing, and corporate strategy. She is known for her wild curiosity and ability to connect quickly with people, and bring clarity to the space. She has an easy-going, yet direct, approach to coaching predicated on trust and authenticity.

Joanna Cotton, Coach & Facilitator

Joanna Cotton has a passion for helping leaders and organizations thrive in an increasingly complex world. Before transitioning into leadership development, she held successive executive positions at multi-national publishing companies, and the world's largest privately held international education company.  She has over 30 years experience developing and leading teams and a proven track record in developing impactful leaders who desire to make a positive difference in their world.

Martha Sales, Coach & Facilitator

Martha has 20 years as a Senior Operations professional, giving her a breadth of knowledge of organizational and interpersonal dynamics, as well as deep insight into the challenges facing leaders and teams. Martha embraces her passion for personal leadership and the desire that everyone aligns passion and purpose in their work. Martha is never idle; she has an enthusiastic curiosity for new learning and experiences. 

Whenever I need clarity about my business model, I go to Grace. She has been my Business Muse for the last 7 years. She has both wisdom and street smarts, compassion and razor sharp analytical abilities and is the best leader that I have ever seen. I would recommend Grace to any business owner or business professional who is looking for a true partner in their journey.”

Author, client development coach, educator