Diana is a board certified leadership and transformation coach and consultant who helps churches, non-profits and individuals sharpen their vision, strengthen collaboration, solve problems, start new initiatives and build community to reach their full potential. She's also a certified mentor coach, helping other coaches be great.
Diana has coached almost 50 Episcopal and Lutheran clergy, as they became better leaders, found new calls or attained greater work/life balance. She works with churches around the country to successfully grow in vitality and numbers. She's worked with many churches on transition and change, including to a new leader. Diana has been active in progressive Christian ministry for over twenty years, leading retreats, guiding discernment groups, teaching classes and creating new opportunities for adults and children to live fully into their spiritual journey. She is a devout Episcopalian with a love of Taize and other ecumenical movements. She's a level 3 catechist in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Her greatest joy is helping people (and organizations) find where their greatest joy meets the world’s greatest needs. Diana is a trainer for the College of Congregational Development and teaches a Non-profit Leadership Skills series to priests and pastors in the Pacific NW. Diana's non-profit career focused on developing and applying innovative paradigms to improve institutions core to people's lives. She was co-founder and Executive Director of Sound Child Care Solutions, a non-profit which grew from an idea in 2006 to a $3.5 million organization with 120 staff people by 2013. Her consulting practice after leaving her ED job included national, state and local public sector and non-profit clients seeking to improve their institutions, try new things and work together more effectively. At the City of Seattle, she led funding processes; catalyzed systems change; deepened community collaboration and engagement; and developed new policy and program initiatives. A highly successful fundraiser, Diana has raised more than $38 million dollars for the benefit of children, youth, and advocacy causes. At the City of Seattle, on the funder side, she led funding processes which distributed millions of dollars to non-profits in Seattle. She has been actively involved as a community organizer fighting racism in Seattle, co-founding anti-racism groups at schools, churches and workplaces. Diana has a Master's Degree in Public Policy from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, additional training in adult development and mentor coaching and is certified by the International Coaching Federation at the PCC level as a leadership and personal coach.
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Diana's clients say:
"Diana knows when to listen, when to applaud, when to challenge and when to ask that perfect question. She is the person that I sort things with. Diana’s style is disarming, wise and loving. She never forgets that she is a woman of faith first and foremost. I sometimes feel like I’m chatting with a best friend . . . it's that comfortable. At the same time, this woman is a formidable presence that is deeply wise. Coaching is one of the best decisions that I made for my vocation. For me, it is a system of accountability that helps me to be the most present, confident and powerful leader that I can be. I can’t imagine doing the work I do without Diana’s presence as a coach." "It was a delight to work with Diana! I am so thankful for her compassion, her careful listening, and her skillful discernment in complex situations. She helped me clarify my goals and map out a path to address the obstacles in my way. As a result, I am more confident in my vision and more sure-footed in my next steps. In an age of impossibly high expectations and immense distractions, Diana's presence packs a powerful punch. I'm thankful to have her in my corner. " "Diana is a great coach, particularly for parish clergy, because she understands the dynamics of parish ministry intimately. I find the hour I spend with her each month is one of the best time investments I make. Diana is wise in untangling complex congregational dynamics and helping me see a path forward in difficult situations." "I transitioned to Diana from another coach when I began my first time Rector call at a complex, multi-staffed church. She's been instrumental in helping me think through and strategize some major challenges thrown my way. She helped me identify my own behaviors that weren't setting me up for success and offered alternative approaches. Her extroverted nature makes her a great match for me and her enthusiasm for my parish and me and our success has been a real gift to me in my ministry." "I called Diana because I was in the middle of a career crisis. Working with Diana as my coach transformed me. I was able to gain focus, confidence, and tap into creativity I did not know I possessed. The coaching process gave me the structure I needed to figure out what would make me happy, and now I am! Diana was expert at guiding, supporting and challenging me. Being coached, and doing the homework, was the first time I invested in myself. I only wish I had done it sooner!" "Diana's coaching has been key to successful transitions in my work and personal life. With her help, I have more deeply articulated my goals and values, and taken significant measurable steps in constructing my life to be more consistent with my center. Diana brings with her a kind heart, insightful wisdom, a quick laugh, and a deep spiritual side. She is clear in her role and her coaching techniques blend seamlessly in our conversations so as not to seem contrived or artificial. " "As a the rector of a large and very dynamic parish, I have a diverse and ever-changing set of leadership challenges and opportunities. In just a year of working together, I can see clear differences in my working style, greater effectiveness in my ministry, and a greater sense of clarity about how to approach the work ahead of me. Working with Diana provides me with a much-needed, clear, faithful, and wise voice from outside my context. Diana's coaching helps me focus, discern, and tackle the work of leadership in ways that bring greater impact to my ministry and more vitality to the parish I serve. I am grateful for the ways that Diana helps me tap into my authentic self so that I can lead from a grounded place with deeper insight into how I can bring my gifts to bear on the work of ministry." "Diana was a great help to me in my search for a new position. I had been 18 years in the same place, and was I transitioning into a different kind of ministry. She helped me discern and describe my gifts and skills from a rather unusual ministry in a way that made sense to possible employers. She had great editing recommendations for my resume and profile, interview help and negotiation support, all with a prayerful foundation. She is available and supportive, with a warm and inviting style. I enjoyed working with her. And yes, I got a great new job! I highly recommend her coaching services." |
More from Diana's clients . . .
"I found our sessions o very helpful and I still find myself reflecting on and using much of my learning from that time. I am 100% comfortable with highly recommending her services!"
"Her coaching is invaluable to me and helps me be a better leader. She's an Episcopalian who really understands the demands on clergy as well as the challenges and opportunities facing the church."
"I found coaching very helpful towards helping me sort out my priorities and validated certain pathways to achieving my personal (and professional) goals."
"Diana has developed a network of healthy church leaders to help each other out and nurture each other's successes. She is a natural connector and the resources she can pull out of a hat because of who she knows or best practices she has come across are remarkable."
"Diana was instrumental in helping me enhance my potential as a priest within a large church environment. Her leadership coaching is beyond excellent. I highly recommend her!"
"Her technical background in non-profit administration (especially finance, management, contracting, and HR) and implementing Episcopal church ministry (especially child and adult formation, newcomer incorporation, leadership development, and governance) has been particularly helpful to me."
"I really value having a regular time set apart where I can be focused and talk about the real challenges and opportunities of ministry. It is far too easy to "get busy" and lose focus on working on what is really important."
"I worked with Diana for a brief time, but an impactful one. Diana has a compassionate ear, innate wisdom, and the ability to guide her clients to the pathways that lie within themselves which will lead them toward their best selves. She taught me techniques and concepts that I will carry with me to keep walking along the paths I have embarked on. Hint: look up walking labyrinths in your area!"
"Diana is an entrepreneur who dreams up projects and makes them happen. Her strategic thinking helps organizations get past their hurdles and achieve significant outcomes. As a coach, she is an excellent listener and guide, helping you move past your obstacles. Her ground-breaking work in the pre-school sector has earned her national recognition as one of its foremost leaders. She is a world-changer who sees the big picture and how to change structural inequities, most notably in the area of race relations. She is gifted, curious, tenacious and compassionate, a great colleague to have at your side."
"We were fortunate enough to be able to work with Diana Bender on a Early Head Start Federal grant application. Not only was she an excellent writer and editor, she was also highly skilled at reviewing grant requirements, ensuring all components were addressed, and helping us to develop creative program solutions to help strengthen our application. I would highly recommend her for your next project."
"Diana Bender provided invaluable consultation and technical assistance to the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning... as a result of her consultation in early education policy, shared services, and best practices, the department submitted an award-winning application."
"I found our sessions o very helpful and I still find myself reflecting on and using much of my learning from that time. I am 100% comfortable with highly recommending her services!"
"Her coaching is invaluable to me and helps me be a better leader. She's an Episcopalian who really understands the demands on clergy as well as the challenges and opportunities facing the church."
"I found coaching very helpful towards helping me sort out my priorities and validated certain pathways to achieving my personal (and professional) goals."
"Diana has developed a network of healthy church leaders to help each other out and nurture each other's successes. She is a natural connector and the resources she can pull out of a hat because of who she knows or best practices she has come across are remarkable."
"Diana was instrumental in helping me enhance my potential as a priest within a large church environment. Her leadership coaching is beyond excellent. I highly recommend her!"
"Her technical background in non-profit administration (especially finance, management, contracting, and HR) and implementing Episcopal church ministry (especially child and adult formation, newcomer incorporation, leadership development, and governance) has been particularly helpful to me."
"I really value having a regular time set apart where I can be focused and talk about the real challenges and opportunities of ministry. It is far too easy to "get busy" and lose focus on working on what is really important."
"I worked with Diana for a brief time, but an impactful one. Diana has a compassionate ear, innate wisdom, and the ability to guide her clients to the pathways that lie within themselves which will lead them toward their best selves. She taught me techniques and concepts that I will carry with me to keep walking along the paths I have embarked on. Hint: look up walking labyrinths in your area!"
"Diana is an entrepreneur who dreams up projects and makes them happen. Her strategic thinking helps organizations get past their hurdles and achieve significant outcomes. As a coach, she is an excellent listener and guide, helping you move past your obstacles. Her ground-breaking work in the pre-school sector has earned her national recognition as one of its foremost leaders. She is a world-changer who sees the big picture and how to change structural inequities, most notably in the area of race relations. She is gifted, curious, tenacious and compassionate, a great colleague to have at your side."
"We were fortunate enough to be able to work with Diana Bender on a Early Head Start Federal grant application. Not only was she an excellent writer and editor, she was also highly skilled at reviewing grant requirements, ensuring all components were addressed, and helping us to develop creative program solutions to help strengthen our application. I would highly recommend her for your next project."
"Diana Bender provided invaluable consultation and technical assistance to the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning... as a result of her consultation in early education policy, shared services, and best practices, the department submitted an award-winning application."