Shelly Bennett, M.A.
United States
English
Organizational Leadership & Change Coach
The most powerful leaders aren't the loudest — they're the ones who know exactly who they are and why they're there.
6+ yr(s)
Coaching Experience
25+ yr(s)
Work Experience
360 Assessment, Business Coaching, Career Coaching +5
Book Session
Reflective Action Conversation
Zoom
60 Minutes
I help leaders name the constraints they've stopped noticing — the roles, dynamics, and patterns quietly shaping their decisions — in a single 60-minute conversation.
A Reflective Action Conversation is the...
Bio
Shelly Bennett is a certified leadership coach and IDI® Qualified Administrator who helps leaders step into who they're becoming. Her emancipatory coaching approach has guided teams across nonprofit and hospitality settings toward clarity, confidence, and change.
The RESET Coach Model™: See Clearly. Lead Differently.
The RESET Coach Model™: See Clearly. Lead Differently.
Where will you begin?
Every real shift starts before the plan does — in the pause where you finally ask yourself the question you've been avoiding.
What is your story, and are you ready to tell it?
Somewhere along the way, you picked up a version of your own narrative that isn't fully yours. This is where you find out which parts to keep.
What behaviors shape how you lead?
Not the highlight reel — the habits underneath it. The ones running the show when no one's watching, including you.
Who are you beyond your title, out in the world?
Strip away the role, the org chart, the introduction you give at conferences. What's left is what you're actually leading with.
Where will your growth take you?
Not a five-year plan. A direction — one you can trust enough to move on, and adjust as you go.
This is the work. One phase at a time, in an order that builds. If any of these questions stopped you for a second longer than the rest, that's worth a conversation.
My Focus Areas include
CommunicationCultureLeadershipManaging PeoplePersonal EffectivenessTeam
My clients work in departments such as
AdministrationFinanceHuman ResourcesInformation TechnologyLearning & DevelopmentOperations
I have worked with clients at the following levels
BoardC SuiteDirectorPresidentLeaderEmerging LeaderTeam ManagerManager
My clients work in the following industries
Education / AcademiaEntertainmentExecutiveHealth Care - GeneralLegalNot for ProfitSportsA/VLive Events
Client Testimonials
“Thank you for helping bring a laser-like focus to my needs for defining space for my creativity.”
Julie B.
"Shelly is really good at what she does. I have learned so much about myself. The tools she has provided me I will continue to use even after our sessions are done."
Danielle J.
Julie B.
"Shelly is really good at what she does. I have learned so much about myself. The tools she has provided me I will continue to use even after our sessions are done."
Danielle J.
Professional Experience
Shelly designs the architecture underneath experiences that work — sessions, programs, and leadership development that hold up in the room, not just on paper.
She holds an MA in Organizational Innovation and Change from Benerd College, University of the Pacific, where her graduate research centered on the RESET Coach Model™, her original framework for reducing variance in coaching outcomes. She is a Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI®), a certified Interpersonal Leadership Styles (ILS) facilitator through the Stratton Index, and a professional coach trained through UC Davis's ICF-accredited coaching program.
Shelly's work draws on more than twenty years designing and producing learning experiences — from full-scale program architecture to live technical execution — for both nonprofit and for-profit organizations navigating change. Her approach is rooted in emancipatory coaching practice: helping individuals and organizations build the judgment and self-authorship to navigate complexity on their own terms, rather than depending on a facilitator in the room.
She works with clients individually and organizationally, bringing coaching, consulting, facilitation, and data analysis to bear on whatever the work requires.
She holds an MA in Organizational Innovation and Change from Benerd College, University of the Pacific, where her graduate research centered on the RESET Coach Model™, her original framework for reducing variance in coaching outcomes. She is a Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI®), a certified Interpersonal Leadership Styles (ILS) facilitator through the Stratton Index, and a professional coach trained through UC Davis's ICF-accredited coaching program.
Shelly's work draws on more than twenty years designing and producing learning experiences — from full-scale program architecture to live technical execution — for both nonprofit and for-profit organizations navigating change. Her approach is rooted in emancipatory coaching practice: helping individuals and organizations build the judgment and self-authorship to navigate complexity on their own terms, rather than depending on a facilitator in the room.
She works with clients individually and organizationally, bringing coaching, consulting, facilitation, and data analysis to bear on whatever the work requires.
Education
Master of Arts in Leadership, Concentration in Organizational Innovation and Change
University of the Pacific — Fall 2024–July 2026
Developed the skills to lead as an inclusive, transformative change agent.
University of the Pacific — Fall 2024–July 2026
Developed the skills to lead as an inclusive, transformative change agent.
Professional Coaching for Life and Work Certificate Program
University of California, Davis — June 2023
Applied toward ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC) accreditation, in progress.
University of California, Davis — June 2023
Applied toward ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC) accreditation, in progress.
Bachelor of Arts, Radio, Television and Film
San Jose State University — June 1996
Recipient of the John Kerr Award for Outstanding Service.
San Jose State University — June 1996
Recipient of the John Kerr Award for Outstanding Service.
Certification & Accreditation
Professional Coaching for Life and Work Certificate
University of California, Davis — ICF-accredited coaching education program
View credential
University of California, Davis — ICF-accredited coaching education program
View credential
Interpersonal Leadership Styles (ILS)
Certified Facilitator
ACC, International Coaching Federation — in progress
Certified Facilitator
ACC, International Coaching Federation — in progress
Memberships
- International Coaching Federation (ICF)
- Sacramento Charter Chapter, International Coaching Federation
- Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association (AVIXA)
- Berkeley Communicators — UC Berkeley, Office of Strategic Communications