hi, i’m aj!

I’m a queer certified life coach and tarot reader with over a decade of experience in campaigning and facilitation in the social change sector.

I deeply care about changing and disrupting the patterns of burnout that still exist and permeate in these spaces with intuitive strategies that help personal as well as collective and systemic change happen.

TESTIMONIALS

  • Working with AJ has been truly transformational! I started my journey with them due to being in a very high-pressure job which meant I was often in crisis management, firefighting situations on a daily basis. This made it feel almost impossible to tend to myself because I was in an almost constant state of fight/fight/freeze mode. In just 3 months of working with AJ, not only did my response to work change (thanks to boundary setting, practical strategies and shifts of perspective) but my work itself changed, radically within 3 months. I've come out of it wanting more space in my life for things that are not work. This, I think, has been perhaps the most invaluable take away!

    - Hannah

  • The six months I spent coaching with AJ have been the most reflective time of fifteen years of my career. I was standing at a point where every word like work, projects, creative aspirations and being part of feminist movements - all pointed in different directions. I needed someone to help me untangle and re-compose. AJ carved a program to do exactly that and kept it flexible to attend to the need of the moment. They walk their feminist politics in every way and this is evident in their business model that is aware and transgressive of class, race, and borders - and is inspired by models of solidarity and politics of care.

    — Nida

  • AJ is such a wonderful coach! They are incredibly perceptive and compassionate, and it's a real delight to work with them - never feeling judged, always feeling heard.

    — Lesly

  • Within the first session, AJ was capable of targeting some of my recent concerns. They could empathize with my emotions whenever we were entering a more sensitive topic – yet addressing my concerns with stimulating questions. AJ helped me focus on what I needed and wanted for myself during a challenging phase of life. Thank you, AJ!

    — Selene

  • I have so many take-aways! As human rights activists, we usually think collective care is a win-win and sometimes forget about setting boundaries and self-care or the other way around.

    — Eva

more about me and my practice

 

I certified as a Life Coach with the MOE Foundation back in May 2020. The coaching approach I follow is person-centred and integrates tools I have learned across my professional experience as a facilitator and campaigner in the NGO sector. I continuously look for opportunities of further learning, especially in relation to anti-oppression practices, collective care and mental health.

My promise to you:

  • I will hold space for you to talk through your thoughts, with no judgment.

  • I will actively listen and support you in finding the clarity you are looking for

  • You are in charge! I will facilitate the process, but you are the one making decisions.

  • The sessions are not therapy sessions or meant to replace therapy - even though we don’t ignore the past, we focus on the present and the future and on the practical actions you can take.

Some of the values that guide me & my work*

Community and Connection – feeling connected and supported. Identities and their intersection are acknowledged and seen in my spaces.

Compassion and Understanding – we all make mistakes, it’s how we go about them that makes a difference. Compassion, learning and accountability are key parts of this process.

Accessibility and Inclusion – collective needs are considered and responded to. I embrace the social model of disability, and recognise how systemic oppression affects our everyday, including how privilege and power play a part in this.

Open and honest - I encourage and cultivate communication practices that are open and honest, welcoming conflict and disagreement.

Time & Space – I design my sessions and courses to allow for enough time and space to make decisions and reflect.

No spiritual bypassing - the real work is collective liberation, so none of it is “apolitical”. My work and my witchcraft are rooted in anti-colonial, anti-racist, anti-capitalist / anti-oppression values, and I commit to continuously learn what that means in practice.

*Adapted from the Anti-Racist Business Book, Trudi Lebron.

LET’S CHAT

HAVE QUESTIONS OR JUST WANT TO CHAT THROUGH YOUR NEEDS? BOOK A FREE CONSULTATION WITH ME.