ICF Past Presidents

Kay Cannon, MCC
United States

Year of Presidency: 2007
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Pam Richarde, MCC
United States

Coaching Specialty: Executive, Personal, Spiritual
Year joined ICF: First year of inception
Why you joined: It was the next logical step on developing the profession.
Year(s) involved with the Board of Directors: 2007 (Past President); 2005 (President-Elect); 2004 (Vice President); 2003 (Director); 1998-2001 (Various Committees)
Greatest Accomplishments as President-Elect: Interviewing, researching and recommendation to hire new management company (Host).
Greatest Accomplishments as President: Further facilitating global connections.
Greatest Accomplishments as Past President: Continuing as an ambassador for coaching and the ICF.
Greatest Lessons Learned: The art of coaching is transforming people, countries and cultures globally.  Leaders you admire: No one person. All those things that inspire evolutionary thinking and exploration, with an eye toward peaceful living on the planet. 
Plans for the future: Doctoral program with emphasis on the way of being - of coaching (contribute to the much needed research on coaching as a discipline).
Words of Wisdom to those who rise to presidency after you: Love the work.
Contact information: Pam@InnerVisionEnterprises.com, or +1.714.996.9911

Steve Mitten, MCC
Canada

• Year of Presidency: 2005
  

Coaching Specialty: Life, Business, Leadership
Year joined ICF: 1997
Why you joined: Because this new profession of coaching needed a strong central body to help support its growth.
Year(s) involved with the Board of Directors: Three years
Greatest Accomplishments as President: Helped raise the bar for greater professionalism by introducing new membership levels, changing hour requirement for ICF Credentials and changing management companies to provide better service to the membership. 
Greatest Lessons Learned: Wisdom is earned by exercising the ability to consistently, and by skillful means, act for the greater good of the greatest number of people—regardless of popular opinion.   
Coaching-Related Awards: 2007 Canadian Coach of the Year
Leaders you admire: Gandhi
Plans for the future: Live, love, learn and share fully.
Words of Wisdom to those who rise to presidency after you: Good luck!
Blog and/ or Web site: www.acoach4u.com

Bobette Reeder, MCC
United States

• Year of Presidency: September 2001- January 2003

Coaching Specialty: Life, Executive, Mentor Coaching
Year joined ICF: 1995
Why you joined: I joined ICF when it was just being started by Thomas Leonard with the intention to support the concept of bringing professional coaches together for learning, growing, sharing and having fun.
Year(s) involved with the Board of Directors: 1996-2006 Board Member; 1996-1998 Chapter Coordinator; 1998-1999 Secretary; 1999-2000 Vice President; 2000-2001 President-Elect; 2001-2003 President (extended term); 2003-2004 Past President; 2004-2006 Conference Co-Chair.
Greatest Accomplishments as President-Elect: Global Conferences (Australia, Europe), founding the Global Forum.
Greatest Accomplishments as President: Enhancing communication with membership through scheduled calls with the president, going out to the membership where they lived, and answering e-mails personally. And in the wake of 9-11, creating opportunities for coaches to communicate with one another and to give back through their service to fellow human beings. 
Greatest Accomplishments as Past President: Still being alive after the presidency; supporting the incoming president and getting out of her way; conference leadership; and bringing historical perspective to current decisions.
Greatest Lessons Learned: Telling the truth is easy; great leadership is an art which requires heart, guts, thick skin and all the love you can muster; there are no coincidences; coaching is on the planet now because it is the absolute right time for this profession to flourish…the world needs coaching now.
Coaching-Related Awards: President’s Award 2002, FRAnkie Award 2003
Leaders you admire: Judi Telesnick, Bill Clinton, Julio Olalla, Paul Newman, Helen Keller and Dr. Paul Pearsal.
Plans for the future: I maintain a coaching practice with high level clients as well as pro-bono clients.  I also am co-producer of “Conversation Among Masters” – a conference for master level coaches. I am a co-founder and President of the Coach Initiative – a nonprofit organization that provides pro bono coaching for those serving others and those who would not have access to coaching any other way. I am a partner in Print Strategies LLC – a dynamic assessment tool and method for coaches. 
Words of Wisdom to those who rise to presidency after you: Maintain your view of the organization and the profession from the perspective of the members and make decisions from that place; and laugh, smile, laugh, giggle, laugh, smile, giggle…and then, don’t forget to laugh!
Blog and/or Web site: www.bobettereeder.com
Contact Information: bobetcoach@aol.com or +1.305-666-7669

Darelyn “DJ” Mitsch, MCC
United States

Year of Presidency: 2001

Coaching Specialty: President of The Pyramid Resource Group, a Coaching Company with 17 Colleagues who focus on Leadership Executive, Top Talent and Corporate Teams, I still coach select executives and their teams.
Year joined ICF: 1995 (Inception) 
Why you joined: I was lonely for professional coaches as colleagues. I was a proponent of the original conversation for synthesis of ethics and standards for the profession. 
Year(s) involved with the Board of Directors: Six (6) Years: Past President, President, President Elect, Conference MC, Chair of Development Task Force in charge of hiring first Management Company, original Executive Summit council liaison, grandfathered as MCC and was part of original certification review team.
Greatest Accomplishments as President-Elect: Interviewed a number of Executive Directors and found first interim Executive Director for the ICF as we moved into organizing ourselves as a professional society, also interviewed select management firms to hire our first with Presidents John Seiffer and Marcia Reynolds. I gave the first President’s Award to Sherry Lowry for her many contributions to the ICF, particularly in the area of credentialing, and started the Spirit of Coaching Award in memory of our Board Member Jennifer White who passed away while on the Board.
Greatest Accomplishments as President: Took the lead in moving beyond the US as an international organization, promoted and supported the first chapters formed outside the US, sponsored the first international conference in Switzerland, met with Eva Wong to open the door to China, and celebrated Japan’s initiation as Country Chapter of the ICF, the sole professional designation there. We hosted the first Board Meeting outside the US. We set up the first office outside the US in Germany, which was later closed as we moved to launch conferences across Europe every two years, and in Australia annually.
Greatest Accomplishments as Past President: Collaborated with thought leaders in the coaching community and set a template, editing “Coaching for Extraordinary Results,” for the American Society for Training and Development. Participated with colleagues from around the globe in creation of an Elders Wisdom Circle, a result of work at the Evolving the Summit work among thought leaders in the profession held in Vancouver early 2006. I continue to participate in Past President Teleconferences to stay abreast of current needs/trends in the ICF.
Greatest Lessons Learned: We speak to the culture before we speak to the person. Coaching in its distinct form is the same conversation in every language and has the same fascinating promise- - the ability to move conversations beyond cultural limitations, creating a new communication among human beings. It is the only conversation that can do this… so the world needs us. Judgment begets judgment. Coaching-Related Awards: The Pinnacle Award for Small Business, given by the City of Raleigh, NC, 2006 and Cary Chamber’s Small Business of the Year Award, 2000.  Leaders you admire: Thomas Leonard, Laura Whitworth in memory and as welcome muses for my continuous creations; The other Past Presidents – only they know the high costs of service required for this position and the amazing benefits of the connections; Mamoru Itoh-san, Eva Wong, Shirley Anderson, Cheryl Richardson, Laura Berman Fortgang, Sandy Vilas, Julio Olalla, Terrie Lupberger and my dearest coaching colleagues who are all master coaches – Marcia Reynolds, Harriett Simon Salinger among them. All can be found at www.pyramidresource.com coaches.
Plans for the future: Two books to be published in 2008, more speeches to large corporate audiences, more work with professional women with a focus of creating conscious leadership and networks of do-gooders who give back to their communities of interests.
Words of Wisdom to those who rise to presidency after you: Participate instead of perform; Get over the need to be liked; A smile is the same in every language; Hold the intention for the next stage of evolution for the profession.

Dr. Marcia Reynolds, MCC
United States

• Year of Presidency: 2000

Coaching Specialty: Executive/Corporate
Year joined ICF: 1996
Why you joined: I am so grateful for being involved with coaching at the time it was emerging as a profession. It was an honor to be a part of the ICF from the beginning, creating the first professional association to give us credibility and a “center” where we could all meet and grow together.
Year(s) involved with the Board of Directors: 4 years – went from board member to president.
Greatest Accomplishments as President-Elect: DJ was our first formal president-elect. The position did not exist before that.
Greatest Accomplishments as President: Brought Executive-Corporate coaching into prominence, on par with Life coaching. I was the first president with corporate experience. Also, I hired the first professional management company for the ICF.
Greatest Accomplishments as Past President: Helped to approve and plan the first European coaching conference.
Greatest Lessons Learned: How to take an organization from being seen as a club to being a professional association; I experienced how difficult it is to be the leader when difficult decisions must be made, ones that many people will not like. Yet, we have to stand strong with our decisions.
Leaders you admire: Julio Olalla for his passion. Zainab Salbi - she is a hero and an angel as well as an amazing leader.
Plans for the future: Having finished my doctorate focusing on women high-achievers, I will be focusing a lot of my work on women in corporations.
Words of Wisdom to those who rise to presidency after you: Call on the people who preceded you. There is a lot of wisdom and perspective among the past leaders and they are willing to help.
Contact Information: Marcia@OutsmartYourBrain.com or +1.602.954.9030

John Seiffer, MCC
United States

• Year of Presidency: 1998

Coaching Specialty: Small Business, Entrepreneurs
Year joined ICF: Founding member
Why you joined: It was a fun group to be part of.
Year(s) involved with the Board of Directors: Part of the founding circle – I don’t know if it was officially a board yet; Treasurer in 1997, Past President 1999.
Greatest Accomplishments as President-Elect: There was no President-Elect position. As president, I was involved in creating that position.
Greatest Accomplishments as President: Guided the organization through the turbulence of being a young, growing organization to develop some structure to support growth. It was at this time the ICF started to move from an all volunteer group to an established organization. Specifically, I helped to re-write the bylaws, and establish a better structure for the Board and officers. Additionally, I hired the first outside executive director and prepared the ICF for hiring the first outside Management Company.
Greatest Lessons Learned: How to be better at organizational politics and keeping everyone feeling involved. I mostly learned this by doing it so poorly.
Coaching-Related Awards: I was in the first group to receive MCC certification.
Plans for the future: Work on ways to support and fund small growing businesses and help founders become better CEOs.
Words of Wisdom to those who rise to presidency after you:
The organization is so different from when I was president: it is much larger, entirely less America-centric, and there are so many more Internal/Corporate coaches that the needs and focus of the ICF are very different. Having said that, people and politics are probably the same. I’d say learn those skills and try to focus on accomplishing only one major goal in moving the organization forward. You’ll probably only have time for one thing in a year.
Blog and/ or Web site: www.TheSmallBusinessCoach.com/blog
Contact Information: john@sbcoach.com or +1.203.775.6676

Cheryl Richardson, MCC
United States

• Year of Presidency: 1996
  

Coaching Specialty: High quality life
Year joined ICF: Founding member
Why you joined: To help create an independent professional association that would legitimize coaching.  
Year(s) involved with the Board of Directors: At the beginning.
Greatest Accomplishments as President: Leading a team who got the organization up and running, who developed the first ICF Web site and who organized the first conference.
Greatest Lessons Learned: You must be willing to rock the boat in order to get important work done.  
Leaders you admire: Thomas Leonard
Words of Wisdom to those who rise to presidency after you: Be willing to rock the boat.
Blog and/or Web site: www.CherylRichardson.com 

Sandy Vilas, MCC
United States

Year of Presidency: January-July 1996

 

 

Coaching Specialty: Small business and coaches
Year joined ICF: Co-founder
Greatest Accomplishments as President-Elect: Working with Thomas Leonard to birth the ICF.
Greatest Lessons Learned: I keep learning them.
Leaders you admire: Thomas Leonard
Plans for the Future: I am semi-retired.
Words of Wisdom to those who rise to the presidency after you: Keep creating value for our membership.
Blog and/ or Web site: www.coachinc.com
Contact Information: Sandy@coachu.com or +1.520.744.4502

Other ICF Past Presidents:

Barbara Walton, MCC
United States

Jeff Raim
United States