Faculty

All of our faculty members are certified integral development coaches, members of the International Coach Federation and actively involved in their ongoing growth and development far beyond their coaching credentials.  They draw upon wide and eclectic backgrounds and interests ranging from poetry and music, philosophy and history, cognitive and somatic sciences, psychology and spirituality organization design and development – and more.  Each has his or her coaching practice as well as working within organizations whether private, public or not for profit.  As a result our students have access to great depth, wisdom, spice, and creativity and benefit from the nurturing and support possible only from dedicated lifelong students who hold themselves to be eternal beginners.

Course Leaders:

Pamela Pritchard, President

My intention here is to provide you a sense of who I am, what matters to me, what I’ve done so far, and what it would be like to work with me.

I live a congruent life. By that I mean who I am professionally and who I am personally are one and the same. It also means that my work is my vocation and that imbues my entire way of being in the world. I attend to what is important to me in ways that permit balance, learning and growth, pleasure, and deep commitment to the practices that support my effectiveness.

I live with a wonderful life partner and his two delightful sons. I have two cats, love to stay fit, do a lot of yoga and snowshoeing, gardening and walking. I currently reside in the heart of Ottawa, Canada but have a special connection to our farmhouse and land in the Quebec Laurentians. I travel a great deal both for work and pleasure and am blessed with a far flung, world wide network of friends, family and colleagues.

With a degree in translation, I am fluent in English and French with advanced intermediate Spanish. For 8 years I worked as a manager and an executive in the private sector in Montreal before completing a Masters in Adult Education at McGill University. From there I began working as facilitator and master trainer for Learning International (now Achieve Global) where I worked with individuals from many Fortune 500 companies before launching my own consulting company – Convivium – in 1995. I look back at what is now over 20 years in practice in leadership and organisation development, and nearly a decade as a professional coach and it’s hard to believe so much time has flown by while I have been enjoying such a fulfilling and wonderful career. I have a thriving coaching practice that involves both individual and group coaching as well as teaching coaching courses. I am now a faculty member of New Ventures West, an International Coach Federation accredited school that has been training professional coaches for over 21 years.

Nationally and internationally I have worked with many clients and organisations on a variety of projects and interventions. I have experience in the public sector organisations and have worked in private sector industries such as health sciences, consumer products, high technology, and transportation. I build strong, loyal and enduring partnerships that support both horizontal and vertical work and enable me to tap into the cultural DNA. This builds the mutual trust and respect so essential for sustainable and productive outcomes.

While I bring a lot of experience and success to the table, central to who I am is my ability to speak truthfully and clearly to individuals and organisations in ways that can be heard. But I don’t leave clients sitting with just a new understanding and no means to respond differently. From there I work skilfully and deeply to elicit appropriate action that strengthens and develops capacity in them and their organisations. Lest this sound terribly heavy, I strive always to do serious work that is wrapped in the collaborative enjoyment and creativity of tackling issues with zest and energy and curiosity.

Perhaps the best description of what embodies my approach comes from the 15th century Italian philosopher and academic Marsilio Ficino: “The convivium is rest from labours, release from cares and nourishment of genius; it is the demonstration of love and splendour, the food of good will, the seasoning of friendship, the leavening of grace and the solace of life… Everything should be seasoned with the salt of genius and illumined by the rays of mind and manners.”

It’s the name of my company, it’s what I do, and it’s who I am.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. Please be in touch if you have any questions or comments. You can learn more about my philosophy and approach to coaching, change and leadership development in the sections Coaching Services and Leadership Development on this site.

Charles Brassard

Who am I … for now? This is both an existential question and a very practical one as I ponder my own sense of identity and purpose at this stage of my life. I have always been fascinated by these kinds of inquiries. This probably comes from the belief that knowing my Self can only happen through knowing the world around me. Not surprisingly, I graduated with a MA in geography, my window to the physical and social world. The impulse to discover, experiment and play came at a young age and still guides my life. I am deeply curious about human beings, how we grow, change and live the life we are given. This curiosity extends to how we live together and how we manage to get things done (or not) within the different systems we inhabit, e.g. our families, organizations, communities.

My current work as a professional integral coach with individual leaders, teams and organizations provides ample opportunity for exploring these issues and for helping people develop ways of being and doing that are more effective and meaningful in their lives. The work I do to design and build programs to meet these needs at all levels of organizations is deeply satisfying. I constantly learn and draw from multitude sources of knowledge, wisdom and the teachers in my life for my inner work and to empower others for their own learning journey. This calling feels true and inspiring as I continue to make my way in the world.

Prior to starting my own coaching and executive development practice nine years ago, I enjoyed the diverse opportunities I had to work as a manager and executive in large private and public sector organizations over a period of eighteen years. I contributed to the development of new policies, programs and regulations in the economic, natural resources, international relations and environmental sectors. I completed my career at the Canadian Centre for Management Development after leading a wonderful team of innovators at the inception of the world class Accelerated Executive Development Program, an initiative to accelerate the development and career advancement of high potential executives in the Public Service of Canada.

I share my life in the Ottawa area with my wife Fiona. My two amazing daughters live in Montreal where one attends university and the other is a high school teacher. I love being with them, the rest of my family and our friends at our home at Lake Lauvignon which provides a constant source of inspiration for work and play and the connection to nature I find so nourishing.