About

Hello! Welcome to my site!

Spending 25+ years as a fundraiser and non-profit executive (for more about my career and education, look at my profile on LinkedIn), actively investing in my community and making a difference remains important to me.

thecausecoach was born out of my consulting business and my desire to give non-profits the tools to do the work themselves rather than doing it all for them. In other words, putting the emphasis on coaching.  In recent years, I’ve narrowed my focus to working with non-profits raising money through running, and runners raising money for charity.

I’m am also a runner. In the past 25 years, I have logged over 20,000 miles and completed over 325 races including 52 Half Marathons (1:46:41) and 12 Full Marathons (3:57:51). I’m not the fastest runner. I don’t run every day. I run to stay fit. I run for my mental health.

I started writing The Blog partly as a catharsis following a cancer diagnosis in early 2014 and my first husband’s sudden and tragic death eight months later. Although publicly I saw my purpose as providing helpful information to my consulting clients and followers, what transpired was a journey of self-discovery and transformation.

Putting It All Together

Running was a big part of my recovery in 2014 – both physically and mentally. People have told me how strong I am to have endured all that I did. I’m not stronger than anyone. We all have that same strength within us. I had a means through which I could cope. My training runs are where I took out my anger, where I cried. And where I also felt alive. And where I regained my passion for life.

In the year following my husband’s death, I trained for the Chicago Marathon and raised money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. While this wasn’t my first time doing either, it was perhaps the most meaningful, and an incredible way to focus on something positive and life-affirming, while giving me the opportunity to tell my story. It reconfirmed my commitment to charity running – and increased my desire to help those raising money for their cause.

As a runner, I favor races that raise money for a cause and I have personally raised more than $100,000 for a variety of charities through my own cause-running efforts. I became a Road Runners Club of America Certified Running Coach in 2016. Then I studied to become a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) that same year.  Co-Active meaning being as well as doing.  I don’t just keep you accountable for your goals; together we create meaning in who you are becoming by exploring what’s truly important and motivational.

thecausecoach blog and podcast are about causes, about running, and about how to proceed on this journey called life in the most purposeful way possible. I offer some “how-tos” for charity runners, review races I run, and talk to others having an impact on charity running and the running community in general. Please connect with me. For a list of how and where, see the Connecting page. It’s all free!

All the best,