type animation
Neuroinclusion is more than a program.
It's a leadership skill.
If you lead HR, People & Culture, or DEI, or you’re an executive where these decisions eventually arrive, you already believe neurodiversity matters.
However…
What you need is for your leaders to know what to do about it, in a one-on-one, in a hiring decision, at the moment an employee chooses to disclose.
And right now, most of them don't.
The usual next step is to book a training session. A lunch and learn. A neurodiversity workshop.
For a moment, it feels like progress. Something's on the calendar. People showed up. The box is ticked.
HERE’S THE PROBLEM
A workshop hands your leaders information. It doesn't hand them a new way of demonstrating neuroinclusion.
Three weeks later, they're leading exactly the way they did before, not because they're resistant, but because no one gave them anything they could actually use on Monday morning.
Awareness was never the problem.
The problem is the gap between knowing neurodiversity matters and knowing what to do when someone is sitting across the table from you.
And how do we do this?
Neuroinclusive leadership isn't a program a group of leaders complete.
It's a capability that’s built, through practice, feedback, and time.
In my 11+ years as an HR leader with both work and lived experience in equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility, I have seen the impacts of neurodiversity being disregarded in the workplace.
At 42, I experienced two strokes and was diagnosed with Fibromuscular Dysplasia. This affected the language centre of my brain and completely changed my relationship with work. I'd been a high-achiever my whole career: 80-hour weeks, constant momentum, always chasing the next promotion. When I returned to work, I no longer recognized myself in the systems I'd spent years operating in.
That cracked something open. I started paying attention, in a way I never had before, to how profoundly the structure of a workplace can support or undermine a person depending on how their brain works.
I bring over a decade of HR and DEI leadership across public, private, and non-profit organizations to my work. I know what it's like to be the person in the room balancing the organization's needs with an employee's; to have the budget conversation, to write the policy, to feel the limits of good intentions. I also know what it's like to be the employee whose needs don't fit the mould. That experience, on both sides of the table, is what makes this different from most neuroinclusion consulting you will find.
This is supported by my education and training. I hold a Certificate in Organizational Coaching from UBC (ICF Level 2), a Coaching Neurodiversity at Work certification through PersonaGrata Consulting, a Post-Degree Diploma in HR Management and Leadership. I’ve held my CPHR designation since 2020, I'm a member of the ICF BC Charter Chapter and am pursuing accreditation through the EMCC.
Past Organizational Clients
TESTIMONIAL
“I thought this would be a waste of time.”
To be honest, I didn’t expect to gain as much as I did from the coaching sessions with Jackie.
Each conversation left me feeling incredibly motivated and excited. Her guidance and insightful questions enabled me to address my long-standing issues around setting boundaries. Within just a few weeks of our chat, I was no longer scared to have the difficult conversations I had been avoiding for 20 years.
As a result, I am now consistently reinforcing my boundaries with my boss and peers. I no longer dread work and overall feel so much happier.
— D.C.
-
My approach to coaching is focused on you, the client. My role is to coach you, rather than coaching your issue, situation or problem you're bringing to our conversation. My coaching style includes a somatic approach, recognizing the value in both mind and body, emotional and physical.
This allows us to co-create a conversation that gives you the agency to make the change you're seeking. Based on your level of readiness, we will explore your social identities that make up your lived experiences and how you view yourself within those experiences. I will invite you to identify any assumptions or judgements you may be bringing and together, we will explore what it would feel like to let those go in service of you and the destination you're seeking.
-
Formal Education:
Certificate in Organizational Coaching (ICF, Level 2) University of British Columbia
Human Resources Management & Leadership, Camosun College
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Visual Arts Major, University of British Columbia
Ongoing Learning & Development:
Coaching Neurodiversity in the Workplace, PersonaGrata Consulting
Autism and Neurodiversity in the Workplace, University of British Columbia
Mental Health First Aid, Opening Minds Mental Health Commission of Canada
Strategic Talent Acquisition Certificate, Human Capital Institute
Introduction to Project Management, Peter B. Gustavson School of Business, Executive Programs
-
I am grateful to lean on my 11+ years of HR, leadership, mentoring and coaching experience with focuses in organizational development, employee engagement and recognition, and diversity, equity and inclusion.
Having been an employee and leader, I understand:
Common roadblocks employees face
Difficulties in determining next steps in your career path
The intersection of life and work, and a desire to find a balance
How limiting beliefs can impact how you show up
The path of exploring what leadership means to you
How different leadership approaches impact engagement and trust
How companies approach organizational business decisions, and how those resonate with employees
Work and Lived Experiences in Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility:
I have supported two organizations (500-1100 employees) to launch and implement their EDI journeys
I have coached employees and leaders through difficult EDI conversations
Recognizing new elements of my acquired, neurodivergent brain and my invisible disability
I recognize my privilege and am on my own learning journey to raise voices of marginalized folks around me through my work, volunteering and mentorship
See my LinkedIn Profile for more details.
Accreditation + memberships
Member and Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR)
Member - International Coaching Federation (ICF)
Prosci Certified Change Practitioner
Member - EMCC Global
-
Neurodiversity Foundations
For organizations beginning the conversation on neurodiversity
-
The Neuroinclusive Leader ©
For organizations wanting to build neuroinclusive leadership through practice, feedback, and time
-
1:1 Coaching
For neurodivergent professionals seeking career support
Neurodiversity Foundations
For organizations beginning the conversation on neurodiversity
Virtual. 90 minutes to 2 hours.
This introductory session is designed to bring your leaders together to build a shared understanding of what neuroinclusion at work actually means.
And, it isn’t designed to solve everything in one sitting; it can’t.
Its job is to invite consideration where the gaps could be in your organization and open the path toward the deeper development work, creating what’s possible when leaders share that common base.
Built to be delivered to leadership, ERGs or entire organizations.
Sets the stage for a common language: core data, stats we know, and definitions.
Practical tools that can be woven into anyone’s day-to-day work tomorrow.
Resources to explore afterwards.
Designed with difference in mind: allowances for pacing, processing, and accessibility around sensory needs to prevent cognitive overload.
After this session, organizations who choose to deepen their commitment can progress into The Neuroinclusive Leader ©.
Download my services guide to find more details.
The Neuroinclusive Leader ©
For organizations wanting to build neuroinclusive leadership as a practical
Virtual/In-Person/Combination. Eight sessions over eight months.
Neuroinclusion at work is more than a program leaders attend, and The Neuroinclusive Leader © is designed to reflect that. Organizations can progress here after completing the Neurodiversity Foundations session, or start here if this aligns with where your organization is at.
Built for leaders and people managers of all levels to go through together, because neuroinclusive leadership doesn’t exist in a silo, and definitely not just with HR.
Meeting monthly over 8 months, your leaders learn, share and practice as a cohort with practical tools to take away and real time for application between sessions.
The arc moves through three phases: from leading self (examining your own defaults and assumptions), leading others (the practical, day-to-day skills), to leading the system (decisions that either reinforce neuroinclusion or quietly undermine it).
All of these sessions are designed with difference in mind with allowances for pacing, processing, and accessibility around sensory needs to prevent cognitive overload.
Download my services guide to find more details.
1:1 Coaching
For neurodivergent professionals seeking career support
Virtual, confidential sessions.
If you’re feeling stuck in your career, being asked to show up in ways that don’t work for your brain, and making a big change feels overwhelming while staying where you are feels diminishing, this is for you.
You may be one of the most capable people on your team and quietly running on empty. You don’t complain, you figure things out on your own because asking for what you need has never felt safe enough to try.
Underneath all of it, you’re doing a second job alongside the actual one: managing sensory input, translating communication that doesn’t land the way it was meant to, holding it together well enough that nobody notices.
Our work together is about putting that energy somewhere better. We’ll get clear on how your brain actually works, what you need to show up as your best self, and how to navigate the world of work with more confidence and less cost.
These sessions are designed with difference in mind with allowances for pacing, processing, and accessibility around sensory needs to prevent cognitive overload.
Download my services guide to find more details.
TESTIMONIAL
“In this group program,
we filtered out the noise together.”
“Jackie created a safe space for us to reflect on our career paths and share where we currently stand. It was reassuring to realize I wasn’t the only one grappling with one of life’s biggest questions: What do I do next? Together, we worked to filter out the noise and find a sense of calm.
I’m grateful for this extraordinary opportunity to work with someone so kind and knowledgeable. While I may not have all the answers yet, these group sessions have given me the confidence to move forward and shape the next chapter of my career with intention and care.”
— Jen
-
Step 1: VIRTUAL CONSULTATION
When you’re ready, we will hop on a 30-min call to evaluate whether we are a good fit for one another. I will send you a contract and payment procedures to confirm our work together. When payment is received, you will choose your coaching dates/times that work best for your schedule.
-
Step 2: VIRTUAL COACHING SESSIONS BEGIN
In each session, I will ask curious questions to help you arrive at your own personal conclusion that align with your values. Bring your whole self, including tears, frustration, confusion, and more. You are in a safe space.
-
Step 3: PERSONAL ALIGNMENT MAP
During this journey, we will identify what I call your Personal Alignment Map. This includes clarity on your values, vision, and goals and will serve as our North Star during our discussions and later, a guide you can refer back to when our sessions are concluded.
js-hero-timeline
-
Step 1: VIRTUAL CONSULTATION
VIRTUAL CONSULTATION
When you’re ready, we will hop on a 30-min call to evaluate whether we are a good fit for one another. I will send you a contract and payment procedures to confirm our work together. When payment is received, you will choose your coaching dates/times that work best for your schedule.
-
Step 2: VIRTUAL COACHING SESSIONS BEGIN
VIRTUAL COACHING SESSIONS BEGIN
In each session, I will ask curious questions to help you arrive at your own personal conclusion that align with your values. Bring your whole self, including tears, frustration, confusion, and more. You are in a safe space.
-
Step 3: PERSONAL ALIGNMENT MAP
PERSONAL ALIGNMENT MAP
During this journey, we will identify what I call your Personal Alignment Map. This includes clarity on your values, vision, and goals and will serve as our North Star during our discussions and later, a guide you can refer back to when our sessions are concluded.
-
My work with organizations can be offered virtually, in person or a mix. For individual coaching sessions, I work in a virtual space over Zoom.
-
My individual coaching caters to those who wish to delve deeper into themselves to discover solutions aligned with their personal values and strengths. My coaching style is suited for anyone seeking to address underlying frustrations, resistance, and apprehensions about significant decisions, or those simply looking to proactively shape their path with purposeful intent.
-
Mentors, often experts in their respective fields, aim to assist individuals who are newer in their career towards achieving success, achieving success by sharing their own career journey, successes they had, and areas for growth.
In contrast, professional coaching as outlined by the International Coaching Federation and the program I was train under, adheres to standards and ethics. Further, “Coaching is a transformative journey where you discover your true potential. What is coaching all about? Imagine driving on a road you’ve never traveled before. You’re in the driver’s seat, in control of the destination, but beside you is a trusted navigator — your coach — helping you see new possibilities, find alternate routes, and ensure you don’t lose focus. This partnership empowers you to unlock answers you already have within, while also challenging you to go further than you imagined”. (1)
(1) Understanding Professional Coaching. https://coachingfederation.org/get-coaching/coaching-for-me/what-is-coaching/
-
Yes! My approach to coaching is customized to honor your brain, your pace, and your process. Design for neurodiversity and Your path, your pace are two values Coaching That Belongs carries. We don’t just accommodate difference, we build with it in mind and we meet you where you are, not where a program says you should be.
I’m also able to offer you my own lived experience as someone who had a “neurotypical” until age 42, when I experienced two strokes that impacted the language portion of my brain. From that experience, I acquired my neurodivergence, which makes up part of my identity today.
In addition to my lived experiences, I continually look to grow my own learning and professional development around neurodiversity to support my clients, including courses such as Autism and Neurodiversity in the Workplace provided by UBC, and a certification in Coaching Neurodiversity at Work instructed by Deborah Shukyn-Plageman, M.Ed., PCC, ESIA, EIA, CCDP.
-
Coaching That Belongs offers 1:1 coaching for individuals and engaging neuroinclusion leadership development programs for organizations.
If you are looking to book me as a speaker for your event, please visit my speaking page here: https://www.coachingthatbelongs.com/speaking
-
While there is sometimes confusion between coaching, mentorship and therapy, these are each distinct from each other; I’m not a therapist or a counsellor. If these are services you you need, please reach out and I can connect you with a number of providers in my network.
Frequently Asked Questions
Browse the Shop
Have access to resources, at your fingertips. Instantly available, immediately practical and fully accessible tools to support you on your neurodiversity journey.
If you want to understand your team, your leader, your self, I would like to welcome you.
Welcome to approaching work in a way that aligns with values, strengths and recognizing that we each have our own best way of working.
You will find belonging here.
After all, this is Coaching that Belongs, and it belongs to...
Organizations who value investing in their leaders
and individual contributorsFolks who have a readiness to explore and grow
Professionals who feel stuck in their jobs but not
sure what next steps to take
It’s coaching that belongs…to you.
If this resonates and you would like to learn more, don’t hesitate to get in touch. It will be an honour to support you.
TESTIMONIAL
“Empowered me to overcome obstacles.”
Having Jacquelin as my coach has been an incredible journey of personal and professional growth. Her insightful guidance and unwavering support have been instrumental in helping me navigate challenges and believe in myself enough to take the chances I need to elevate my personal and organizational growth. Jacquelin's personalized approach, tailored to my unique strengths and goals, has empowered me to overcome obstacles and unlock my full potential. I'm immensely grateful and would highly recommend her to anyone looking to achieve their aspirations and thrive in their professional endeavours.