ICF New Jersey Coach Connect - April 2025 
Transforming our Chapter's Future Together
Hi there ICF New Jersey Family,
Reflecting on our March 18th Town Hall afternoon and evening meetings, I left inspired and energized by your participation, input and interests. If you couldn’t attend, don’t worry, below is a snapshot of what you missed. We covered significant updates on our strategic plan, membership, professional development initiatives, volunteer opportunities, moving forward, and more. Here are a few highlights:
We emphasized how important our 2025-2027 Strategic Plan is in guiding our chapter's future over the next few years. The four main areas that frame our efforts are:
Governance and Operations; Engagement; Credentialing; Technology
These strategic areas of focus will guide every single thing that we do and the implementation of it. Whether it’s improving processes, enhancing our member experiences, or growing our technology capabilities, your involvement makes a difference.
Many of you asked about how the DEIB Committee differs from our Community Groups. The Community Groups offer monthly opportunities to explore compelling topics relevant to our coaching practices. Examples are strategies to grow your business, recognizing and overcoming biases or exploring innovative coaching techniques in neuroscience, life, career and leadership. These groups offer an inclusive, accessible way to engage on topics that drive you to attend because it fits into your schedule.
A committee is more behind the scenes contributions in planning, organizing and driving initiatives for the chapter and its members. Examples are professional development events, technology enhancements, building awareness through strategic partnerships, auditing our processes or creating new ones, grounded through inclusion and engagement. We understand it could be daunting to join a committee without knowing the commitment level. We welcome you to make a connection, “kick the tires,” or be a “fly on the wall” at a committee meeting as a guest. Community Groups and committees offer valuable platforms for connection and growth, each with distinct purposes and opportunities.
Speaking of connection, the Member Engagement committee connects everybody to everything. With Lisa Chenofsky Singer and Dorisse Shakir-Ullah as the committee’s Co-Directors, Member Engagement efforts are all about being a bridge between members, one another, and the board. Members are invited to host in-person Coffee with Coaches in their town with Lisa and Dorisse's support. There’s also virtual Coffee with Coaches and Fishbowl Coaching. Their upcoming Open-Mic sessions begin in April. These activities are based on your feedback. Your voice matters, keep your suggestions coming.
Member Spotlight
Member Engagement is shining a spotlight on our incredible coaches and their stories, opening opportunity to get curious about our members. Our goal is to share stories and insights to build connections and inspire engagement. Click here or on the image below to find out more about Doreen.
IDEAS Matter
I was thirteen years old, on my way home from school, carrying a load of books. I attended a religious all-girls high school. I looked nerdy with my brown tweed coat and glasses. I was just a block away from school, when I suddenly felt a slimy gel running down my hair, my eyes, my glasses and my coat. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a group of older teenagers laughing hysterically. They had thrown a bunch of raw eggs at my face. I wasn’t naïve. I knew they threw it at me because I was Jewish, and the adults on the street who saw the whole thing did nothing. Silence. I too was silent. I ran back to school and cleaned myself off in the bathroom. I looked in the mirror and said to myself. I will never be silent again. This is why I accepted the DEIB/IDEAS Director role - to help ICF New Jersey Charter Chapter realize its Diversity Statement: “We are a collaborative community of professional coaches where every member is seen, heard, and respected, and diversity of every kind is welcome.”
In partnership with the IDEAS/DEIB Advisory Committee and the Board, we are making progress in embedding Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Solidarity throughout our chapter. One metric of success we use is that IDEAS is so deeply embedded in our culture, behavior, and opportunities that the DEIB/IDEAS Committee can take on more complex initiatives.
The operating principles and values are the same as the Chapter. We structure our committee into pods to promote distributed leadership and accelerate progress. Today we pull back the curtains. We share with you the priority initiatives and accomplishments of the DEIB/IDEAS Advisory Committee members this quarter, at the individual, organizational and ICF global level.
Moving the Needle: Individual Level
Goal One: Walk the Talk - IDI Individual Assessment
This goal builds on Kelli Kombat’s work from last year to complete a debriefing of all Board and DEIB/IDEAS committee members of the IDI—the Intercultural Development Inventory.
This assessment provides each of us with a snapshot of where we are along the arc of intercultural development and what we can do as individuals to take the next step along the continuum of development.
In the first quarter we all completed our assessments and debriefs. The rationale for this goal is that before we embed IDEAS into the culture, leveling-up our awareness and sensitivity must be our first step. We all learned a great deal about ourselves and are taking individual and collective actions to “walk toward our talk” regarding IDEAS.
ICF at 30!
In recognition of the widespread impact of the ICF community over the past 30 years, ICF set a goal to inspire 30 million hearts and minds this year with the impact of coaching. To support this mission: Follow this link for more details on how you can be part of this celebration!
Credentialing Corner
Come join us for an interactive session where you can learn about the plans to support our members on their credentialing journey and open dialogue to your recommendations for this initiative. Click here to register for the session of your choice.
International Coaching Week (ICW)
Click here to register and to get all the details about each of these ICW events!
ICF Engage
ICF Engage is an exclusive member platform designed to enrich Community of Practice connections. With ICF Engage, coaches can effortlessly connect with like-minded professionals who share their passion. We invite all members to explore this innovative platform, join thought-provoking discussions, and gain invaluable insights to enhance your professional journey. A new Job Board feature allows opportunities to be posted and shared. Learn more about the power of ICF Engage today!
Click here to discover ICF Engage with a guided tour for ICF members.
Stay Connected
Please keep up with all the chapter's exciting events and updates by following us on social media platforms like LinkedIn. Don’t forget to register for upcoming events through the events email to secure your spot.
