ICF New Jersey Coach Connect - July 2025 
Mid-Year Check In
Hi Community,
As our membership continues to rise and, with it, our momentum, we celebrate our growth with a mid-year check in. If you missed the June 12 Town Hall, no worries. Below is a snapshot of what we covered:
Feedback in Action: From unique sessions on neurodiversity to our “Coffee with Coaches” gatherings, every offering is shaped by our members. ICF New Jersey is a chapter built by you, for you.
DEIB Embedded in Our Culture: Mindy Gewirtz and the DEIB committee are leading with intention and heart conducting audits, expanding inclusive education, and hosting powerful conversations, like our upcoming webinar - Advancing Cultural Competency in Coaching with Dr. Aikyna Finch, VP of Global DEIB at ICF. More details coming soon.
Opening the Door for New Voices: Patricia “Patti” Lee shared our new inclusive Request for Proposal process, designed to diversify our speaker lineup with members’ voices. Details of the RFP are coming soon.
Strategic Partnerships Going Big: Debbie Godfrey shared the focused outreach being made with NJ chambers, Rutgers, and SHRM to raise awareness of ICF New Jersey and coaching. Moreover, a digital brand audit was completed to help maximize our brand beyond the member community.
Tech for Connection: John De Palm announced the formation of our new Technology Committee. Project managers, creatives, and user testers are welcome! “Improving technology so it’s member-driven and accessible is the aim.”
Business Series & Coach Development: From LinkedIn mastery to coaching essentials, our Business Series recordings are available! Programming will return in the Fall after taking a “purposeful pause” in July and August.
Board Time & Community Impact: We discussed what it takes to serve on the board or be a volunteer. If you’ve been thinking about stepping up, nominations open soon.
Listen to the recording for all the updates: ICF New Jersey Town Hall - June 2025.
(Check out our updated webinar recordings page for other sessions you may have missed: Webinar Recordings)
Looking Ahead
“We said we were going to do it and we’re doing it.” ICF New Jersey is in motion and your voice drives the chapter’s transformation. With your contribution through Board service, volunteering, mentoring, or where you can fit in, we’ll have a strong second half of 2025! – Kelli
P.S. Don’t forget to register for Coachesgiving at Maggiano’s Little Italy in Bridgewater on Nov. 12 – our flagship annual event.
A Legacy of Coaching: Celebrating 30 Years of ICF
2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the International Coaching Federation. In celebration, we are spotlighting the voices and journeys that reflect the essence of ICF and our vibrant, unique community.
Click here or on the image below to read Val Williams' story.
IDEAS Matter
We continue to explore the relevance to coaching clients, fostering engagement, and how we can embed the values and behavior anchors into our chapter’s culture to create spaces where every member feels seen, heard, respected and diversity of every kind is welcomed. Reflect on how these behaviors and ones that you identify show up in your coaching practice, your conversations, and your leadership.
Explore these common behaviors for the letter E for Equity:
- Understanding and Awareness
- LGBTQ+ terminology and concepts explained.
- Everyone has biases that need examination.
- Current challenges facing LGBTQ+ community, including legal and social issues.
- Coaching Responsibilities
- Creating safe, trusting environments.
- Using inclusive language and visual cues.
- Understanding clients beyond surface level.
- Adapting to client identity and context.
- Impact and Action
- Mental toll of hiding identity affects performance.
- Importance of self-care for coaches.
- Need for continued learning and awareness.
- Focus on coaching rather than changing environments.
We invite you to become part of the transformation! What else would you add to “Bringing IDEAS to Life” for the letter ‘E’?
Your DEIB/IDEAS Advisory Committee:
Tynisha Coleman
Malina Poshtova Delamere
Louis Fioccola
Patricia “Patti” Lee
Linda Leonard
Walter Slade
Dorisse Shakir-Ullah
Ellen Wagner
Global DEIB Event, featuring Jeremy Kestler
See all Global DEIB events, groups, and resources in ICF ENGAGE: https://engage.
To view, login is required.Chapter Programming
🌟Coming in 2026: ICF New Jersey Programming You Won’t Want to Miss! 🌟
We are gearing up for a dynamic year filled with fresh ideas and practical tools to elevate your coaching! Get ready for:
✨ 2026 is going to be a year of learning, connecting, and growing together. Stay tuned!
Credentialing Corner
We're pleased to announce that the Credentialing Resources web page is now live! It offers helpful information to support you throughout your credentialing journey. If you have additional resources, updates, or suggestions to share, please email them to Joyce Heckman, Director of Credentialing at [email protected].
The page can be accessed at https://icf-nj.org/ICF_Credentialing_Resources.
Announcements
The ripple effect of kindness across New Jersey and beyond continues. You’re invited to join the Summer #Kindness Challenge. It’s simple:
Click here for a PDF TAG! YOU’RE IT! card for convenience to document the RAK.
With science to back it up and community spirit to fuel it, Kathleen Cashman-Walter reminds us that one random act of kindness provides eight hours of energy to both the giver and receiver!
ICF Global set a goal to inspire 30 million hearts and minds this year with the impact of coaching. Member Engagement would love to share your story to celebrate you and ICF’s 30th anniversary! Email [email protected] to get started.
NJThrivesVEE Community Hub is a dynamic, integrated, virtual regional asset that will highlight all business and economic development resources offered to entrepreneurs, small businesses, economic, and community development entities in the NJ region.
