The Shamanic worldview simply matches my own experience with the divine and the spirit world. I spent about 35 years looking hard for something that did. It was a long rocky road that started with Catholicism and took several detours and a long sojourn with atheism. 

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I have been exploring the world of Shamanism since about 2001 when I stumbled over Michael Harner’s book, The Way of the Shaman. Simultaneously, I met Richard Whiteley, the author of The Corporate Shaman who was on the board of The Ken Blanchard Companies, where I worked.  Life got busy with work and family, as it often will, so I had some stops and starts. I got serious in 2014 and did several workshops through The Foundation for Shamanic Studies. In May of 2018, I completed the Foundation’s 3 Year Program of Advanced Initiations in Shamanism and Shamanic Healing with Nan Moss and Elaine Egidio.  I have supplemented my education with travels to Mongolia, and to Nepal to meet with Indigenous Shamans.  My studies have truly only begun, as there is so much to learn, and I imagine that I will always be a student even as I master some aspects of Shamanism.

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I come to my Shamanic Practice not as a traditional healer, as many do, but as a long-time professional coach. I am a Master Certified Coach specializing in leadership and management coaching.  I started a coaching practice in 1989 and was an accidental pioneer of the coaching profession.  I have started one of the first coaching companies, Straightline Coaching, which was devoted to coaching for creative geniuses.  I was a founding advisory board member and teacher for Coach University, a founding board member of the International Coach Federation and started several other coaching companies.  Currently, I run Blanchard Coaching Services for The Ken Blanchard Companies.  We offer comprehensive coaching services on a large scale to companies globally and am on the Board of The Ken Blanchard Companies.  I am a co-author of two books on coaching; Leverage Your Best and Coaching in Organizations. My advice column for well-intended managers, Ask Madeleine, runs every Saturday. I have a Master of Science in NeuroLeadership from the University of Middlesex and am an avid scholar of social neuroscience. 

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I am the parent of four children and live in Poway with my husband and three labs.  We are known on the dusty trails of Poway as The Labrigade as they need a lot of walking and so do I.