Meet our team
Our expert coaches help you focus on your talents and unlock new possibilities as you achieve your personal and professional goals.
Karen R Young, CPEC, MSW
Certified Personal and Executive Coach, Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach
Karen R. Young is an Executive Coach with over 20 years of experience helping leaders strengthen their effectiveness through a strengths-based approach. Her primary focus as a coach is to help others use their power more effectively — recognizing what they already do well, and translating it into clear self-awareness, stronger relationships, and greater impact across their organizations.
She has worked with senior leaders in non-profit, healthcare, housing, finance, higher education, and B-Corp organizations, partnering with them through moments of significant change: new roles, organizational transitions, and the everyday complexity of leading people. A former executive with hands-on experience in both organizational leadership and board/nonprofit governance, Karen brings a practitioner’s understanding of what it actually takes to lead — not just theory — to coaching.
Founder of Karen R Young Consulting, LLC and former VP and Chief Inclusion Officer at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, she earned an MSW from Boston University in a graduate program for leadership in complex, diverse and multicultural systems and is a member of the International Coaching Federation.
Karen is based in Boston.
Mary Grimes Finley, M.Ed.
Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach and Certified Professional Coach
Mary holds an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and Management and a Master of Education. She is the recipient of both the Rosoff Mentor of the Year Award from the Ad Club and the Bob Gatti Mentor of the Year Award from the Northeast Human Resources Association, honoring her long-standing commitment to mentoring, leadership, and developing others.
Mary is known for creating engaging, inclusive environments where people feel empowered to learn, collaborate, and grow. Her coaching style blends empathy with practical insight, helping individuals gain clarity, build confidence, and translate their strengths into meaningful action. Whether working with emerging leaders, executive teams, or organizations navigating change, she focuses on developing people in ways that create lasting impact.
Mary holds an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and Management and a Master of Education. She is the recipient of both the Rosoff Mentor of the Year Award from the Ad Club and the Bob Gatti Mentor of the Year Award from the Northeast Human Resources Association, honoring her long-standing commitment to mentoring, leadership, and developing others.
Tamara Pitts, MBA
Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach
A Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach and former HR executive with deep roots in healthcare and mission-driven organizations, Tamara brings a combination of strategic leadership and people-centered experience to her coaching practice.
She is the founder of TWP Consulting and former Chief Administrative Officer at the Centering Healthcare Institute, where she also served as Interim CEO during a critical leadership transition.
In these roles, she oversaw HR, operations, and finance while leading organization-wide efforts to strengthen leadership, align teams, and stabilize performance during periods of change. She designed and implemented a strengths-based leadership development approach grounded in both data and lived staff experience.
Tamara has held senior leadership roles at the Massachusetts Health Connector and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and holds an MBA in Health Care Administration from Simmons College of Management. She brings firsthand experience leading through complexity, building trust in low-trust environments, and guiding leadership teams from insight to action.
Suzanne Wilkins, MA
Executive Coach
Suzanne Wilkins coaches leaders who are ready to enhance their leadership effectiveness, their confidence, and their careers, especially when that growth requires an internal shift. She guides leaders to name the thoughts or habits they want to shift, to envision a new, more powerful way of showing up, and to plan strategies to get there. This practical approach teaches leaders to continue developing themselves long after coaching has ended.
An executive coach with over twenty-five years of experience in the for-profit, non-profit, and government sectors, Suzanne trained at the CaPP Institute. She is certified to deliver multiple leadership assessment tools, including the Hogan Suite, the x360 Leadership Assessment, Facet5, and the Kantor Institute Structural Dynamics instrument.
She has coached leaders from around the world through Harvard Business School’s Executive Education programs and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan Fellows and Executive MBA programs. Suzanne is the author of “Undiscovered,” a one-act play on a woman’s journey through mid-life. A member of American Mensa, she earned her BA from Princeton University and her MA from Lesley University, with a focus on utilizing tools from the creative arts in the workplace. She is a member of the International Coach Federation and the Institute for Coaching.
What clients say
★★★★★
“…a warm and welcoming coaching style…”
“Karen has a keen ability not only to hear what’s being said but to grasp the nuances behind it. I highly recommend Karen Young to anyone seeking personalized, thoughtful leadership development. She offers culturally sensitive, meaningful insights and actionable strategies that help leaders grow both personally and professionally.”
— A. F., Healthcare Executive
“…a transformative experience…”
“Through (Karen Young’s leadership coaching, and) her expert use of Clifton StrengthsFinders, we honed in on my unique strengths and set clear, actionable goals. The impact of her guidance has been long-lasting, and I continue to see the benefits in my professional growth.”
— Lisa Westgate, Principal, Procurement & Supplier Diversification
“…skilled and insightful guidance…”
“Karen is my trusted go-to consultant for DEI matters with my clients. Her clear-eyed, grounded, and well-informed perspective has guided me through complex issues on numerous occasions. Her expertise is so valued that I’ve referred her to fellow coaches, all of whom have greatly benefited from her thoughtful counsel and collaborative approach.”
— D. Roach, Executive Coach
“…thoughtful, intuitive, and incredibly impactful….”
“Working with Karen Young has been one of the most enriching experiences of my career. Her coaching allowed me to not only identify and better utilize my core strengths but also showed me how to leverage those strengths to address and improve my areas of weakness. The insights I gained have been transformative, empowering me to lead more effectively in my current role.”
— Myshelle Singh, MPH, Health Data and Research Associate
“…transformed my ability to communicate effectively.”
“Mary Grimes Finley coaches with compassion and a genuine lens. Her thoughtful and transformative style fosters growth and insight, allowing me to develop not only as a leader but also as an individual. I highly recommend her coaching for anyone looking to evolve both personally and professionally.”
— C. Brake, RHIT, CPC, AHIMA Approved ICD 10-CM/PCS Trainer
“…her guidance made all the difference…“
“From our first session, (Mary) brought a wealth of knowledge, insight, and compassion that helped me gain clarity on my professional goals and create a concrete action plan to achieve them. What stood out most about Mary was her ability to listen deeply and ask the right questions. Her coaching style is both empowering and practical, providing not only encouragement but also actionable steps that I could implement immediately.”
— Deanna Velazquez-Bills, Director
“…life-changing.”
“As a new healthcare executive at the time, Mary challenged me to lean into my strengths and trust the process. She coached me through some of the most challenging experiences in my career in a way that showed respect, humanity, humility, and strength. Because of Mary, I am a better, stronger, and more confident leader and I am forever grateful.”
— Mia Robins, Associate Director
“…a thoughtful listener and gentle guide…“
“Mary is also an astute problem solver, but she doesn’t do the problem solving for me. Instead, Mary shines light on the problem from a variety of perspectives that I may not have considered and she creates space and asks questions to guide our conversation towards solution(s). It has been transformative to work with Mary, and through her coaching I’ve grown my capacity for empathy, collaboration, and reflection.”
— Shannon Merrell, Chief Experience Officer
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We collaborate with private, public, nonprofit, and purpose-driven enterprises. We can help you build a strengths-based community in your workplace.
Activating Your Strengths, through coaching and organization development.