The coaching I do...

The coaching I do helps you delve deeply into your stories to uncover the important insights and to help you map your way to your most fulfilling future.

The great news about our stories is that they are fluid and continuously evolving.

You are the author of your stories.

Stories & Perspective

I often pause when asked to tell my story. I teach Story Work to my clients and to other coaches which has me very aware of the complexity that exists within our stories.

We can all tell our stories from a variety of perspectives...

A few different perspectives on my own story

Growing up in a big, warm, Italian family...

...with a house filled with relatives all the time. I could tell you about the values I learned such as the importance of giving and caring for others and helping everyone feel welcomed, loved, and special (and of course that food is love and cures all). I could tell you that my passion for helping people feel a deep sense of belonging was a direct result of my family’s modeling.

Becoming a pleaser and a caretaker...

...beginning at a very young age. I learned how rewarding it was to make others happy and to meet their needs. I could share that while my ability to anticipate and meet others needs grew, my capacity to understand and be aware of my own diminished. I could tell how eventually abandoning myself in service to others left me feeling disconnected from myself and the people who mattered most to me.

Discovering my purpose through my experiences...

...and the unique strengths that I developed because of them. My journey, along with my inborn nature has perfectly suited me to live my purpose and to do the work I do today. The beautiful part of discovering your purpose is that you realize the exact thing you needed to learn yourself is the gift you are also meant to bring to others. Mine is all about releasing the suffering that happens in the name of love and living freely with an open heart that is grounded in a deep connection to self.

I have been coaching since 2003 and I have learned so much about myself and others since that time that it is hard to capture in words all that I want to share.

I am aware that you are reading this wondering if I am someone you would want to work with. If I were you I know I would have some questions.

What's your coaching style?

I do deep transformational coaching getting to the root of what drives us as humans. I am focused on helping my clients to step into the freedom to do and be more of what they were designed for. My work is both healing and fun. It focuses on moving from a state of separation and entering a state of connection and wholeness.

What kind of clients do you work with?

I work with people who are willing to do what it takes to create change even if they initially don’t even know what changes they want. People come to me from all walks of life, all ages and for a variety of reasons. At the foundation of all of it is a desire to feel freer, more authentic and more at choice with what they are creating. To really, really love their lives. I work with clients who are ready to know more about what makes them tick. Together we go on a journey of discovery and change. It is a journey that opens people up to more self-awareness and more self-love.

What can I expect from working with you?

To laugh, to cry to have ah-ha moments, to feel more alive and more productive, to relax, to have your heart opened to shift your energy to improve your relationships to fall in love with you.

Are you legit?

I am certified by the Coaches Training Institute, the premier coaching school accredited by the International Coaching Federation, I am also certified by the ICF and the True Purpose Institute.
I have been coaching private clients through my own Boston based company since 2003 and since 2005 have been coaching Business and Leadership clients through Emily Bermes & Associates (previously under name of Solstice Coaching and Consulting and Kinsley Group). I have created a number of courses designed to help individuals create more of what they want in their lives and I have co-created and led coach training mastery courses under The Coaches Studio, Lucid Living and the True Purpose Institute.
Previous careers were as a Registered Nurse (5 years)
and a Certified Financial Planner (18 years)

What else should I know about you?

I blend the practical with the esoteric. I have been taking coaching, leadership and personal development courses for the past 16 years and continue to expand both my toolbox and my ways of seeing. I love to share my learnings with my clients and watch their views expand as well.

Curious about anything else? just ask! I offer a free “get to know you” session so we can learn about each other and determine if we are a good fit.

Working with Donna has created a deep sense of support for myself and therefore for my clients. She is both a spark of inspiration and hope when life feels challenging and a joyous partner in celebration when success is on the menu.

Donna’s capacity to love fiercely has provided a platform from which I can fly…literally. I am so grateful for her honesty, experience and delightful sense of humor; we have laughed, cried and jumped for joy together. Partnering with Donna is an enormous gift, and yes, one that keeps on giving long after the phone call ends.

Kathy Ball-Toncic

Corporate Leadership Coach

What started out as a requirement, to have a coach see me through my own coaching certification process, has turned into a 2 year coaching relationship that I cherish. What you taught me is only partly visible by the inch and a half folder of notes that I keep from our calls; but is clearly visible in the smooth transition I’ve made from a career in education to coaching. With patience, sensitivity, humor, keen insight and piercing honesty you guided me, and continue to guide me on a personal and professional journey that is rich and rewarding.

Judy Elkin, M.Ed., CPCC