—Maria Castañón Moats (US Assurance Leader of PwC)
“We must have the courage to ask for help and to request feedback to expand our vision of what's possible.”
SERVICES
Coaching
Are you trying to decide if you should change careers or go after a promotion? Are you trying to do something with your new idea? Are you or your child beginning the college application process? These may seem like very different challenges, but they share one common need – having an experienced, objective coach makes all the difference in your experience.
Our approach provides the tools to:
- identify your potential, your goals, your dreams
- create the steps to achieve them
- follow a timeline that delivers results
Governance
At C.O. & Co. we believe that strong governance has everything to do with building an engaged, knowledgeable, active and invested Board.
Our process guides you in determining the type of Board you want to be, examining what you have in place and what you need, and developing the systems that will create the Board your organization deserves.
Planning
The reality: After most strategic plans are finally written, they sit on a shelf never to be looked at again.
Our alternative: The goal of strategic planning is to produce a unique plan of action suitable to your organization. Whether a one year or five-year plan, our process helps your team create a strategic plan that facilitates investment across your organization, is nimble and continues to produce measurable results.
Leadership
Because there is no one definition of leadership the professional world very often cites leadership as a soft skill. Ironically, soft skills are also the ones most difficult to develop. Whether you want to develop your own leadership style or encourage leadership among your staff, our process is holistic in its approach, including ongoing in-depth discussion of what it means to be a leader in today’s world.
We begin with self-assessment and the acknowledgement of strengths, move into an identification of growth potential, provide developmental education and training, and follow with a period of individual or group mentoring.
Carla Oleska, Ph.D. has more than thirty years of experience in professional leadership roles as well as creatively addressing and facilitating the aspirations of underserved populations. She has specialized in the design of programs enhancing academic preparation and higher education access, leadership development, and non-profit programming. Under her leadership the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts developed and initiated the Leadership Institute for Political and Public Impact –LIPPI, a highly successful program which has graduated over 250 women who have gone on to successfully run for political office, achieved new leadership positions in their careers, and founded new businesses.
Her work on behalf of women and girls has been recognized both regionally and nationally. In 2010 Oleska was one of the one hundred women across the United States selected as the charter delegates to Vision 2020, a national initiative to create leadership parity. She was also one of 50 women from around the world invited to participate and speak at the United Nations Won Buddhist Center meeting on women and the UN development goals.
Her list of volunteer services includes numerous boards and committees including the Board of Directors of Girl Scouts, the Board of Directors for Community Action of Franklin and Hampshire Counties, the Hampden County Literacy Cabinet, and the Board of Trustees of The Conway School. She currently serves on the Boards of Girls Inc. Holyoke and the Treehouse Foundation – Reimagining Foster Care in America.
Carla is also a sought-after public speaker.
