Description

Alison teaches leadership communications at UC BerkeleyÍs Haas School of Business and around the world. She also consults to individuals and corporations as an executive coach, facilitator, and leadership program developer. A proud UC Berkeley ñdouble bearî (MBA 2011, BA Art History 1987) she helps people find their stories and voice, move through giant obstacles, be curious about the people around them, listen fiercely, open their hearts, and aspire outrageously. Her company is www.UnconditionalLeadership.com.

During her 20s she worked various administrative roles in art, design and consulting companies, and started to train and perform in theater at night. Building skill in accounting led to consultancy with clients in design, tech and manufacturing. The business afforded flexibility for her passion, theater, while she built a practice as a trusted advisor to entrepreneurial, innovative clients. The next 10 years were business consultant by day, singer-actress by night, and not much sleep.

In 2005, after much soul-searching, she closed the consulting business and put aside singing to find focus on a single career combining left brain and right brain, arts, technology and business. This intention led her to AppleÍs iTunes, where she helped build the digital content business in TV and Movies.

During the Apple years, life stabilized, she watched a lot of TV, and immersed herself in tech. She returned to Berkeley for the #1-ranked Haas Evening Weekend MBA, and was promoted to Manager at Apple.

At Haas Alison discovered that the experience sheÍd left behind in the acting studio and on stage could be used in the real world to help people develop their presence and find their voice. In 2009 she began teaching leadership communications at Haas, and consulting to companies and private clients. In 2013 she transitioned into coaching and consulting full time.

The coaching process and mindset has taught her life-changing skills around slowing down, really listening, stepping into difficulty bravely, and making others look good, skills that she already had from theater. Her mission is to pass these tools on, and teach others how to pass them on. Her current favorite word is ñyet.î