About me:

Why I like coaching:

Connections bring me meaning, and I appreciate that coaching allows me to make connections with others.

I love being able to have one on one or small group conversations with people, especially about important stuff like work, school, or family. I also like helping people discover what they want and what steps they need to take to make that happen.

My life:

I grew up in Fresno, California and came to Wisconsin in my late 20’s for work. Here, I met my husband and moved to Sun Prairie in 1999.

A couple of years later, we had twin sons and almost four years after that we had another son. They have all grown up and moved out. The twins are both firefighters and the youngest is in college.

What I like to do:

I love to garden, swim, play with our dog, hang out with friends and family, and read, mostly mystery novels. My husband and I like going to plays, hiking, doing home improvement projects, watching a little tv, road trips, and drinking coffee on the deck.

After I finished my coach’s training with Coaching4TodaysLeaders,
I became certified with the International Coaching Federation, ACC level, in 2021.
Since then, I have been coaching with a focus on spirituality, ministry, neurodiversity, and grief.

That might sound like a lot, but coaching is coaching. No matter what you want to talk about, I will hold space for you as you seek the wisdom within. I will ask questions that give you the opportunity to dive deeper and find the answers you seek.

I have been an ELCA Lutheran pastor for over 30 years. I have lived and worked in rural, small town, and urban settings. I have been a solo pastor and an associate. I have even been on synod staff.

But it is my experience with people that has been my best teacher. There are joys and challenges in every place, but it always comes down to learning from life as it is lived.

I also hold certificates in Group Coaching, DIR (autism), and Positive Intelligence.

Christine:
Lisa Nelson worked with me through several big transitions that were changing almost every aspect of my life: career change, parenting, scheduling, finances, the selling of my home and moving. 
Lisa's thoughtful, stimulating and creative questions seemed to prompt answers within myself that resonated deeply.  She provided a beautiful safe space to explore options, ideas and feelings that led me to my own next steps.
I recommend coaching with Lisa to anyone going through a transition, as Lisa has a real gift and experience in supporting an individual's need for discernment, clarity and growth.

Joanne:
Lisa brings skill, creative thinking, and compassion to her coaching. Through her presence, she creates space to explore openly the gifts and challenges of a situation or idea, without judgement.

Judith:
I really appreciate Lisa’s ability to push my thinking and suggest some cues to take that thinking farther.

Life is full of challenges. Some of these challenges shape the course of our day. Others change the shape of our lives.

All of these challenges can bring meaning to our lives, but we have to look for it. Searching for meaning helps us find solid ground and keeps us from getting stuck.

But that’s not all: Uncovering meaning informs our choices and makes our lives not only bearable but fulfilling. Coaching for meaning can benefit you personally, professionally, relationally, and spiritually.

I find meaning in asking questions and wrestling with the answers. Even the most difficult moments in our faith life or lack of faith life can be sources of meaning.

I spent my young adult years wrestling with my faith and God, exploring other denominations, and asking myself if I really was a Christian. It turns out the answer is yes.

As a pastor in a progressive denomination, I have been helping people explore their spiritual lives for 3 decades. I love heartfelt conversations about who God is and what does this mean for us.

I coach church leaders, but I also coach people in other lines of work. You will benefit from coaching whether you are navigating everyday challenges at work or major challenges.

Work can be challenging, and at some point in our lives, we will struggle with what kind of work to pursue, how best to handle work decisions, when to leave and where to go from there, and last but not least, the people.

Coaching can help with all of the above, and Coaching for Meaning can help in so many more ways: Such as finding meaning when faced with challenging people, when your work isn’t fulfilling or when it’s just too much, and, of course, find meaning in the ordinary times at work.

I have experienced more grief than I honestly ever thought I would. Feeling the weight of that grief, letting that grief unfold at its own pace, and searching for meaning have been a lifeboat in the midst of grief and even trauma.

‍Finding meaning in grief can be difficult and even counter intuitive, but doing the work, with all the vulnerability that brings, will lead you through grief in healthy and life giving ways.

We can all be glad that the word, neurodivergence, has become part of our vocabulary. This helps us can celebrate the gifts it brings and work through the challenges.

Neurodivergence refers to the fact that our brains don’t all work the same. When a brains works the way most do, it’s called called neurotypical. When they work differently than that, we call that neurodivergence.

‍Whether it’s your own or someone else’s, neurodivergence can be challenging. And lifting up the gifts that can come with brings us meaning.

Neurodiversity Coaching gives us the opportunity to explore ours and other’s gifts and discover meaning that can transform our lives and our relationships.

See my blog for more information on how Neurodiversity Coaching can help you.