It Started With A Question
For years, I worked in the corporate world of business and escrow, driving a long Seattle commute that slowly wore down my health. There were parts of my work I enjoyed, but I could not use my creativity, and one day I asked myself the question so many women reach: is this what I want to do for the rest of my working life? I believed there had to be a better way. So I built one, designing work to fit my life instead of the other way around.
I Don't Start With Your Resume
I am the opposite of most career strategists. The first thing I want to see is not your resume. I want to have a conversation and ask how you are and what your joy level looks like right now. Those questions matter, because I take a holistic approach I call Joyful Career Design, The Intentional Pivot. Using your strengths and talents, we design meaningful work that fits your lifestyle, often with multiple streams of income, so you stay in control. This is about building work around the life you want to live.
The Women I Walk Beside
My work is for midlife women and beyond who sense it is time for something different. Some are ready to reinvent their careers, some want more freedom and flexibility, and some are walking through a season of change, including the women I support as a breast cancer survivor myself. Through my Sammy the Centipede books, I also create resources for young families. Whoever you are, my hope is the same: that you find more clarity, more freedom, and more joy in the work you choose.
Joy
I measure success by joy levels and peaceful schedules.
Faith
My guidance weaves gentle faith with very practical steps.
Clarity
I help you see options clearly and choose aligned action.
Maria Rushing · Career Coach & Author
I have spent more than thirty years working across business and education, and the last ten building The Women's Career Transformation Network, my coaching practice for midlife women. My background includes years in the business and escrow world, a Bachelor's degree in Education from Central Washington University, graduate coursework in Leadership, Intercultural Education, and Curriculum Development, and certification as a Life Coach. Last year, I was honored to receive an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters.
I am an Amazon best-selling author. My books include How to Get Your Joy Back!: A Women's Guide to Midlife Career Transformation, The Queen's Journal, and Breast Cancer, Now What?, along with my Sammy the Centipede series for children, which now includes four titles, two of them in Spanish. As a four-year breast cancer survivor, I bring my own lived experience to the women I coach.
My work has been featured in The Huffington Post, on NBC and FOX, and in Identity Magazine and E the Magazine for Female Executives. I am a proud member of the Women Speakers Association.
As Featured In
My work and my message have been shared in some wonderful places. I am grateful to have been featured in these publications and outlets, and to speak with women at conferences, retreats, and on podcasts along the way. I'm a proud member of the Women Speakers Association and a guest on podcasts including "Become Who You Want to Be."