Meet the Network

Kym believes that living and leading with intention is paramount to creating the change our current times demand. She founded Pure Ambition following more than 2 decades leading teams to high performance in corporate operations, which included her team’s consistent improvement of the customer experience during a decade of rapid growth: from $180M - $2B in revenues. Her last 'in-house' stint involved birthing the Corporate Social Responsibility function for a $1B arm of that same food business. This role was the perfect confluence of her personal passion for a sustainable lifestyle, a significant appetite for connecting herself and others to greater purpose in their work, and finally a strong belief that business has the most significant opportunity to positively impact our future, ultimately the impetus for starting Pure Ambition. Kym's clients most appreciate her warm, approachable style combined with an innate no-nonsense ability to cut through noise and uncertainty in service of co-creating a clear, simplistic and boundary pushing agenda, ultimately to reach the next level of IMPACT. Kym lives in Oakland with her partner Ben and rescue pets! She recharges hiking the redwoods, kayaking the California waters and breaking bread with friends at the plethora of amazing local restaurants!

Megan has spent the last 15+ years helping individuals and organizations find more meaning and connection in the way they work. Megan’s rich history of consulting organizations around the customer and employee experience strengthens her current focus of helping start-up founders and progressive leaders develop authentic and caring cultures at work. Megan is a passionate champion for "whole person wellbeing” and believes a strategic ‘hack’ to wellness, performance, engagement and innovation for organizations starts with enabling individuals to bring their whole, authentic selves to work. She holds the belief that major fun can accompany major change and pushes this edge herself. She recently relocated to New Zealand with her husband and three children while they explore all kiwi life has to offer (while their heart - and forever home - remain in San Francisco).

Diane considers herself lucky – she is one of the few who’s found a path to blend her personal beliefs with her professional skills. As the Founder of Flourish HR, she works exclusively with small to mid-sized mission-based companies to deliver HR and and Organizational Development. Working in Fortune 500 environments Diane quickly realized a disconnect between her eco-conscious nature and big company ethos. When she re-entered the workforce following taking time away to raise her children, she committed to working exclusively with companies whose mission included some variation of “doing the right thing". Everyday she takes pride in working with organizations to create a strong culture that’s consistent with their values, while also ensuring compliance with complicated employment laws and regulations.When she isn’t working, you’ll probably find Diane in her vegetable garden, or enjoying a good book or movie with husband, kids and dog Linus (yes, he loves movies).

Farhana is an award-winning social entrepreneur, certified executive coach, visionary and trusted thought partner. She is most passionate about helping people do meaningful work while helping them achieve their goals for social and planetary impact. She coaches game changing leaders, entrepreneurs and their teams towards a business and life they love via an approach that combines applied neuroscience, surfing, walking and coaching. Prior to committing to a career in leadership development and coaching, Farhana founded CEO Women, a non-profit dedicated to helping low-income immigrant and refugee women become entrepreneurs. Here, she successfully led the organization from an initial $1K grant to serving thousands of women via almost $1M in annual funding. Following, she founded Bay Area Friends of the Congo, an all volunteer group led currently by Congolese-American activists, dedicated to raising awareness and ending the mineral conflict in Congo and, in 2011, she went on to found Brown Girl Surf, an organization dedicated to building a more diverse, environmentally reverent, and joyful women’s surf culture by increasing access to surfing, cultivating community, amplifying the voices of women of color surfers, and taking care of the earth.Based in Oakland, California, Farhana is a natural wanderlust – having travelled to almost 40 countries – with her latest excursion landing her in Morocco where she continues to serve clients around the globe while basking in the local culture that honors two of her favorite pastimes: dancing and surfing! Farhana is the recipient of numerous awards and has been a featured speaker in places such as Patagonia, Women@Google, UC Berkeley, Tufts University (her alma mater), International Women in Business Conferences, and the Commonwealth Club. Her work has been featured in media outlets such as BBC News, ABC News, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Women’s Health Magazine, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, and The Huffington Post to name a more than a few.

Neil is a soulful leader and perceptive coach who works at the intersections of Relationships & Team Performance; Leadership & Allyship; Identity, and Wellbeing, the latter being what he believes is the lowest common denominator for performance. He invites his clients to manage energy as they navigate relationships, leadership, and change in complex systems, helping them make it easier to produce results, work across differences, and thrive. With over 25 years of business experience - most recently as a “Big 4” consultant – Neil’s exceptional understanding of human performance earned him a faculty position to train and supervise coaches in Organization and Relationship Systems Coaching (ORSC) and is a faculty leader for the Co-Active Training Institute's Co-Active Leadership Program. Neil was born and raised in the Bahamas and now lives in California with his wife and children. He renews SCUBA diving, running, and breaking bread and wine in great conversation with friends. 

Madelyn Mackie is the Career Activator! She helps professionals move past their fears and advance their career dreams. As a Certified Career Management Coach, member of the National Resume Writers Association, and former board member of the National Speakers Association, Madelyn offers conference keynotes, professional development trainings, and career coaching to help her clients design unique, job-getting documents, build successful career plans, and create life-long success. Madelyn draws on her experience of navigating four high-profile careers – the lab (as a published biochemistry researcher), the stage (as a stage and production administrator at four Tony Award-winning theatres), the c-suite (as an officer with the American Red Cross), and the owner’s box (CEO of Madelyn Mackie & Associates, a career management and professional development firm) – to help individuals activate their career dreams.She works her magic with Pure Ambition clients to up-level their resume, LinkedIn profile and interviewing game!

Robyn is a Human Resources Executive with over 30 years of experience developing and delivering strategies that attract top talent, strengthen employee engagement, build positive culture and drive business results. She has consulting and professional experience in a variety of industries including start-up and Fortune 500 companies in healthcare, food manufacturing, biotechnology, entertainment, and apparel. She has also served as an adjunct Professor at Golden Gate University teaching organizational development and career consultant to undergraduate and graduate students. She has served on the boards of California Association of Student Councils and Inroads. Robyn currently resides in Palm Springs with her wife Susan and faithful pup Boscoe!

Eric is an executive coach and facilitator, who draws on twenty years of experience in the tech industry to help leaders have a greater impact on the world. Prior to shifting his work to coaching, Eric's last role was leading business strategy and operations for the Search Ads product team at Google as Chief of Staff for over 6 years. His coaching methods center on working with his clients to gain clarity and focus so they can be conscious and purposeful in how they spend their time. With that clarity, he works with clients to identify and challenge mindsets and/or habits that are getting in the way of their purpose. Eric is no stranger to stretching outside one's comfort zone. He currently resides in the SF Bay Area with his wife and active toddler, yet they venture from home frequently. His son had travelled to 7 countries by the age of one and spent a month exploring NZ by RV in late 2019.

Mike sees himself as being in the business of helping people change their lives for the better. Surface changes may be easy to make, but typically don’t stick. Doing the “inner work” to understand the drivers of outer behaviors provides the self-awareness to make lasting behavioral changes. Mike knows that this is hard work and his clients appreciate his ability to bear witness to their situation as well as challenge their thinking/approach. With more than two decades of corporate business experience -including leading the global Learning & Development function at both eBay and ServiceSource - Mike designed, developed, and implemented programs to help these companies scale rapidly and is passionate about helping leaders reach their full potential. Through his Coach Yourself Up methodology, Mike allows his clients to heighten their self-awareness and break through barriers, fostering a shift in their leadership style. This often involves an emphasis on communication skills and emotional intelligence, activating high-performance both personally and for the teams his clients lead. Mike lives in San Mateo, CA and was born, raised, and has lived most of his life in the Bay Area. He loves to be outdoors whenever possible; his favorite sound is that of rushing water. He enjoys live music (especially jam bands) and sees at least 25 concerts a year (at least he did preCovid).

Onyona is an administrative and creative personal power plug! She specializes in Administrative Support, Graphic and Web Design. Not only does Onyona have immense expertise in all things digital, her strong value of service with a smile always shines through. Born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya. Onyona left home to study abroad in Oklahoma, USA and returned to Kenya after four years. A full-time working mom with two beautiful children - Imani and Kito - her work in administration and marketing allows her the flexibility to have time at home with her kids. It also allows her the freedom to make an income too!

Kit facilitates change and self empowerment through movement, mindfulness and inquiry to build community and draw upon the full intelligence of individuals and groups. She artfully integrates the practical elements of leadership with the modern workplace imperative of strong emotional intelligence. In her prior educational career as a High School Principal, Kit gleaned significant insights related to human nature and leadership. Choosing to lead with grace, agility and presence transformed her impact in such a way that it literally - and figuratively - moved her toward her current work. With Kit you will practice agility, foster resilience and lead through disruption. Kit has created her dream life right on the SF Bay with her partner Jeff in Pt Richmond.

Anya's mission is to help organizations break free from toxic cultures that promote failure: work overload, lack of leadership support, conflicting priorities, useless feedback, value disconnect, and broken psychological contracts. She is committed to the importance of emotional intelligence as a developmental imperative as AI begins to replace technical work. As a professional certified leadership coach, instructional designer and facilitator her passion is delivering trainings around diversity and inclusion, emotional intelligence, leadership development, business agility and offsite leadership retreats for executive teams. Anya resides in Toronto, Canada with her wife and three children. She enjoys "Big City Life" which includes frequenting the SF Bay Area.

Rahul believes wellness, justice, emotionally intelligent leadership and true inclusion go hand in hand. As such, he provides results-driven strategies that reestablish and fortify organization-wide objectives and authentic commitment, increasing inclusion and belonging for all. Dr. Sharma has served in a number of impactful roles; as Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology and Diversity Concentration Chair at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology, as Director of the University of Chicago's Resources for Sexual Violence Prevention (reporting early on to then-Associate Dean Michelle Obama), and Co-Chair, Diversity & Equity Committee, City of Chicago 'Year of Music 2020'. He is a recipient of the Joyce Foundation Award and recently served as an NEA grant review panelist for proposals that apply art to community wellness and equity endeavors. Dr. Sharma earned his Clinical Psychology doctorate from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology & his Bachelors' from the University of Michigan. He is also founder of the award-winning music group Funkadesi, a 24-year project of unprecedentedly diverse musicians who are all dedicated educators, healers, & activists. Rahul has blended his love of music and human behavior together to create learning experiences that awaken the senses and depth of our humanity in service of a more connected, compassionate, and socially just society. 

Nicole brings more than 20 years of experience in human resources and leadership development to her practice which includes coaching executives, managers and aspiring leaders to discover their authentic leadership style and the inner compass that allows them to lead and engage their team, even in unchartered territory. Nicole has directed all facets of human resources, with a special emphasis in strategic planning, succession planning and employee engagement in support of strategic and operational business goals. Recognized for building connections based on her ability to tune into the emotions and motivations of others, Nicole’s enthusiasm and clear communication make her a natural facilitator. She is a lifelong learner who frequently attends programs to add to her professional expertise and develop her talents. Nicole also fully embraces the freedom doing this work affords her: quality time with her husband and children that includes frequent travel to connect with family and friends, near and far!

Dubbing herself "Chief Civility Officer", Sejal is not your average employment law attorney! Her more than 15 years of experience advising clients, human resources personnel, and legal counsel regarding sound, standard employment practices uncovered a need - and personal passion - for bringing more proactive, relevant, and impactful workplace training programs to her clients and their teams. Her highly experiential customized workshops tailored to executives, managers, and individual contributors bring the courtroom to the training room in an interactive, engaging environment that favors human stories over compliance checklists. She continues to provide legal counsel including investigations regarding harassment, discrimination, bullying, retaliation, misconduct and other topics with that same energy. No matter the context, her passion for helping clients understand the value of more harmonious workplaces - and the path to getting there - is always front and center.

Ariel Vegosen is a professional inclusivity and diversity workshop facilitator, writer, educator, consultant, coach, and public speaker. For over 18 years Ariel has facilitated for all types of organizations including major tech corporations, policy institutes, schools, communities, and faith based groups all over the world. Ariel is an ordained Hebrew Priestess and ritualist whose work focuses on intersectionality, commitment to working from an anti-oppression lens, and creating communities across diverse cultural backgrounds. Ariel loves to play with pronouns, bring joy into all aspects of life, and creatively spark conversations and connections.