Meet our
EXPERIENCED
STAFF
Daniel Olexa, M.C.C., C.I.H.T., M.C.L.C.
Lead Facilitator
Co-author of two Amazon #1 Bestsellers: Practical Manifesting, and A Pessimist’s Guide to Manifesting. He is also the creator of Amazon bestseller, My Two Minute Journal. Daniel brings more than 25 years of professional problem solving to his coaching practice.
Beyond his corporate, creative, marketing, and broadcasting experience, he is proud to have served in the United State Coast Guard Reserve for 9 years.
Daniel's practice is client-centered and he loves looking for answers that others may not see, refusing to settle for the expedient solution, but asking the right questions to help chart a course towards his client's most heartfelt desires.
One of his early mentors said of him:
"Dan naturally sees systems. He understands how one thing flows to the next; how every step is related to the outcome."
An avid scuba diver, Daniel holds the credential of PADI IDC Staff Instructor. He has helped many tentative students learn to breathe underwater by gently coaching them past their fears so that they could experience an entirely new world in the sea.
When Dan teaches he helps the students who feel like they are underwater in class to learn to breathe and swim again.
Sam Gozo, A.C.C, M.C.P.C.
Facilitator & Student Affairs
(He/Him)
Sam is an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) through the ICF and is the founder/owner of Integrative Clarity Coaching. His practice specializes in leadership coaching where he uses cognitive behavioral coaching principles to help his clients develop as leaders to maximize their effectiveness, influence, and tangible successes within their team & organization. Sam loves partnering with clients to overcome a myriad of issues, but his favorite challenge is helping them discover areas where mindset & identity misalign. By working with Sam, clients create goals that are truly authentic to them so that they can readily move forward.
Sam first became a life coach in 2016 after making the decision to leap and move to Texas from New Jersey. Since then, having been immersed in a culture of leadership by example & experience, Sam uses his background as a personal trainer, missionary, international drill instructor, and two-time world champion in military exhibition drill to create an environment where clients will learn, grow, fail gracefully, and succeed powerfully. To Sam life coaching is as much a hobby as it is a career because he loves his job so much. Nothing creates more joy than seeing clients “get it” and make strides to accomplish their goals.
Mike JAmes, A.C.C., M.C.L.C.
Facilitator
(He/Him)
Mike James, an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) with the ICF who earned his education through CLCI, is the Founder and Owner of P&Z Life Coaching, where he partners with you to unlock your power spiritually, mentally, socially, physically, and financially so you can become the best version of yourself.
He is also a motivational speaker and event emcee. With a background in health and fitness, Mike takes a total body approach to coaching. His vision is to help all individuals with a desire to become capable, competent, confident, conscious, and courageous to achieve greatness. Some of Mike's passions are health and wellness, physical recovery, and the youth.
Misha Safran, P.C.C., M.C.L.C.
Facilitator
(She/They)
Misha holds her Professional Coach Certification from the ICF and is the founder of CEEQ, The Center for Empathy and Emotional Intelligence, LLC. She is an award winning speaker and recently earned the CEO NIH Award for recognition of her "DEIA work around the issues of race, gender, sexual identity, power and privilege in a way that brought the topic to life".
Misha's infectious positivity, intuitiveness, and empathy create a brave space for clients to land softly while learning to navigate being uncomfortable as they develop new skills. Working with Misha, professional communities thrive as team members discover, value, and celebrate one another’s successes, and find new enthusiasm for their work together.
She enjoys helping individuals, couples, organizations, and teams reset their mindset and empower their voices, resulting in renewed energy, enhanced problem-solving, creativity, and thoughtful communication.
Misha has dedicated her career to supporting students, school communities, business owners, and organizations in creating and sustaining successful learning opportunities and positive, inclusive relationships.
As a result of living with chronic pain, Misha also models the tools necessary to fully embrace the co-existence of life's challenges and joys. She's a mother of three adult children and identifies as queer, a lifelong learner, singer, and songwriter, and is a co-host of a monthly webinar addressing systemic racism.
Troy Taylor, P.C.C., M.C.L.C.
Facilitator
(He/Him)
Troy Taylor is a certified Executive Coach, facilitator, trainer, and solution provider for individuals and businesses. An experienced leader in Workforce development he has trained and coached over 500+ emerging technology professionals – currently adding value and innovation to their companies. He developed a 3- step A.C.E. process specializing in helping small to midsize Technology Companies develop their Technical Leaders to Improve Performance, Retention, and Develop New Leaders. Additionally, He is an experienced and sought-after practitioner with over a decade of coaching, teaching, facilitating, and speaker in Substance Awareness Prevention (alcohol and drugs), serving over 2500 clients to date.
Troy holds the following coaching and training certifications:
• Certified Professional Coach (CPC) and Energy Leader Master Practitioner
(ELI-MP) - Institute for Professional Excellence Coaching (iPEC)
• Certified Executive Coach (Center for Executive Coaching)
• PCC (International Coaching Federation)
• Master Life Coach (Certified Life Coach Institute)
• Certified Practitioner of Genos Emotional Intelligence
• Certified Practitioner of Profiles Select (PXT)
• Certified Professional Scrum Master
• Contract Master Training & Contract Researcher for Prime Research Institute
Troy holds a BA degree from the University of Georgia in Psychology, and an MBA degree from Everest University in Human Resources. He is a native of Brooklyn, NY, currently living in Atlanta with his wife and two children.
Andrea Smith, C.P.C.
Copywriter, Editor, and Creative Assistant
(She/Her)
Andrea is a copywriter, editor, and process improvement fanatic—currently working on getting her Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. She graduated from the University of Michigan in 2017 with a BA in English Language & Literature.
She is passionate about the Oxford Comma, linguistic variance, and slang. In her free time, she enjoys running, cooking, and drinking coffee. Her goal is to visit all 50 states before she’s 30—she’s currently at 28.
Jen Long, M.C.L.C.
Administrative Assistant
(She/Her)
Jen is the administrative assistant at Certified Life Coach Institute and joins the team as someone who felt called to become a coach after experiencing her own transformation from working with a coach. After 2 years of work as a client, she decided to step into the role of the coach and started taking clients immediately after becoming a Certified Life Coach.
Jen is a Florida native who lives in Atlanta with her husband and her rescue corgi. Although she misses the beach, she loves the seasons in Georgia and has discovered her love of hiking since moving there in 2014. Jen loves to write, play the piano, and go on epic hiking trip adventures.
After struggling in her youth, changing directions completely after college, and going through a season of unfulfilling jobs, Jen realized that everything she experienced in her life was preparing her to be a great coach. One of her favorite things about coaching is seeing a client’s “aha moment” and appreciating the variety of ways people experience and express that moment. Jen loves witnessing people recognize how truly powerful they are and feels honored to be a part of that process.
When Jen is not coaching, she is helping run the CLCI office. She strives to support the office team which in turn adds more value to our student’s education. Jen loves being part of CLCI and takes great joy in talking to potential students about becoming coaches. Jen believes every coach injects love into the world and is rooting for everyone to become a coach.
Joe McParland, M.C.L.C.
Office Administrator & Class-support Technician
(He/Him)
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Joe is the Office Administrator at Certified Life Coach Institute, Joe prides himself in helping our students achieve their goals as life coaches and helps to ensure that the front office runs smoothly at CLCI. He also can be found every so often working as a class technical director where he has the privilege of supporting our students with their in-class technical needs. Joe prides himself in always being a friendly email and call away.
Joe McParland is native of Whittier, Ca. and is married with 1 kid, 1 dog, 2 cats, and 24 varieties of tomatoes in his garden. Joe is a film enthusiast and can match wits with the best of them in movie trivia. Not only does Joe watch movies he also makes them as a partner at the production company Seven Faces Films.
Kyle Rodriguez, M.C.P.C.
Class-support Technician
(He/Him)
Kyle is both a Technical Director with Certified Life Coach Institute and an Energy and Environmental Programs Senior Analyst at the Western Riverside Council of Governments (WRCOG). His role involves the implementation of state policies to Cities in Riverside County on Air Quality, Solid Waste, Bottles and Beverage Recycling, Organics Recycling, and Household Hazardous Wastes safe disposal.
He works extensively with the community which follows his passions and profession to make a difference in regards to solutions that lower pollution, empowering the future to have safer GHG levels in the environment from the ground to air.
Kyle is an outdoor individual and he enjoys exercise, cooking, and drinking wine with his family. He is always seeking to help others and enjoys learning new things every day.
Jerome LeDuff Jr. M.C.L.C.
Social Media Master & Class-support Technician Manager
(He/Him)
Jerome is the social media manager for Cunning.Marketing, heads up Certified Life Coach Institute's social media, and is also a Master Certified Life Coach. He lends CLCI the power of his degree in public relations & marketing, his content creating talents, and his artistic eye. Jerome ensures CLCI's social media stays current, enriching, entertaining, and informative. Jerome also has the pleasure of being CLCI's Lead Admin and has the privilege of supporting our students with all of their technical and class related needs as well as supporting our faculty and staff. Without him we would be lost.
A Certified Life Coach Institute, Level 2 graduate, and California native, by way of Louisiana, Jerome is passionate about his work and about helping others to thrive. Both talented and hard working he does, everything from creating posts, to editing promotional videos, photographing & filming classes, to developing ad campaigns and increasing the CLCI's social media following. Jerome also ensures CLCI stays on the pulse of the up and coming younger generation of life coaches. CLCI is honored to have him as part of the team.
Anthony Lopez, M.C.P.C.
Project Director & Copywriter
(He/Him)
Anthony is a dedicated Project Director with a passion for incorporating cutting-edge technological innovations into his work. As an experienced content writer and copy editor for the Certified Life Coach Institute, he skillfully blends his technical expertise and analytical mindset with a personable approach to project management. Anthony firmly believes in the power of non-traditional education and encourages all people to experiment in self-directed learning.
With a clear focus on prioritizing the needs of students, stakeholders, and clients, Anthony consistently delivers high-quality results while keeping the larger vision in mind. Hailing from Southern California, Anthony's love for learning extends beyond his professional life. In his free time, he indulges in his passion for philosophy, writes captivating horror stories, and immerses himself in a diverse range of literature.
Anthony's unwavering commitment to education and personal growth is evident not only in his own pursuits but also in his desire to help others. Through project management and coaching, he aims to provide the people he partners with a clear and engaging understanding of their ultimate intent, further solidifying his reputation as an energized and effective Project Director.
Brooke Adair Walters, A.C.C., M.C.P.C.
Chief Strategy Officer
(She/Her)
Brooke Adair Walters is the Chief Strategy Officer for the Certified Life Coach Institute (CLCI). Brooke has over 20 years of experience in the design, marketing, and entertainment industry as well as an extensive educational background including a Bachelor's degree in Film and Television, New Media, with a focus in Production Design, and a minor in Honor’s Studies from Chapman University. She is currently studying at Harvard Business School where she has earned a certification in Disruptive Business Strategy and continues to expand her knowledge.
Brooke has managed as many as 1200 employees at one time while running one of the largest Halloween Events in the world, Knott’s Scary Farm, and has served as Head of Creative for 15 amusement parks while at Cedar Fair Entertainment LLC. Brooke created her first business at the age of 14, tutoring younger students, and has been a successful consultant and strategist for over 10 years.
“"I do not have jobs, I have passions that pay. I love helping others realize that their dreams are possible and am honored to have a vital role in turning a vision into reality and making the seemingly impossible, possible”
While at Certified Life Coach Institute, she headed up it’s rebrand and was the driving force behind their switch to a virtual classroom space. At CLCI, Brooke is always seeking new ways to add value to their product, generate new revenue, and remain ahead of the curve.
Brooke may be an innovative business mind but she doesn’t stop there, she is also an award-winning film producer, production designer, and has helped to create hundreds of attractions nationwide and her work has been enjoyed by hundreds of millions.
Lisa Finck, P.C.C., M.C.P.C.
Owner, Chief Executive Officer & Lead Facilitator
(She/Her)
Lisa is the Owner of Certified Life Coach Institute and brings a vast wealth of experience as a practicing Certified Relationship Coach
Her extensive training in the field of relationship coaching includes learning under Barbara De Angeles, John Grey, John Gottman, and some of the most famous specialists in relationships.
She has been happily married for 35 years with two beautiful children and two granddaughters. To Lisa, family, friends, and humor are what energize her and while she has a kind and gentle soul, Lisa is not about to let anyone push her over. Self-reliance and resilience have always been her foundational principles, even at a young age.
When asked what she enjoys the most about being in the coaching industry:
"I have a love to connect with people. I enjoy listening to them, discovering who they are, and finding what their hopes and dreams are, or even more simply put, making sure they are heard. Helping them find their BE moments and life placing"
As the owner and instructor of CLCI, it brings Lisa joy when she witnesses students realize they have the answer. The greatest moment is when a student blossoms into a coach and getting to witness their teachable moments.
Lisa's number one goal for the Institute? Create a home for all students, alumni, and staff where their excellence can grow and to encourage one's passion for continual learning.
Bridget Horvath, C.C., A.C.C.
Founder
(She/Her)
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Bridget Horvath has been on a profound journey. Lately, she has been on a fun soul-searching exploration of the Globe! Sri Lanka, Kenya, Egypt, Turkey, England, Europe, Cayman Islands and lots more. She has trained us well to step up into her shoes and teach our amazing students. We are so excited!
Bridget, our founder of the Life Coach Institute of Orange County, is a speaker and trainer with experience derived from the corporate world where she owned and operated one of the largest multimedia companies in Orange County before selling the business to pursue a calling in life coaching.
She was trained in life coaching in La Jolla, California and continued her training in Boulder, Colorado with her teacher and mentor, Michelle Weiner-Davis, who has appeared on Oprah, The Today Show, and written books appearing on the New York Times bestsellers list.