Best Executive Coaches in Seattle

Seattle Executive Coaching Services

Seattle isn’t just a city of innovation and rain-soaked mornings. It’s a living network of leadership, growth, and transformation. From the cutting-edge tech corridors of South Lake Union to the waterfront offices of Bellevue, executive coaching has become a vital thread in how the Pacific Northwest shapes its next generation of leaders.

Here, where giants like Amazon, Microsoft, and Starbucks have redefined industries, leadership is more than a title; it’s a craft. And helping to refine that craft are some of Seattle’s most talented executive coaches, professionals who specialize in guiding leaders through change, clarity, and sustainable success.

At Digital Reference, we’ve spent years curating and vetting the best coaching professionals in cities around the world. Our selection process is guided by three principles:

• Credibility and credentials—We verify certifications, client testimonials, and coaching hours.
• Impact and specialization—Each consultant brings unique expertise, from emotional intelligence to organizational strategy.
• Regional understanding—Every featured coach is based in or serves the greater Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro, ensuring cultural and professional relevance to local industries.
  

This list isn’t ranked—because leadership growth isn’t a competition. Instead, it’s a curated showcase of trusted professionals who represent the very best of Seattle’s executive coaching community.

🌟 Seattle’s Executive Coaching Culture

What makes Seattle’s coaching scene unique is its balance between high performance and human connection. In a region that prizes innovation, coaches here blend data-driven tools with deep empathy, an approach that resonates with both corporate leaders and entrepreneurs.

Now, let’s meet some of Seattle’s most inspiring executive coaches—professionals who embody that Pacific Northwest blend of strategy, growth, and grounded wisdom.

♦️ Kelly (Coach Kelly) Holm, MCC

Master Certified Coach | Founder, Coach Kelly
🔗 Website | LinkedIn

Kelly Holm—better known as Coach Kelly—is a name synonymous with transformation in the Seattle coaching community. With the rare and highly respected MCC (Master Certified Coach) credential from the International Coaching Federation, Kelly has become one of the city’s most trusted voices for leaders navigating change, confidence, and clarity.

Her methodology integrates neuroscience-backed coaching with real-world leadership development, helping executives bridge the gap between self-awareness and strategic action.

✨ What makes Kelly stand out:

💡 Science meets empathy—her coaching blends behavioral psychology and mindfulness with business rigor.
🌟 Decades of impact—Kelly’s clients include senior leaders across healthcare, education, and corporate sectors.
🪴 Authenticity-driven growth—She helps professionals step into their most confident, aligned, and effective selves.

Kelly is known for her intuitive ability to see beneath the surface—guiding clients through moments of uncertainty into renewed purpose and professional clarity. Whether it’s a first-time manager or a seasoned executive facing burnout, Kelly’s programs bring leaders back to themselves—stronger and more self-assured than before.

♦️ Kari Parker Samarasinghe, MBA

Executive Coach | Founder, Exec Coach Kari

🔗 Website | LinkedIn

A natural strategist and empathetic listener, Kari Parker Samarasinghe brings together the precision of business with the art of human connection. With an MBA background and years of leadership experience, she has carved out a unique space among Seattle’s coaching elite—focusing on emotional intelligence, leadership development, and organizational agility.

Her clients often describe her coaching sessions as clarifying, energizing, and refreshingly honest. She helps senior leaders and entrepreneurs identify blind spots, align team dynamics, and build cultures of accountability and trust.

✨ What makes Kari remarkable:

💼 Blends business acumen and people insight—she translates complex corporate goals into meaningful human-centered action.
🧭 Focus on intentional leadership—Her work often centers on purpose, values, and impact.
🌐 Cross-cultural expertise—Kari’s background working with global organizations adds depth to her local impact.

Her philosophy: “Leadership starts from within.” Kari believes that once a leader gains clarity about their motivations and blind spots, everything else—strategy, communication, and influence falls into place naturally.

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♦️ Mary Beth King

Leadership Coach & Workplace Culture Strategist | Founder, Vetrispace
🔗 Website | LinkedIn

At the intersection of design thinking, workplace culture, and leadership lies Mary Beth King, founder of Vetrispace. Mary Beth’s approach to coaching is refreshingly holistic—she views leadership development as part of a larger organizational ecosystem.

Her work focuses on creating workplace environments that foster connection, creativity, and trust. Whether she’s coaching a CEO or consulting on team dynamics, Mary Beth’s methodology integrates strategic foresight with human-centered design.

✨ Why leaders love working with Mary Beth:

🏙️ Deep understanding of workplace systems—Her background allows her to align leadership goals with organizational culture.
💬 Empowerment through collaboration—She’s known for helping leaders engage in meaningful dialogue that drives change.
🧠 Creative problem-solving – Her sessions often unlock innovative approaches to team performance and morale.

Through Vetrispace, Mary Beth helps Seattle organizations not just function better but feel better. Her coaching elevates leaders into catalysts for sustainable cultural transformation.

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♦️ Kristen Arterburn

Leadership Coach | Founder, Kristen Arterburn Coaching
🔗 Website | LinkedIn

Kristen Arterburn is the coach you call when you’re ready to break through barriers. Based in Seattle, Kristen combines her expertise in organizational psychology with her passion for authentic leadership. Her coaching style is known for being both direct and deeply compassionate, helping clients cut through noise and take strategic, confident action.

Her clients—from emerging leaders to C-suite executives—consistently describe her as “transformative.” Kristen’s coaching focuses on helping people reclaim their sense of purpose and power, especially during professional transitions or organizational change.

✨ What defines Kristen’s approach:

🎯 Results-oriented yet reflective—she’s skilled at balancing goal-setting with emotional awareness.
🔍 Clarity through conversation—Her coaching questions are laser-focused, helping clients discover new insights quickly.
🌿 Whole-person development – Kristen doesn’t separate professional growth from personal evolution.

Her work exemplifies what makes Seattle’s leadership development scene so distinctive—it’s not just about performance; it’s about presence.

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♦️ Chiara Motley

Executive and Leadership Coach

🔗 LinkedIn

A strategic advisor and coach with experience across corporate and nonprofit sectors, Chiara Motley brings a thoughtful, equity-driven perspective to leadership development. Her coaching philosophy is rooted in inclusion, psychological safety, and cultural intelligence—values that resonate deeply in Seattle’s progressive business landscape.

With years of experience in organizational effectiveness and human capital strategy, Chiara helps executives not just lead but lead better by embracing vulnerability, listening deeply, and inspiring authenticity in others.

✨ Highlights of Chiara’s impact:

🫱🏽‍🫲🏼 Equity-centered coaching—She helps leaders recognize and dismantle biases that limit collaboration.
💬 Courageous conversations—Her sessions encourage honest reflection and long-term behavioral change.
🌍 Commitment to systemic change—Chiara works with clients who want to influence their organizations beyond surface-level DEI efforts.

Her presence in Seattle’s coaching network symbolizes a growing movement—one where leadership is measured not only by results but also by resilience, empathy, and awareness.

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♦️ Sara Spencer, MBA

Executive/Leadership Success Coach | Founder, RECLAIM Vitality Coaching

🔗 LinkedIn

Sara Spencer is all about helping leaders reclaim something fundamental—their energy, clarity, and authentic presence—especially when burnout, overwhelm, or life’s pressures feel like they’re steering the ship. Based in Seattle (with part of her life also in Honolulu), Sara draws on her own journey (including recovering from autoimmune challenges and navigating caregiver roles) to bring deep empathy, resilience-building, and strategy to her coaching. 

What she brings to the table:

🔋 Energy & Mindset Mastery—Her programs dig into restoring vitality rather than just pushing through. She helps leaders build micro-habits, identify energy leaks, and reconfigure mindsets in sustainable ways.
💬 Communication & Clarity—Sara works with clients to find authentic communication, stronger presence, and confidence when dealing with difficult conversations, strategic alignment, and stepping into bigger roles.
🛠 Burnout Prevention & Recovery—Because she’s walked through burnout herself, she isn’t just offering theory. She builds tools and support systems for leaders who are already good at delivering—but are paying too high a personal cost to do so.

Sara’s approach feels particularly well suited for HR leaders in Seattle, because one of the biggest challenges in HR (especially in fast-growing orgs) is helping leaders manage not just the business metrics but the human ones—employee well-being, retention, culture, and psychological safety. Sara helps build capacity for both.

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♦️ Carol Little

Executive Coach & Trainer | Little Training Company
🔗Website | LinkedIn

Carol Little is a coach and trainer who puts transformation at the intersection of courage, values, and clarity. Based in Seattle, she works with executives, entrepreneurs, and teams who want to move from feeling stuck or under-seen to showing up with impact, voice, and alignment. 

What distinguishes Carol:

🚦 Inner work + leadership work—Carol’s path (and her own story, including recognizing impostor feelings, insecurities, and “living life for others” rather than for herself) informs her coaching heavily. She helps clients uncover blind spots, shift internal narratives, and lean into the leadership they sometimes feel pressure to hide. 

🏗 Workshop / training + coaching combo—She offers both 1:1 coaching and group / workshop experiences. Her ONYX Method (a leadership training program) helps leaders own their journey, work through “otherness,” align values to action, and expand what’s possible. 

📣 Speaking & facilitation—Carol is also known for her ability to engage large audiences, speak with impact, and help people reimagine what leadership means (not just performance metrics, but presence, purpose, and authenticity).

For HR professionals in Seattle, Carol’s mix of inner work and practical leadership training is especially helpful in organizations working through transitions (scale, inclusion, remote/hybrid, retaining culture under growth). Her approach helps leaders not just manage but transform how they show up—which in turn influences how teams and employees feel and perform.

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♦️ Solomon M. Uwadiale, Ph.D.

Executive Development Consultant

🔗 LinkedIn

Dr. Solomon Uwadiale is part of the deeper fabric of Seattle’s leadership-and-public-service ecosystem. He works at the state level (Dept. of Social and Health Services), is a Senior Fellow with the American Leadership Forum (Tacoma/Pierce County chapter), and has brought an academic, policy-informed, and systemic lens to executive development.

Key strengths & specialties:

🎯 Public sector/systems leadership—He focuses on leadership where policy, community, regulatory environment, and public welfare intersect. That is, settings where an executive decision has downstream social implications. Seattle-area organizations (both public and private) often need that lens, especially in HR functions tied to government contracts, compliance, equity, and service delivery.
🧠 Scholarly / rigorous thinking—With a Ph.D., he brings strong capacities in research, evaluation, leadership theory, and continuous learning. He tends to draw in frameworks that allow leaders to think strategically about their legacy, long-term systems, and societal impact.
🤝 Mentorship & peer development—As a Senior Fellow in the American Leadership Forum, he engages in shaping other leaders, supporting peer networks, and fostering high trust across sectors.

Why Seattle (HR & leadership) benefits from this kind of coach/consultant:
In many HR roles, especially in government, nonprofits, or large institutions, decisions aren’t just about profits but about fairness, public policy, resource allocation, and ethics. Leaders who can navigate policy, intersectionality, and systemic impact are increasingly important. Solomon offers that depth.

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♦️ Sanjit Singh

Fractional Sales & Strategy Leader / Executive Consultant
🔗 LinkedIn

Sanjit Singh isn’t exactly a traditional “executive coach” in the soft-skills sense, but he plays a hugely valuable role in helping leaders scale business, revenue, teams, and operations through strategy, mentorship, and execution. If your leadership challenges include growth, scaling, go-to-market, or building repeatable sales/marketing/operational systems, Sanjit is someone you’ll want in your network.

What he offers:

📈 Fractional leadership & scaling expertise—He works as a fractional COO/C-suite for companies that need senior leadership without full-time hires. He’s scaled businesses, launched startups, managed transitions, and built repeatable operational models. 

💡 Sales / Go-to-Market strategy & mentorship—His deep past in founding and growing companies gives him credibility in sales/marketing strategy, helping organizations build systems, not just tactics. This can complement HR/leadership when HR is asked to support growth, hiring, retention, and incentive alignment.

🌐 Founder & mentor roles—Sanjit’s active in Seattle’s startup & accelerator circles (mentoring at Techstars, etc.), which means his perspective bridges innovation, resource constraints, growth pressure, and scaling pains.

Use cases for working with someone like Sanjit: when you’re moving from founder to scaling exec, when your HR function is preparing to recruit/retain at scale, or when revenue goals demand sharper alignment between operations, people, and strategy.

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♦️ Amy McKenna

Executive Coach & Organizational Culture Strategist | Founder & CEO, HumanPoint
🔗 LinkedIn | Team page

Amy McKenna has been a Seattle-Bellevue mainstay in executive/leadership development, especially when it comes to culture, organizational design, and developing leadership capacity internally. Since founding HumanPoint in 2007, she’s guided a wide variety of leaders—from software, engineering, architecture, nonprofits, legal, etc.

What she does especially well:

🌱 Culture & People Systems—Amy doesn’t just coach individuals. She designs leadership programs, retreats, 360-feedback and assessment systems, and supports whole management/leadership layers to evolve. Her view is that culture is built top-down but also bottom-up—leadership practice, communication, and values must align. 

🔄 Hybrid roles: coach, facilitator, advisor—She plays many hats: speaker, facilitator, coach, and program designer. This gives her flexibility to work not just in 1:1 leadership coaching but also in group leadership work, strategy alignment, mentoring, and sustaining change.

📊 Tools, frameworks & certifications—Amy leverages tools like DiSC, CliftonStrengths, custom assessment design, and facilitation methods to give leaders feedback, clarity, and measurable growth

How HR/organizations benefit from Amy’s style: in Seattle, where many companies are scaling, going through hybrid/remote work transitions, or trying to maintain culture as headcount grows fast, someone like Amy is invaluable for helping embed leadership behaviors, alignment, and sustainable culture practices.

Final Thoughts & Where to Go From Here

Seattle’s leadership landscape is richly layered—from startups in Fremont and South Lake Union to large public institutions, nonprofits, tech giants, and local government. What connects them all is the demand for leaders who don’t just perform but lead with clarity, compassion, purpose, and adaptability.

If you’re an HR leader wondering which coach is right for your team or leaders:

• Think first about the challenge: is it burnout? cultural drift? scaling? inclusion? systemic change?
• Reflect on the style: do you need someone who will do deep inner work? Or someone who brings structure, execution, and operational scaling?
• Check credentials and evidence of prior work in similar contexts.
  

Why Digital Reference is Here to Help

Seattle’s leadership scene is constantly evolving, and so are the tools and mindsets that help its leaders grow. Whether you’re a startup founder, an HR leader, or an executive looking to redefine what success means, there’s never been a better time to invest in your own development.

📌 Step into growth with actionable insights. Explore more from Digital Reference:

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‍🌈 How to Hire a Human Resource Consultant: A Complete Guide for Growing Businesses

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At Digital Reference, our mission is to make professional development more human, strategic, and sustainable. Whether you’re in Seattle or scaling globally, we’re here to help you find the right guidance, the experts, and growth opportunities to build leaders.