She has been a full time, professional coach since 1996. Since then she has coached hundreds of individuals in both private and group settings. Her private practice, while eclectic, is comprised mostly of professionals, executives and business owners. She has coached physicians, lawyers and other professionals in addition to senior level executives in corporations ranging in annual revenues from $10 million to $30 billion.

Amy has played an integral role in developing coaching as a worldwide profession. For over five years she was on the executive team of Coach U, the world's leading coach training organization where coaching was pioneered. During her time with Coach U Amy helped grow the company from under 500 students in the U.S. and Canada to over 7000 students in 36 countries. In 2001 Amy ended her tenure there as President of Coach Live which developed and produced as many as 65 live coach training events each year for personal, business and corporate coaches around the world. She continues to do specialty training projects and consulting for Coach U and remains on the training team as a Senior Trainer.

Amy has also been involved in the development of certification standards and criteria for the International Coach Federation (ICF), the most recognized coach certification throughout the world. She sat on the Certification Development Committee where competencies, exam content and exam procedures were initially developed. She was also one of the founding members of the Chicago chapter of the International Coach Federation.

In 2004 Amy was invited to be on the coaching team with Doctors In Touch , a Personal Leadership and Development organization for physicians. This first-of-a-kind organization assesses, then coaches physicians on leadership and communication skills to help them reduce the risks of malpractice through developing stronger and more effective communication skills with patients and staff members.

In May of 2005 Amy was asked to become a charter faculty member at The University of Texas School of Management in the Executive and Professional Coaching Program. This is the first academically accredited coach training program in the United States. Amy has been teaching at UTD since the fall of 2005.

Amy is also co-chair for the 11th annual International Coach Federation conference in November 2006. This is the largest worldwide conference in the coaching profession with coaches attending from over 20 different countries.

For twelve years before starting her coaching practice, Amy was the creative principal in building a communications business from the conceptual stages to over $4 million in annual revenues. As a result of building this successful business, she has a strong background in sales, marketing, management and operations.

Personal
Amy shares her life with her husband Brian. For over 20 years they have worked hard to develop a life and lifestyle that once was a dream and is now a reality. They live in a beautiful, natural sanctuary along the wooded banks of the Fox River in a sleepy little town about 30 miles outside Chicago. Together they have built their ideal life that is rich with loving family and good friends.
One of the things that stands out most about Amy is her sense of humor. She has a natural ability to bring humor and levity to almost any situation and has always been and still is pegged as the "class clown". This gets particularly interesting when she is the teacher now! Her motto is, "If it isn't fun, I'm not doing it!" and she sticks to it.
Amy is also known to be fiercely passionate about many things and puts action behind the things she stands for and believes in. She is a self proclaimed maverick and her life is a reflection of her unconventional and at times, irreverent viewpoints. Some polite people have called this visionary. Don't let this aspect scare you though because above all Amy is most passionate about tolerance. "It is our ability to recognize and respect the opinions, beliefs, and actions of others, whether we agree with them or not, and our ability to respond to challenging situations from our hearts that determines how evolved we are as a people." says Amy.

Some points of interest in Amy's personal life:

• Amy is a horse enthusiast and has owned and trained horses for most of her life. She has competed in multiple equestrian events and has trained race horses.
• Amy has her teaching degree in the martial art of Tai Chi Chuan and a black belt in Aikido. She also holds rank in Shao Lin Kung Fu and has trained police officers in street self defense. She can often be found out in the woods playing with her swords and spears. <grin>
• Amy has sailed across the Atlantic Gulf Stream three times in a 44 foot yacht. "Talk about a religious experience!"
• In their quest for their dream home, Amy and her husband Brian tore down the house they lived in for 18 years and built their dream home. Amy and her husband acted as general contractor and she has more understanding of building and construction than even SHE cares to know! She does however have her own tool belt and power tools and absolutely loves sitting around the kitchen table with architectural drawings, tradesmen and a pot of coffee.
• Weight has been Amy's life long challenge (dieting since the age of 9) and still is. She is a vast resource for lifestyle modifications focusing on wellness, nutrition and fitness.
• This may come as no surprise, but Amy loves to cook and entertain. When she rebuilt her home she made sure the kitchen and the dining room were two of the biggest rooms in her home. She is a vast resource for healthy meals on the go, cooking for those who hate to cook and cooking with reckless abandon. "They call me the kitchen maestro!"
• Amy and her husband Brian are avid kayakers and bicyclers. They spend lots of time on the river they live on and the 27 miles of natural trails that run adjacent to their property.
• Half of Amy's immediate family lives in Ireland. "Yeah, I know. This explains a lot!"
• Amy has been traveling since she was a child and claims it's in her blood. She and her husband love to travel and the more exotic, the better!
  
• Amy is an animal lover extraordinaire. She is especially fond of dogs. Well, OK, she's a dog nut!