ICF Austin Chapter

🌟 Verna D. Ruffin

This week's Member Spotlight was a band director for 15 years, speaks Creole, and has former students now in their 50s still reaching out to say she changed their lives. 🎶

That's not a coaching origin story. That's a calling confirming itself over decades.

Verna Ruffin coaches K-12 education leaders, executives, and life clients through pivotal transitions — and her belief is simple and profound: people grow most powerfully when they feel seen, believed in, and supported without judgment. Her job isn't to direct the path. It's to help people recognize the wisdom they already carry.

She also lives by this: leap, and the net will follow. Clearly, it's working.

Welcome to the spotlight, Verna! 🙏

🌐 vernaruffin.com
📲 linkedin.com/in/verna-d-ruffin-ed-d-39641721 | FB: verna.ruffin.9 | X:

🌟 Wendy Irwin

This week's Member Spotlight started her career as an opera singer and won Austin Chronicle's Best of Austin award... as a bag designer. 🎶👜

Wendy Irwin contains multitudes — and that tracks perfectly for someone whose mission is to dare others to unmute themselves.

A 25+ year entrepreneur, Wendy now coaches founders, entrepreneurs, and executives through Wendy Irwin Coaching & Perspicacity. Her belief: when people walk confidently in their genius and passion, it fuels a life of freedom and fulfillment. Her work is about helping people find that voice — and trust it.

PCC credentialed, ELI-MP certified, and apparently also available for karaoke. We love her. 🎤

Oh, and did we mention that Wendy is the Director of Outreach for ICF Austin?

Welcome to the spotlight, Wendy! 💛

🌐 wendyirwin.com
📲 IG: | LI: linkedin.com/in/WendyHarveyIrwin

This week's Member Spotlight has serious main-character energy. 🥾

Leigh Mires walked the 500-mile Camino de Santiago across northern Spain. In 35 days.

She held a counseling license for years before deciding she wanted to focus on moving people forward, not just processing what happened to them. Now she coaches executives, business owners, women, and people in transition through The Mires Collaborative.

🌶️ Her hot take🌶️ : stop training leadership like it's a skill. Real transformation doesn't happen at the level of behavior, it happens at the level of identity. Her core belief backs it up: people are already creative, resourceful, and whole. They just need to rediscover it.

Welcome to the spotlight, Leigh! 🙏

🌐 themirescollaborative.com
📲 linkedin.com/in/leighmires

This week's Member Spotlight is serving up a fun fact that we're still thinking about. 👏

Cathy Morris wrote her master's thesis on how humor is communicated electronically — right as emojis were being invented. =-)

After 20 years in Talent & Leadership Development, coaching was the natural next chapter. And her take on emotional intelligence? Emotions aren't obstacles. They're data. For leaders, that shift changes everything.

Oh, and did we mention? Cathy is also our ICF Greater Austin Chapter President. We're in good hands, y'all. 💛

🌐 eqleverage.com
📲 linkedin.com/in/cathyamorris

You know it's a good Member Spotlight when the fun fact alone stops your scroll. 👇

Sandy Schwan coached her 68-year-old mother through her first sprint triathlon. In Bermuda. With dad as the photographer. 🏅

But here's what makes Sandy exceptional beyond the triathlon training: she's been walking alongside leaders for 20+ years, and her philosophy cuts right to it — leaders don't need more frameworks. They need better questions and the space to actually sit with the answers.

She also goes by "Wrong Way" due to some well-documented navigational challenges. We love her anyway. 😂

Fun Fact: Sandy is also our Director of Business Alliance.

So glad you found your way to ICF Greater Austin, Sandy! 🙌

🌐 evolvingstrategies.com
📲 linkedin.com/in/sandyschwan

The Member Spotlight Series rolls on — this week we're celebrating someone with serious range. 💙

10+ years of coaching experience. ACC credentialed. MA in Leadership Development. Positive Intelligence certified. EMCC Team Coaching certified.

Marcia Rhode brings depth, rigor, and heart to developing tech leaders and high potentials — and we're so glad she's in our corner of the coaching world.

📲 linkedin.com/in/marcia-rhode

Our Member Spotlight Series continues — and this week's feature is giving us all the feels. 🌊

Renée Lilley grew up barely seeing a puddle of water. Then she married a sailor and learned to sail.

That kind of plot twist? Very on-brand for someone who helps people rewrite the stories that are holding them back.

Renée coaches career development, communication, and academic growth — and her foundation is this: the stories we tell ourselves about our capabilities and opportunities matter more than we realize. When the narrative is more fiction than fact, that's exactly where the work begins.

So glad you're part of our community, Renée! 💛

🌐 storylinecoachingstudio.com
📲 linkedin.com/in/renée-lilley

We're kicking off something we've been excited about — our Member Spotlight Series! 🎉

Every other week, we're putting a member coach in the spotlight — because the talent, heart, and story in this community deserves to be seen.

First up? Jenny Tornow, and she did not disappoint.

She created the first-ever certification program for space planning professionals in retail. She coaches executives stepping into strategy AND women exploring solo motherhood. And she's learning to play Tibetan singing bowls.

Jenny is not your average coach — and we are here for it. ✨

Her superpower is identity transformation.

Her belief: disruption isn't breakdown, it's growth in disguise. When who you understand yourself to be shifts, everything else reorganizes.

Welcome to the spotlight, Jenny! 🙌

🌐 jennytornowexeccoaching.com
📲 linkedin.com/in/jennytornow | substack.com/

ICF Greater Austin has partnered with Texas Conference for Women to offer our community an exclusive ticket rate: $350 ($95 off Early Bird pricing)—a code designed to be shared with your clients, colleagues, and network. This rate is available only until May 8.

Featured speakers include:
Kristen Bell
Hoda Kotb
Ilona Maher
Tunde Oyeneyin
Codie Sanchez

Details:
• Offer valid through May 8 or while supplies last
• Limit 2 tickets per registration
• Valid for new purchases only

This is a rare opportunity to experience a full day of bold conversations and actionable insight—alongside thousands shaping the future of business.

Consider who in your world needs to be in that room—and pass it along.

What happens when you put thousands of leaders, entrepreneurs, and decision-makers in one room?

Energy shifts. Thinking expands. Action follows.

At Texas Conference for Women 2026, expect more than inspiration—you’ll walk away with practical insights you can apply immediately.

Whether you attend solo or bring your team, this is space designed for growth, connection, and momentum.

ICF Greater Austin has partnered with Texas Conference for Women to offer our community an exclusive ticket rate: $350 ($95 off Early Bird pricing). Consider this your invitation to share that access with your own community—available only until May 8. Link to Register is in the Comments ⬇️

Sometimes the most strategic move you can make… is stepping out of the noise.