“We believe in you, your ability to lead, to grow, to inspire, to effect change and results, to enhance relationships, to feel and spread joy. Our intent is to partner with you to become the leaders you know you can, and will, be.”
- Paula Halewski
LIV’s Founder - Paula Halewski
Paula's extensive experience as an executive coach and mental health therapist, coupled with her leadership roles and education, allows her to offer a well-rounded and comprehensive approach to coaching. Her focus on empowering individuals, increasing team productivity, and fostering healthy workplace cultures reflects her dedication to creating positive change in organizations.
Paula's experience in various leadership roles, such as Team Leader, Director, and CEO, provides her with firsthand knowledge of the challenges and opportunities that leaders face. This background allows her to relate to her clients' experiences and guide them towards becoming exceptional leaders.
A specialty of Paula's and LIV is helping organizations build stronger, more effective cultures by helping to create best-self leaders and by improving relationships, communication, team dynamics, and emotional intelligence. By fostering trust, belonging, and collaboration across multigenerational teams, we help companies create a more engaged, productive, and cohesive work environment that enhances company performance and, ultimately, profitability.
Who this specialty helps:
• Organizations struggling with interdepartmental inefficiencies or misalignment (e.g. silos).
• Leadership teams looking to improve communication and trust across levels.
• Companies facing challenges with multigenerational workforce dynamics.
• Businesses aiming to enhance employee engagement, retention, and overall culture.
Paula's credentials as a Certified Executive Leadership Coach attained from Georgetown University and her Professional Certified Coach (PCC) and Advanced Team Certification from the International Coaching Federation (ICF), her completion of extensive coursework for Organization and Relationship Systems Coaching (ORSC), and Group Coaching Certification demonstrate her commitment to upholding professional coaching standards (see Services & Certifications for the full certification and license list). In addition, Her educational background, including a Masters degree in Clinical Social Work from NYU (LCSW) and an Executive MBA from the University of Rochester, further enhances her ability to support her clients effectively.
As an author, speaker, facilitator, and former senior instructor at the University of Rochester, Paula has a track record of sharing her knowledge and expertise with others. She is committed to continuous learning and growth and has a lifelong dedication to expanding her knowledge and skills to best serve her clients.
On a personal note, Paula's top VIA strength of humor brings a lighthearted and enjoyable approach to her coaching engagements. This quality can contribute to creating a positive and engaging coaching experience for her clients.
Overall, Paula's unique combination of experience, expertise, and personal qualities makes her a valuable coach who can support individuals, teams, and organizations in their pursuit of leadership excellence, productivity, and healthy workplace cultures.
LIV Team Process
LIV president, Paula Halewski, hand selects a cadre of coaches based on the demographics and skill needs of the organization and the coaching participants we’re serving . All coaches are certified and credentialed by the International Coaching Federation (ICF).
Just to name a few clients
PSC by Rocket Lab (Aerospace Engineering - Private Sector)
AssetWorks (Technology - Private Sector)
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (Government - Public Sector)
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (Government - Public Sector)
LAWS Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services (Not-for-Profit)
Riverbend Landscapes & Tree Service (Private Sector)
Client Testimonials
More Testimonials at the Bottom of Each Page and on LinkedIn
“Paula is fantastic. She coached me during the time I was at Norfolk Southern. She doesn’t just offer guidance; she creates a space for reflection, clarity, courageous growth, and compassionate accountability. Whether navigating complex challenges, refining my communication style, or providing ways to mentor my team better, Paula consistently delivered actionable guidance along with the challenge to rise higher. She can be counted on to be a trusted thought partner, sounding board, and a catalyst for meaningful change. I wholeheartedly recommend Paula to any executive or organization seeking to elevate leadership, strengthen culture, and build a more resilient, purpose-driven future.”
Kathleen Novak - Senior Director, Legal Operations (Ret.) Norfolk Southern
“I had the pleasure and privilege of working with Paula in 2024 as my career coach. She was very insightful and challenged me to refine my prospective on leading and hone my skills as a leader. She is a great listener, very kind and encouraging. She provided resources that I continue to use in my position as a leader and I have shared these resources with members of my team.
Paula's coaching and expertise has definitely made a huge impact on my confidence as a leader and my approach to leading and working with others. I highly recommend her as a career coach. She is knowledgeable and genuinely engaged to ensure her clients' success. I truly appreciate the time we worked together.”
Scottie Presley - Director, Territory Management & Scheduling, Brighthouse Financial
“I had the privilege of working with Paula for career and leadership coaching, and her guidance has been transformative. She challenged me to dig deep into my leadership skills, emphasizing the power of asking the right questions and truly listening—with empathy and without assumptions. Her approach not only sharpened my professional growth but also helped me build stronger, more authentic connections. Paula's insight and encouragement have been invaluable, and I highly recommend her to anyone looking to elevate their leadership and career.”
Derek Green - General Manager Operations Norfolk Southern
“Paula was great to work with over the last several months. Her attitude is always positive and I left each session with action steps to help move a current issue forward. I would highly recommend Paula for guidance and coaching.”
Mike Naccari - Branch Manager, Boise Cascade
“Over the past few months, I have had a number of career coaching and training sessions with Paula. I have found her to be very perceptive and helpful in guiding me to better understand my own strengths and use them to the betterment of my company and myself. Paula is able to quickly understand a person as an individual and help that person to see what maybe they might miss about themselves, and ultimately how they might use that knowledge to become better at what they do. I have really appreciated working with her and look forward to our paths crossing in the future.”
Hal Warren – Branch Manager, Boise Cascade
“I recently had the privilege of working with Paula, an outstanding executive leadership coach, who played a pivotal role in refining my personal and professional skills.
Her expertise, compassion, and strategic insights were truly remarkable. From the very first session, her deep knowledge of executive leadership and management was evident, and she seamlessly tailored her approach to my specific needs and circumstances.
My experience with Paula was exceptional and I can wholeheartedly recommend her to anyone seeking a coach who is not only knowledgeable but also deeply invested in their clients' success. I am very grateful for the guidance and support she provided.”
Anne-Kathrin Eiselt, Ph.D. - Psychologist & Neuroscientist, Cognitive and Behavioral Research at Digital Health
“I just completed Coaching with Paula and her insight and strategies are extremely helpful. I would highly recommend working with Paula to develop and hone your career and leadership skills. Paula genuinely listens and challenges you to develop skills that translate into practical strategies for becoming a true leader in your field.”
Rebecca Hoey - Director of Legal Services/Family Law at LAWS, Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services
“I just finished up a five month coaching engagement with Paula, and it was extraordinary. I had never considered working with an executive coach, until a mentor of mine suggested it. When I was introduced to Paula, we immediately hit it off. She helped me identify my professional identity and we keyed in on a few areas that if I improved upon, or enhanced, I could make real change in my organization. It worked. Paula has the expertise, experience and steady demeanor that are the hallmarks of any great coach. Thanks a bunch, Paula! And the work continues...”
“Paula and LIV came back to my organization to work on our company culture. LIV took us away from the whirlwind of work and forced on to the balcony to take a look at the show and decide for ourselves what areas we needed to work on, and it wasn't necessarily the business that needed working on, but the leadership of the business. Paula and her team are fantastic to work with.
Our company has grown significantly over the years, and transitioning from $XX revenue per year to $XXX per year, can require fundamental and strategic improvements to sustain. This requires everyone in the company. LIV was able to pull out information from our organization that allowed our leadership team to put in place strategies and tactics, derived from our employees, to move the company successfully forward. It's the beginning of a cultural shift that focuses on the customer, our employees and the long term health of the company. A month after our engagement with LIV, we landed the largest targeted prospect in North America. With teamwork.”
Joseph Keefe - Director of Sales and Business Development, AssetWorks LLC
“I had the opportunity to work with Paula, and while it was for a short coaching engagement her impact was enormous. Through our conversations she helped me shift my perspective on a few things I felt had been holding me back and embrace new opportunities - including beginning my own coaching journey. Paula's approach was kind and thoughtful, encouraging me with challenging questions and perspectives to consider. I am grateful for our work together.”
Megan Van Hoy, PhD - VP Consulting & Assessment at Taylor Strategy Partners
“I had the pleasure of having Paula as my coach for the past few months. No matter the subject I brought forth for discussion, Paula was able to provide valuable insights on how to better a program, process, or policy. What I enjoyed most about the training was that Paula guided the journey to the solution, providing a space for me to really wrestle with the concept before coming to a possible conclusion. Having Paula as my coach has been tremendously helpful and I have benefited greatly from her coaching.”
Tyler Peak - Development Manager at LAWS, Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services
“I have spent the last year working with Paula in multiple capacities. First, Paula was assigned as my executive coach for 1 on 1 coaching sessions. Paula was extremely knowledgeable, comforting and maintained exceptional confidentiality. Paula supported me in working through real-world corporate scenarios and left me with tools to use as I continue in my career. Paula and the team at LIV also helped us through a culture transformation by guiding our organization to use our people to develop our business's future vision. This resulted in key priorities and a change management plan for us to implement. The value provided by LIV’s program will carry us into the future.”
Jaclyn Jagodinski - Vice President of Sales & Marketing, AssetWorks LLC
“Paula Halewski from the Leadership Institute of Virginia (LIV) was my executive coach for 2022. These coaching engagements were extremely informative and insightful and helped me to navigate through some polarities and to recognise/avoid certain 'mind traps'. We also partnered with Paula and her team of consulting professionals to implement a global cultural transformation programme. This programme (facilitated by LIV) was a collaboration between senior leadership and employees. A key outcome of the programme was building a cross-functional improvement plan to facilitate employee engagement. I believe this investment will greatly contribute to the future success of our business.”
Mike Gadd - Managing Director at AssetWorks LLC
