Academic leadership is a uniquely complex and demanding role. Leaders are often expected to make strategic decisions, foster innovation, and support faculty, all while navigating unfamiliar terrain without a clear map. Academic leadership is not limited to formal administrative roles; it includes faculty who guide ideas, convene communities, navigate complex academic systems, and advance the collective work of the university while sustaining their own scholarly pursuits. Coaching provides a confidential, time-bound partnership that supports leaders to work through academic leadership challenges, which may include building capacity and resilience in meeting goals; deepening awareness of leadership style, strengths, and values; and navigating key leadership topics such as strategic decision-making, difficult conversations, and conflict engagement.
Academic leadership coaching is particularly attentive to:
- Context: Academic leadership requires balancing faculty priorities with institutional goals while managing limited authority and diverse expectations. Our coaching is grounded in the realities of these structural complexities.
- Identity: Leadership is shaped by lived experience. Women, Indigenous, racialized, and other equity-deserving faculty leaders often encounter unique systemic barriers. Our coaching centers identity as a core part of leadership development, offering space to address these dynamics.
- Expertise: Coaching is a partnership, not mentorship. As our coaches understand academic environments, they hold space for reflection and growth and offer guidance through a ‘coach approach’ when warranted. At the same time, the client’s insight and agency guide the work.
- Loneliness: The shift from peer to leader can cause isolation and disconnection. Coaching offers an anchor, a space to process challenges, reconnect with purpose, and lead with integrity.
What past leaders have said
Academic leadership coaches
Our roster of coaches are certified professionals who also work in academic or academic-adjacent roles. All have completed coach training programs and are certified by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), the world’s leading accrediting and credentialing body for professional coaching. ICF sets the benchmark for ethical, effective coaching, ensuring that our leaders receive high-quality, evidence-informed support.
To learn more about our coaches and their specialties, please click on the drop-down menu.
Shakeela Begum, JD, PCC
Certified Integral Coach
Shakeela Begum (she/her) has over 30 years’ experience in law, philanthropic advising, and organizational development. At UBC, she serves as Director, Gift & Estate Planning, partnering with donors, professional advisors, and campus leaders to advance the university’s strategic priorities as part of Development & Alumni Engagement’s leadership team.
Shakeela’s coaching supports Heads, Directors, and Associate Deans as they transition from faculty roles into administrative positions that require strategic vision, people leadership, and institutional decision-making. She helps leaders balance competing demands, navigate shared governance, lead peers effectively, and adapt to the political and relational realities of the institution — without losing connection to their academic identity.
Shakeela’s approach is developmental, trauma-informed, and grounded in somatic awareness. Drawing on certifications in Integral Coaching, Leadership Maturity, the Enneagram and Somatic Experiencing, she helps leaders strengthen presence, communication, and resilience under pressure.
Born in England to parents of Kashmiri heritage, Shakeela brings a deep respect for cultural identity, purpose, and lived experience.
Shawna Faber, PhD, PCC
Certified Organizational Coach
Shawna Faber (she/her) is an Associate Professor of Teaching in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology and Special Education in the Faculty of Education at UBC. Dr. Faber is an alumna of the Academic Leadership Development Program and has held numerous administrative roles within her department while also teaching future educators and supervising graduate students.
Shawna’s coaching experience encompasses working with individuals and teams on change management, leadership development, goal setting for career and personal objectives, conflict resolution, motivation, and strategies for sustained follow-through. She brings particular expertise in mentoring and coaching within post-secondary environments, drawing from both her faculty role and her coaching practice at UBC. Understanding the unique pressures facing today's professionals and educators, Shawna brings both academic rigor and real-world application to every coaching relationship.
Shawna’s coaching approach centers on helping clients leverage their strengths to identify solutions that advance their personal and professional goals. Together, you will develop strategies designed to achieve meaningful results and support continued growth and long-term development.
Barbara Gobis, MScPhm, RPh, PCC
Certified Organizational Coach
Certified in Collaborative Conflict Resolution
Barbara Gobis (she/her) is a leadership coach and conflict resolution professional supporting leaders to be at their best, work in high functioning teams and successfully achieve strategic priorities.
She joined UBC in 2013 to establish the UBC Pharmacists Clinic and led the Clinic program until 2024. Barbara now enjoys an educator role within UBC’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Prior to UBC, Barbara held leadership positions at the BC Ministry of Health and private sector health and technology companies.
A graduate of the Academic Leadership Development Program, Barbara understands the challenges faced by new university leaders and particularly those working in health disciplines.
She has been coaching for over 10 years and provided over 2,000 hours of coaching services to over 200 clients. She uses a strengths-based approach to move clients from where they are to where they want to be.
LinkedIn
Email: barbara.gobis@ubc.ca
Isabeau Iqbal, PhD, PCC
CliftonStrengths Certified Coach, Gallup
Isabeau Iqbal (she/her) brings over two decades of experience in higher education to her coaching work with academic leaders. A long-time member of the UBC community, she has partnered closely with faculty and department heads, including coaching with the Academic Leadership Development Program since 2021.
As a coach, Isabeau supports academic leaders as they navigate uncertainty and work toward meaningful change. Her approach blends structure and spaciousness: it makes room for reflection and prioritizes practical, doable planning. She helps leaders recognize what is already working and build from there, an approach that is especially useful for those who experience perfectionist characteristics.
At UBC, Isabeau works at UBC’s Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology, where she supports faculty in teaching and leadership development. Outside of her UBC work, Isabeau runs a coaching practice focused on higher education professionals, facilitates workshops on career wellbeing, and mentors and assesses developing coaches.
Pooja Khandelwal, MBA, MCC
Certified Leadership Circle Profile 360 Coach
Associate Certified Team Coach
Dare to Lead Facilitator
Pooja Khandelwal (she/her) serves on the Global Executive Board of the International Coaching Federation (ICF), representing the Board of Coaching in Organizations and advancing coaching as a strategic lever for organizational effectiveness and culture. She is also a contributing author to ICF’s first-ever Book of Coaching Knowledge (2025).
At UBC, Pooja is Director, Talent Retention & Career Navigation, where she leads institution-wide strategies to strengthen career development, engagement, and workforce retention for over 15,000 employees. Her work is grounded in her pioneering Career Navigation philosophy, which shifts organizational culture toward mobility, engagement, and employee-led growth.
For more than a decade, Pooja has partnered with academic leaders to build resilient teams and navigate complexity with clarity and confidence. She uses the Leadership Circle Profile 360 not as a performative assessment, but as an appreciative catalyst—rewiring leadership by shifting perspectives and expanding who leaders become. Integrating systems thinking, cultural insight, and deep understanding of human and emotional dynamics, her work enables leaders to advance academic mission with coherence, agency, and operational effectiveness.
Her contributions helped UBC earn an Honorable Mention at the ICF Prism Awards. She was also a founding coach of UBC’s Organizational Coaching Certificate Program and previously led ICF Vancouver’s award-winning Leadership Coach-Giving initiative.
Maryam Nabavi, PhD, ACC
Certified Organizational Coach
Certified Leadership Coach
Strengths Deployment Inventory (SDI) Certified Facilitator
Maryam Nabavi (she/her) serves as Program Director of the Academic Leadership Development Program. She provides coaching and strategic advising to academic leaders across the university and leads the design, delivery, and ongoing evolution of ALDP’s programs and initiatives. Her work contributes to strengthening a university-wide culture of values-based academic leadership.
Maryam brings a deep understanding of institutional context and the complexities of academic leadership to her coaching. With a strong commitment to equity and collegiality, she supports academic leaders, particularly those whose identities and experiences have been historically underrepresented in higher education, in navigating complex systems while remaining grounded in their values. Her work helps leaders stay aligned with their purpose, lead with clarity, and engage institutional dynamics with integrity.
With a steady and thoughtful presence, Maryam draws on her training in conflict engagement, somatic coaching, and inclusive leadership in her coaching work. Her approach is informed by more than 20 years of experience in higher education - as a researcher, teacher, and strategist - as well as by her lived experiences of migration, identity, and belonging.
Beyond UBC, Maryam provides coaching and consulting to individuals and groups, building capacity to navigate complexity and to find meaningful paths forward.
Richard Price, PhD, ACC
Certified Organizational Coach
Richard Price (he/him) is a Professor of Political Science. He is currently the Director of Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Arts. In that position he has created a pilot program providing coaching for graduate students in the Faculty of Arts.
Richard is an accomplished scholar having written or edited five books, and is an award-winning teacher including UBC’s Killam Teaching Prize. In his teaching he is incorporating a coach-approach to empower students to take agency for their personal growth and professional development.
He has had extensive leadership experience, including serving as Senior Advisor to UBC President Stephen Toope for three years, and as Head of the Department of Political Science. These experiences have inspired and informed his own career journey into coaching to support others with sensitivity to the academic context.
He is grateful for the opportunity to coach academic leaders at UBC. His evidence-based coaching is grounded in the brain sciences to support your growth and flourishing. He is a certified Systemic Team Coach who can offer support for organizational challenges and opportunities.
Karen Rolston, MA, PCC
Certified Organizational Coach
Certified in Collaborative Conflict Resolution
Karen Rolston (she/her) brings over 25 years of leadership experience at UBC and has served as a coach with the Academic Leadership Development Program since 2017. She partners with academic leaders seeking a confidential and trusted thought partner to navigate complex institutional challenges, strengthen their leadership effectiveness, and lead with greater clarity and confidence.
Karen’s coaching style is both reflective and strategic. She creates space for thoughtful exploration while helping leaders step back to see patterns, systems, and broader dynamics that shape their work. Her areas of focus include navigating difficult conversations, engaging constructively with conflict, fostering inclusive and equitable environments, and building resilient, high-functioning teams.
Karen currently serves as Director of Career and Professional Programs at UBC Extended Learning, where she leads a team of educational specialists developing programs for professionals advancing or transitioning their careers. She thrives in the complexity of educational leadership — from policy development and financial stewardship to the nuanced human dynamics that influence culture, trust, and performance.
Outside of UBC, she serves as a director on the International Coaching Federation board for British Columbia, reflecting her commitment to strengthening the coaching profession and expanding access to high-quality coaching across sectors.
LinkedIn
Email: karen.rolston@ubc.ca
Dee Dee Sung, MBA, PCC
Certified Organizational Coach
Dee Dee Sung (she/her), has over 25 years of leadership experience, including more than a decade in senior roles. At UBC, she serves as Executive Director, Development, and is part of the Development & Alumni Engagement Senior Management and Leadership team overseeing UBC’s robust fundraising program, which drives strategic philanthropic support and engagement across the university.
Her coaching practice focuses on leadership development for academic leaders — including Heads, Directors, and Associate Deans — who are navigating the shift from faculty roles into complex leadership positions. She helps them move forward with greater clarity, confidence, and self-trust.
Dee Dee’s coaching approach is values-based and developmental, designed to support agency, confidence, and insight during key inflection points. She understands the unique dynamics of academic environments and adapts her coaching to meet the evolving demands, pressures, and personal growth of each individual leader.
A third-generation Chinese Canadian, Dee Dee brings a nuanced cultural lens and deep respect for identity, purpose, and lived experience.
LinkedIn
Email: deedee.sung@ubc.ca
Mary Lynn Young, PhD, ACC
Integral Certified Coach
Mary Lynn Young (she/her) is a certified coach, educator, researcher and co-founder of The Conversation Canada, a national not-for-profit journalism outlet. She is a student of the curriculum of life, committed to actions that support future generations.
Mary Lynn’s professional life includes experience as a journalist in Canada and the United States, and administrator (Director, Associate Dean), professor and leadership coach at the University of British Columbia. She has co-authored two books, including Reckoning: Journalism’s Limits and Possibilities (Oxford University Press, 2020) with Professor Candis Callison. Their book is on the recommended journalism reading list curated by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University. She is completing a co-led SSHRC $2.5-million competitive research grant on journalism innovation in 2027. The grant provides research funding for The Conversation Canada and supports a wide range of projects led by scholars in three countries that examine explanatory journalism and its relationship to policy, audiences, technology, Indigenous journalism and the business of media.
Mary Lynn’s coaching is focused on supporting leadership development for academic leaders, short-term strategy and support for the whole self. Her coaching philosophy is rooted in an integral approach to understanding the self, systems thinking, evidence-based tools and is trauma informed.
Working with an academic leadership coach in a paid coaching engagement
Coaches understand the nuances of academic leadership, have experience working with academic leaders and have a deep understanding of the systems and processes that leaders navigate in leadership roles. Sessions are flexible and tailored to clients’ needs.
Faculty members may use their Professional Development funds or pay out of pocket to cover the cost of coaching.
If you would like to work with an Academic Leadership Coach on this roster, you can contact them directly.
Other coaching opportunities at UBC
UBC Coaching Services offers six sessions of coaching to all faculty and staff annually, at no cost. You can learn more about this service here.