Executive Coaching

You’ve built the vision. Now let’s solve the roadblocks keeping you from living it.

Leadership at the cabinet or executive level is often described as lonely, but it’s more accurately described as congested. You are managing board politics, shifting policy mandates, and the weight of organizational culture—all while trying to keep the focus on students.

We’ve been in your shoes. We know what it’s like to have a clear vision but feel "stuck" in the operational or political friction of the day-to-day. At Third Coast Education Partners, we don't just offer theory; we offer a high-level thought-partnership designed to help you navigate the complexities we’ve lived through.

Schedule a Strategy Session

Two adults engaged in coaching conversation

You’re Leading Everyone Else. Who’s Leading You?

In the seat of a Superintendent or Executive Director, you are the architect, the firefighter, and the visionary all at once. It’s easy to get buried in the "how" of the work and lose sight of the "why."

What’s at risk when you stay in the grind?

Burnout disguised as "busy-ness."
Leadership Drift where policy dictates practice, rather than the other way around.
Missed Impact because you’re managing the status quo instead of driving the mission.

I’ve sat in the seat for more than a decade. I know the weight of the work - and I know the way out. Let’s move beyond the mess and into coherence.

The Third Coast Advantage

What sets Third Coast’s leadership development apart from other offerings in the field?

Standard Leadership Development

Focuses on generic “leadership traits”

Uses corporate-first frameworks

Led schools but no formal coaching training, or has been a coach, but never led schools

Third Coast Leadership Development

Rooted in 12 years of school leadership experience in high-needs school environments

Grounded in PhD-level research on effective educational practice

ICF-Certified leadership coach with school and district leadership experience in charters and traditional school districts

Core Service Pillars

Third Coast can customize support to your needs. Here are a few ways we’ve helped other clients.

1:1 Executive Coaching: Focused on personal leadership and strategic decision-making.
Cohort-Based Development: For leadership teams or organizations looking to build collective growth and development strategies.

The Third Coast Coaching Experience

A high-trust, high-impact partnership for leaders who don’t have time to be stuck.

Coaching at the executive level shouldn't feel like another meeting on your calendar—it should be the one hour that makes every other hour more productive. My process is designed to honor your expertise while providing the external perspective and ICF-backed framework needed to navigate the complexities of your role.

Here is how we work together to move from friction to flow:

We start by looking at the "soil" you’re planting in. Before we dive into goals, I spend time understanding your specific ecosystem—your board dynamics, your current evaluation systems, and the organizational "trauma" or triumphs that have shaped your current landscape. Because I’ve been in your shoes, we won't spend weeks on the basics; we’ll get straight to the nuanced challenges of your specific district or nonprofit.
We identify the "Critical Few." Using a combination of your internal data and high-level reflection, we pinpoint the 2–3 bottlenecks—be they political, operational, or personal—that are currently limiting your impact. We set clear, measurable objectives so that our work has a defined ROI for both you and your organization.
This is the core of our work. In our sessions, I wear two hats:
- The ICF Coach: I use professional coaching competencies to help you broaden your perspective, challenge your own assumptions, and unlock new ways of thinking.
- The Strategic Peer: Unlike traditional coaches who only ask questions, I am a partner who understands the stakes of a teacher contract negotiation or a nonprofit funding gap. I’m here to pressure-test your strategies and brainstorm alongside you.
Insight without action is just a conversation. Every session concludes with a "Monday Morning Strategy"—a clear, actionable step you can take immediately to address the problems we’ve discussed. We bridge the gap between high-level leadership theory and the gritty reality of your daily to-do list.
Growth isn't linear. Periodically, we pause to evaluate our progress against your initial goals. We look at how your leadership is trickling down to your cabinet, your staff, and your students. As your organization evolves, our coaching focus evolves with it, ensuring you always have the right support for the current season of your leadership.

"I don't need a cheerleader; I need a co-pilot." Our engagement is built on a foundation of radical confidentiality and intellectual honesty. I provide a safe harbor for you to process the 'un-processable' challenges of leadership, combined with the rigor of a trained executive coach who knows what actually works in the field.

Who We Serve

District & Charter Leaders

Districts Leaders and Charter School C-Suite Leaders

Navigating the political and operational complexities of both large and small scale systems to meet your organization’s goals.

School Leaders

Moving beyond “managerial” tasks to become true instructional leaders who drive teacher growth and student achievement.

Principals and Assistant Principals

Nonprofit C-Suite Founders and C-Suite Leaders

Nonprofit Executives

Balancing mission-driven passion with the strategic discipline required for long-term sustainability.

Book a Discovery Call with Matt

Let’s have a real conversation.

You don’t need a sales pitch; you need to know if this partnership is the right fit for the challenges on your desk right now.

In this 20-minute Discovery Call, we won’t just talk about coaching—we’ll talk about your work. You’ll bring one specific "stuck point" you’re currently facing, and we’ll see how my approach as a peer and a coach can help you find a way through.

Book Discovery Call with Matt

A consultant is hired to give you an answer or a deliverable; a coach is hired to help you become the person who can find the answer and lead the team through it. While I bring my expertise in school leadership and nonprofit strategy to the table as a thought-partner, my primary goal is to sharpen your decision-making and leadership capacity so that the results are sustainable long after our engagement ends.
The goal of coaching is to give you time back, not take more of it. Most of my clients find that one or two focused hours a month saves them dozens of hours of "spinning" on complex problems. We work on a schedule that respects the demands of a superintendent’s or executive director’s calendar.
No. If I just told you what to do, I’d be ignoring the unique context you know better than anyone. Instead, I act as a "second brain." I’ll help you pressure-test your ideas, offer a "been-there" perspective on potential pitfalls, and use ICF-certified coaching techniques to help you unlock the best path forward for your specific organization.
Absolutely. As an ICF-certified coach, I am bound by a strict Code of Ethics regarding confidentiality. Our sessions are a "safe harbor" where you can process political friction, personnel challenges, and leadership doubts without fear of it leaving the room.
Yes. While individual executive coaching is a deep dive, I often work with cabinets or nonprofit leadership teams to align their strategy and communication. If your "stuck" point is a systemic one within your team, we can design a collective coaching engagement to address it.
Because every leader’s "stuck point" and organizational context is different, I don't offer a one-size-fits-all price list. Instead, we structure our engagements to ensure the highest ROI for your specific needs. Common models include:
- Retainer-Based Coaching: A monthly or quarterly partnership for the executive who needs a consistent, high-level sounding board and "on-call" support for shifting challenges.
- Project-Specific Intensives: A short-term, high-cadence engagement focused on a singular goal, such as a leadership transition, a strategic plan rollout, or a curriculum overhaul.
- Organizational Partnerships: Tailored packages for school cabinets or nonprofit boards that combine 1:1 executive coaching with team-level strategy sessions.
During our Discovery Call, once I have a better understanding of the scope and the impact you’re looking to achieve, I will provide a transparent, flat-fee proposal that fits your budget cycle—whether that’s through professional development funds, district grants, or nonprofit operational budgets.