Gloria Walker, PhD, ACC, is the founder of Gloria Walker Coaching and creator of Concepts for Coaches, a professional development and continuing education program developed specifically for coaches. She is a Martha Beck Certified Master Coach and has her ACC Credential from the International Coaching Federation.
Gloria has a diverse background, including extensive experience in both the corporate world and academia. She has a MA in International Affairs with emphasis in International Business, and a PhD in Political Science specializing in Comparative Politics (democratic development and decay, sustainable development, and human rights).
After completing her master’s degree Gloria landed in the insurance industry, but after eight years, she decided to leave the corporate world and return to academia to pursue her dream of earning her PhD in Political Science and becoming a professor. After earning her doctorate at UC Davis, she secured a tenure-track position at a small private liberal arts college in Louisiana and was living the professional life she had always dreamed of.
Unfortunately, as is so often the case for many of us, life got in the way of her plans. Family commitments required she leave her academic position and move back to California and after teaching as an adjunct professor for a year, Gloria decided this was not the direction she wanted to take and began the process of refocusing her career and finding a new path.
A seemingly random phone call from a former student she hadn’t spoken with in nearly five years asking for help with her grad school essay made Gloria realize one of the things she missed most about teaching was helping her students work through issues and empowering them personally, professionally, and academically.
It was in this moment that Gloria’s new path became clear.
She immediately signed up for Martha Beck’s in-depth life coach training program and obtained her certification in 2018. The following year she trained for and was certified as a Martha Beck Master Coach. Gloria then continued to further her education and qualifications by training to become certified by the International Coaching Federation and was awarded her ACC certification in early 2021.
To further enhance the communication skills she developed in her years in the corporate world, as an academic, and a teacher, Gloria has completed programs in and continues to actively study Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Nonviolent Communication, mindfulness, and intuitive guidance.
In 2022 Gloria launched Concepts for Coaches with its first professional development course, ACT for Coaches. Additional courses, including Nonviolent Communication for Coaches, are currently in development.
Her in-depth trainings and continuing education form the core of Gloria’s specialty as a coach who helps people to communicate authentically and with integrity both with others and with themselves.
