About – Executive West Coaching & Consulting

PLACEHOLDER

“If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”

- Lilla Watson, visual artist and activist

Sherece West

Over my 30+ year career in philanthropy, I’ve always leaned into my convictions and went where the door opened. That commitment to service, and openness to new possibilities, has guided me from my early beginnings as a research analyst and advocate on housing policy in NYC to leading distinguished foundations in the Southeastern United States. In my current post as President and CEO of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation in Arkansas, I’m proud to lead a team relentlessly pursuing educational, economic, social, ethnic, and racial equity for all Arkansans. I truly believe that the work of change should come from within communities – powered by their critical thinking and innovative ideas.

As a philanthropic equity strategist, I drive millions of dollars toward community focused organizations and initiatives dismantling systems and challenging the status quo to pursue equity. I’ve demonstrated leadership and innovation in this effort through collaborating with key stakeholders and philanthropic leaders over the course of my 17-year tenure at Winthrop Rockefeller, but also as founder and inaugural CEO of the Foundation for Louisiana. We built FFL in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to invest in communities and ideas, build partnerships, and transform policies and systems for an equitable, stronger Louisiana. I’m also proud to continue to serve the state and the southern region through my work as a founding board member and chair of New Orleans based Women’s Foundation of the South.

I’ve learned a lot on my journey. My work as an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) with the International Coaching Federation, and the founding of Executive West Coaching and Consulting (EWCC) firm, is my way of sharing what I’ve learned along the way and supporting the next generation of nonprofit leaders. As CEO, Chief Empowerment Officer, I speak truth to power and guide my clients to positions of transformative leadership in philanthropy. Colleagues, clients and friends like to call me the “Savvy Big Sister of Social Change and Social Impact”. My passion for social justice, critical scholarship, and innovative solutions is why I always look forward to helping clients cast a wider net and keep going where the door opens.

When I’m not working in the community, I enjoy spending time with my husband, Joe, and traveling the world. I love to dance, quilt, read, eat grapes, popcorn, and authentic Italian gelato (sometimes all together), and hang out with my fur-children, aptly named Peaches and Herb by my mother.

Our Mission.

At Executive West Coaching & Consulting, my mission is simple yet profound: to co-create transformative experiences with my clients, enabling them to be the best leaders they envision for themselves. Through coaching, I facilitate an intentional change with clients eager to discover their best and empower them to find their answers while encouraging and supporting them to make important life-giving and life-changing choices.

Testimonials.

“Overall, I had an excellent experience during my coaching. I felt seen, heard, and guided to own my truth, find my solutions, and own my decisions. It clarified where and when I felt overwhelmed navigating a problematic professional environment. We honed in on my values, my vision for my life, and my leadership style. As an onion, there is always more to be revealed through an ongoing process. However, Dr. West’s kindness, grounding, breadth, and depth of experience both in the field of Philanthropy and as an esteemed Black woman leader contributed to her keen insights, practical guidance, and gentle prompting, which often brought me back to my centered and empowered self even as we dig deeper during each session. She also listens exceptionally well. Areas that I think will add to the value of her coaching are assignments, reflections, and concrete actions trackable against a pre-established plan. For those who are action- and goal-oriented, it will help to have something tangible with the vision and goals set to focus on and look back on together, such as routine reflections. With the ability for both parties to track against the same document, we can assess and document progress effectively to anchor new habits and approaches. Those weekly reflections could be reviewed for more profound feedback, insight, and coaching. It’s an honor to have Dr. West as a coach, and I am eager to continue the journey toward some concrete goals and steps that I now feel more prepared to take due to her coaching and guidance. I am very grateful.”

“You are an exceptional coach; you will be a blessing to many people! Shine on!”