Tiara

Alison Miller, Ph.D.

Tiara Program Coach

Alison is passionate about coaching people to live the lives they desire. Her clients benefit from her direct yet gentle approach to learning new skills, identifying limiting beliefs and behavior patterns, and making positive life changes.

Alison strives to create collaborative coaching relationships with her clients that help them identify important life goals and create a path towards meeting those goals. She seeks to promote the personal growth of all her clients by helping them gain insight, change beliefs and attitudes, take action, engage in new behaviors, and live their lives according to their own values.



Alison has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show, Chicago’s ABC, NBC, and Fox TV affiliates, Chicago Tribune, Crain’s Chicago Business and Time Out Chicago as an expert on stress, coping, and meeting life goals. Alison has been a featured speaker for O, The Oprah Magazine and SELF Magazine as well as participated in the NBC daytime reality series “Starting Over” as a psychologist.



Alison has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Bachelor’s in Psychology from Cornell University. She is a published author in the field of psychology and the author of

• Finish Your Dissertation Once and For All: How to Overcome Psychological Barriers
• Get Results, and Move on with Your Life

published by the American Psychological Association.

Alison is a member of the International Coaching Federation and the American Psychological Association. She lives in Los Angeles, CA with her husband and two children.

Amy Riley

Tiara Program Coach

Amy is passionate about people leveraging their strengths and reaching their full potential – in all areas of life. With her acknowledging and empathetic approach, she creates the space in which her clients can speak to and be with “all of it” – the disappointments and the inspiring achievements. She ensures that her clients recognize and appreciate their inherent talents and learn what is most relevant from their life experiences. Guiding them through cycles of action and reflection, her clients think about what really matters to them, get in touch with their dreams, and get that they can design a life which inspires them by doing it their unique way.

Amy is a skilled professional in the disciplines of coaching, execution, planning, training, and facilitation in organizations. She has provided this expertise to organizations in a variety of industries including Albany Park Community Center, BP/Amoco, Clearbrook, Hewitt Associates, Hendrickson, Landauer, Oxford Bank, TranzAct Technologies, and Protected Tomorrows.

Amy earned a Bachelor’s Degree in International Business from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, and a Master’s Degree in Training and Development, with an emphasis in Organization Development, from Loyola University in Chicago. She is certified as a Best Year Yet® Program Leader, a Best Year Yet® Coach, a DDI (Development Dimensions International) Facilitator, and as a Certified Professional Behavior Analyst (CPBA) – qualifying her to administer the DISC Personal Profile Tool.

Amy is the founder of Shoop Consulting Group, Inc. and is in the process of authoring a book entitled Loving the Pregnant You. Inspired by women who take on powerful and empowering perspectives during pregnancy and childbirth, she is interviewing women and telling their stories through her blog and book.

Andrea Henning

Tiara Program Coach

Andrea, originally a university graduate in tropical agricultural science, and as such having tasted different cultures over the years, is a pragmatic optimist with “big” dreams, a lot of which have already come true.

It is her vision that when people discover their authenticity and dare to follow their bliss, that they are much happier en more successful in their own lives and at the same time are an inspiration to their environment.

She helps people and organisations to get clear about what is essential to them, challenges them to get all hands on deck, and produce the kind of results that make them want to come out of bed in the morning.
She gets right to the heart of matters, is enthusiastic about what she is doing and builds a long term partnership with her clients, in which she is committed to come along al the way in the transformation process to power, meaningfulness and fun.

Tangible results, growing consciousness and personal responsibility are basic principles in what she is doing. She knows to create an atmosphere of trust where transformation and growth can actually happen.

Andrea is a certified trainer and coach, holds various licences for team coaching, is educated in the enneagram, Otto Scharmers theory-u presencing process, dialogue and systemic work. She is co-owner of Tiara International LLC – the Netherlands (2009) and owner and founder of her company wezenlijk werken training and coaching (2002).

Over the years she has worked with companies as Unilever, Econcern, ABN, NIBC, SNS Reaal, Fortis Mees Pierson, Hasbro, Price Waterhouse Coopers, LogicaCMG, ETC Leusden, Alterra Wageningen, Wageningen International, Royal Haskoning, ANWB, HAN, Sanofi Aventis, ROC Da Vinci college, ROC Landstede, ROC Frieslandlandcollege, Zeeman textiel supers, KPMG and Police department Amsterdam.

Anne Kellogg-Reed

Anne Kellogg Reed brings to her coaching practice the ever-present goal of helping her clients play outside the boundaries of what others may call ‘possible.’ Drawing from her background in the arts (particularly design and photography), Anne applies her creative spirit to her coaching as she helps her clients pursue strength through new perspectives. In this way, she consistently inspires her clients to recognize and bring to reality the potential they’ve always held.

In addition to coaching, Anne has exercised her passion for creating meaningful change through her work for Chicago Cares, a non-profit volunteer organization where she created, managed, and led custom service opportunities for corporate and community volunteer groups. Anne’s professional background also includes management and leadership training and development and she is a graduate of the accredited CTI Co-Active Coach Training and Certification Programs. Anne holds an AAS in Photographic Imaging and a BA in Psychology from The University of Michigan.

Anne is the Co-founder of DoRAK (Do-Random Acts of Kindness), an organization that promotes and carries out acts of genuine kindness. Her world travels have taken her to Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, Morocco, Spain, Italy, Greece, Mexico, and Alaska. In Alaska, she created and facilitated a three-week leadership-training program as a part of her work with the Alaska Great Lakes Project.

Betsy Sobiech

Tiara Program Coach

Betsy began her career with a quintessential Liberal Arts foundation: a B.A. in Philosophy and Religion complemented by minor degrees in Women’s Studies and French. Fifteen years later, it is clear that those studies provided the perfect beginning for her career.

Always committed to practical application, Betsy chose to go corporate instead of academic. She began working internally in training and development, bringing her philosophical inquiries about human behavior to the workplace. She added a Master’s Degree in Organization Development to her repertoire, joined a consulting firm, and became masterful at implementing complex organizational change initiatives.

Establishing herself as a consultant wasn’t a big enough challenge though. Eight years ago Betsy started her own consulting firm, which quickly merged with ClearSpace, LLC. Together they formed a consulting practice focused on leadership development, executive coaching, and team effectiveness.

While working with leaders and teams, Betsy began to notice that the clients who were woman wanted something unique: an opportunity to grow and develop themselves in community of other women. Pulling together her background in philosophy, women’s studies, training, human behavior, and systems change, Betsy was part of the team that created Tiara: Exceptional Women’s Coaching and currently works in many capacities for the organization including coaching, speaking, designing, and delivering programs.

As a coach and consultant, Betsy has worked with organizations such as Exxon Mobil Aviation, Hewitt Associates, Nicor Gas, Clearbrook, Center for Sight and Hearing, Mercy Home for Boys and Girls, St. Gregory the Great High School, Standard Parking, Allstate, McDonald’s, Mesirow Financial, and PepsiCo.

Betsy Sobiech is a founding partner of ClearSpace, LLC and Tiara International LLC. She is certified in Strategic Attraction Planning®, Best Year Yet®, and The Effective Facilitator™. She trained as a co-active coach through The Coaches Training Institute. She participates continuously in personal growth and development courses and coaching programs. Betsy holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy and Religion from Truman State University and Master’s Degree in Organization Development from Loyola University Chicago.

Christine van der Ven

Tiara Program Coach

Christine has a business background. After finishing her MBA in 1985 at RSM-predecessor IIB in Delft and Barcelona, she started her career at Royal Dutch Shell: product manager, account manager, trader. She held positions as marketing manager and marketing services manager before she specialized 1994 as an independent change manager and was hired to build, restructure or reposition departments for several large companies and to exercise temporarily general management for small enterprises.

She is recognized as a people manager. Results must be delivered, but always in a sustainable way, thus through motivated people. Most people are happy to develop and grow, but none of us like to be changed by others telling them to do so! Christine has the practical knowledge and tools on how to focus co-workers to participate from inspiration in a the task or change at hand.

After taking various trainings and earning licenses in the field of strategic business coaching and facilitation of teams, Christine couples her business knowledge to an agile ability to coach. In 2002 she shifts her work to coaching business managers in leading their businesses and -teams successfully to new perspectives, initiatives and higher results. Her clients report increasing results and joy at work beyond expectation!
Over the years she has worked for large and small companies in the Netherlands and on Curacao, like ANWB, ING, Aegon, Elsevier, TUI Nederland, Unilever, Avila Beach Hotel, Equity Trust, UNESCO-IHE , Da Vinci College, ROC Drenthe College, FysioLogic and many business owners of SME.

Being a woman whose performances particularly thrive under conditions that tap on her authentic inspiration and inner power, Christine immediately recognized the powerful impact of Tiara’s philosophy and methodology, especially on women. It made her stand up as co-founder of Tiara Netherlands (2009). She is fully dedicated to support the exceptional women that we all are to invent new ways to live our lifes the way we love, and at the same time to be influential in the business world and the society at large, under our own conditions that make us thrive.

Elizabeth Ruske

Tiara Executive Coach

Elizabeth focuses on creating cultures of integrity, trust, and performance within the leadership of organizations and teams. She helps align key company and organization leaders towards their top initiatives and strategies, and works with leadership teams to achieve operational efficiencies, and breakthrough results. Elizabeth is also skilled at identifying and creating thriving collaborative relationships and strategic partnerships between individuals and organizations.

Elizabeth (Beth) Ruske is a business executive who has honed her skills in Corporate America in leadership positions in Fortune 1000 firms like TRW Inc., Ceridian, and Acxiom Corporation, as well as running entrepreneurial companies. As the CEO of Preference Solutions, Inc., Beth led a joint venture between the American Medical Association and Acxiom Corporation.

In 2002, Beth became a Managing Partner in ClearSpace LLC, a leadership development and effectiveness consulting group. Currently Beth is a Managing Partner in Tiara International LLC; a global women’s leadership development and coaching firm with offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, and The Netherlands. For Tiara, Beth leads corporate women’s development and is a featured presenter and speaker to women’s professional groups.

Beth loves sports, is a bad golfer with a great attitude, and coaches junior-high girls’ basketball where she teaches young girls to be both aggressive and natural feminine leaders. Tiara is a sponsor partner with Step Up Women’s Network where Beth and her partners lead workshops with at-risk high school girls. Beth and her husband presently reside in Evanston, Illinois, USA, and she has two sons in college.

Ellen Burton

Tiara Program Coach

Ellen Burton has been called an inspirational leader and a catalyst for change. Her ability to assist and focus clients in achieving their goals is exceptional. Ellen’s motivating mantra is: This is it! Now is the time to have the results and success that you desire. Ellen is convinced that everyone has the capacity to design a life in which they are happy and prosper, both personally and professionally.

The principal theme of Ellen’s professional efforts continues to be education. It began 25 years ago as an Athletic Medicine Specialist at the University of Michigan followed by 12 award winning years in the pharmaceutical industry, and has matured into outstanding success as an entrepreneur. her coaching clients are those who desire to move up to the next level.

The same is true for her audiences when she speaks or facilitates. With every engagement she offers the opportunity for fierce conversations, innovation, and accountability. Audiences include Kellogg Inc., AmeriCorp, Northwestern University, Golf Club Accountants of America, the American Diabetic Association, the Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center, and the United States Navy, to name a few.

Ellen’s approach is always interactive and designed to help you identify what works, what doesn’t, and how to expand your individual strength. Following every energizing experience, clients and audiences report feeling increased confidence retooled with practical solutions.

Ellen lives near beautiful Lake Michigan in Evanston, IL. She is an avid golfer, active in her church, an avid reader and is a passionate community volunteer. Ellen is also a columnist for Shop Evanston, titled Ask Coach Ellen. In addition she is completing her first book, with the working title: There’s Business On the Golf Course. And as a result of working with her coach, Ellen is happily and gratefully living a life beyond her wildest dreams

Franciska Moors

Tiara Program Coach

Franciska’s passion is about having results and experiences that may seem out of reach – difficult, not logical, maybe unrealistic – yet are tempting to have for the inspiring promise of the possibility … She enjoys to make a commitment, develop the strategy and to go out and do it. She loves to partner with people who also desire to live a professional and personal life with an impact that inspires them.

Franciska is co-owner of Tiara International LLC – the Netherlands (2009) and she is owner and founder of her company Be-Yond (2002). Her clients are Dutch and international partners involved in education, research and services. She is specialist in academic environments of Universities and Research Institutes.

Franciska is a university graduate in agricultural science by origin and held various positions with FAO and Wageningen University and Research Centre (1985-2002). Over these years she grew an irresistable interest in people and their effectiveness towards what they were wanting to achieve. She was inspired to continue education in psycho-energetic therapy as well as education in communication skills, teamcoaching, inspirational leadership and coaching with horses.

Franciska is both a pragmatic person and idealist. She has the ability to help unravel complex situations, to bring structure and help develop skills for achieving valuable results in gracious ways. She invites to shift boundaries and to have people make improved use of their creative abilities.
Franciska lives in Opheusden, the Netherlands with her husband and two children.

Johanneke Langenbach

Tiara Program Coach

All solutions are inside us!

Johanneke originally has a university degree in Social and Organizational Psychology and has a passion for empowering people to be the best they can be! She beliefs strongly that we all have the ability to make the difference and create powerful results as well in our private as in our working lives. “We need to learn to be more aware and take time to look inside what is stopping us and listing to our heart what choices would really make us shine”.

The first twelve years of her career Johanneke has been working as a senior manager and business director both in the Telecom and Temporary Labor industry. In 2000 she made the switch to start her own company 2dePOINT. She has a lot of experience in working with and advising companies how to get the results they really want. She shows them that they will achieve bigger long-lasting results by being more open minded, focussed, present and trusting towards each other. She creates a climate of positive energy, openness and thinking in possibilities.

Johanneke has been trained in various areas; International Health Coaching (Robert Dilts), Team to Results, Family and Organizational constellations, Enneagram, Spiral Dynamics, Biodanza and has a special interest in Non Duality.

Over the years she has worked with various companies; Price Waterhouse Coopers, Unilever, Accenture, IBM, Heineken, H.J.Heinz, KPN, Royal HashKoning, Randstad, Sanofi-Aventis, Nidera, NIBC, Centocor, Pfizer, Orange, ANWB, Diaconessenhuis Leiden, University Leiden, Hogeschool Utrecht.

Laura Berger

Corporate Programs

Laura leads Corporate Women’s Development for Tiara and facilitates executive leadership sessions.

Her ease and zeal for building lasting friendships, acquaintances, and productive introductions between people are her personal trademark. She has stretched her own spirit and will to combine her passions with her professional pursuits. She teaches others how to leverage their strengths and personal networks to live life true to their core.

Laura has 15 years experience at Deloitte, Leo Burnett Worldwide (and its various related entities), and as an independent consultant advising leadership in the areas of global operations management and strategy, project and change management, solution development, and implementation. She is a coach and a confidant for CEOs and senior executives who consistently realize their potential as leaders to see their companies flourish. She has worked with leaders at JPMorgan Chase, State Farm Insurance, Quaker Oats Company, United Airlines, General Motors, Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, McDonalds Corporation, American Hospital Association and Walt Disney World. She takes great pride in assisting captains of business to bring value and creativity to their organizations.

Laura enjoys traveling extensively, has lived in Costa Rica and Italy and currently resides between Chicago and Florida with her husband and 2 cats. She is passionate about animals and is active in animal welfare efforts across the nation and abroad.

Melissa Thornley

Melissa is a change agent who works with her clients to live their best lives possible right now. Her approach to coaching is both gentle and irreverent and is based in openness, energy and movement. She specializes in guiding her clients thru transitions to achieve growth and balance.

Melissa’s professional life began in the technology and telecommunications field at U.S. Robotics. When people were just getting the idea of what the internet was, Melissa coached customers on how to install their modems, which quickly led to her shift to writing the user manuals and sales materials.

After three years at U.S. Robotics, Melissa felt a desire to explore her creative side and went back to school to study film. While at Columbia College, her serendipitous meeting with a producer in advertising and a commercial film editor led her to her career in advertising and film.

For the past thirteen years, Melissa has worked in Chicago, New York, and London as an Executive Producer for the Whitehouse creative film editorial boutique. Working in these varied markets led Melissa to become the Managing Director of the Whitehouse where she managed the day to day operations of the top international film editing company in the world. She has produced award-winning work with advertising agencies from Japan to Amsterdam to Austin, TX. Her clients include McDonald’s, Anheuser Busch, Nike, and Careerbuilder.

In 2008 Melissa opened Wholesome Midwestern Girl, a consulting and sales firm focused on representing editorial, motion graphics, and music/sound design talent to the advertising industry. She worked with her clients to create overall brand strategy as well as market individual talents.

Melissa is currently the Executive Producer for Beast Editorial in Chicago as well as the President of Women in Film Chicago.

Melissa is a trained co-active coach and co-active leader by the Coaches Training Institute. She is also well versed in a variety of energy healing work including Reiki and shamanic healing. Melissa earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and Liberal Arts Management from Indiana University, Bloomington.

Melissa is an avid patron of the arts, most specifically music, dance and theater. She’s trained in theater and improv with the Annoyance Theater,

Peg Rowe

Tiara Executive Coach

With over 2 decades of experience, Peg appreciates the challenges her clients face today. Like her clients, Peg has been on the firing line and brings her knowledge, business acumen and maturity to her work. Her clients benefit from the lessons she’s learned while leading teams during rapid change, major transitions and corporate acquisitions. Through her business experience, she brings knowledge, wisdom and unique perspectives on building high performance teams, creating a collaborative culture, developing leaders and delivering exceptional results. She works seamlessly with all levels of management, across groups or in one-on-one settings.

Her intuition, calm manner and orientation to action, once critical to her leadership, are key assets in her work with clients. Peg takes a practical, strengths-based approach to her executive coaching practice. Practical in that it focuses on the key behaviors required for improved performance. Strengths-based in that the focus is on what is currently working in the executives leadership style that can be leveraged for improved performance and satisfaction.

As a seasoned executive and leader of geographically diverse cross-functional teams, she has served in line management and staff positions while spending
ten years in senior executive level operations and general management roles at American Hospital Supply Corporation, Baxter International, Caremark International and Paidos Healthcare Management Services. As a leader, Peg coached teams during major corporate transitions and change initiatives, exceeding business objectives.

As a coach and consultant, Peg has worked with leaders and teams at organizations such as Allstate, Caterpillar, Fresenius Medical Care, Gensler, Methode Electronics, Microsoft, Navistar, and National Opinion Research Center, as well as Not for Profits including The Center On Halsted, The National Runaway Switchboard, and The Neumann Association. Peg has a Masters in Management from the University of Missouri – Columbia. She has trained with the Coaches Training Institute (CTI) and the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland, and has fulfilled coursework in Organizational and Relationship Systems, High Impact Teaming, the DiSC Assessment, MBTI and FiroB. Her certifications include the Best Year Yet® Program, the Coaching in the Moment program, the Genos EI Assessment and John Kotter’s Leading Change Program.

Rosie Guagliardo, CPCC, ACC

Rosie has spent 13 years in marketing and advertising helping to build brands such as McDonald’s, Unilever’s personal care products, and Anheuser-Busch’s Adventure Parks (SeaWorld and Busch Gardens). She provided her clients solid strategic thinking and focus for their brands with creative solutions for their business problems. She uncovered goals and led teams to achieve and execute them in an organized and cost efficient manner. Specifically, she created fun and effective multi-functional teams to deliver my clients customized marketing plans and integrated advertising campaigns for their brands to reach specific business goals. She’s been able to apply her skills from the business world to personal and business coaching success.

More recently, she’s become a CPCC (Certified Professional Co-Active Coach) and graduated from the Coaches Training Institute recognized by the International Coaching Federation. She also graduated with a bachelor of Liberal Arts and Sciences from Northwestern University where she majored in Psychology and International Studies.

Her multi-cultural background has given me the gift for seeing different perspectives which has been helpful in identifying creative solutions to life situations. Living in Italy for short periods of time and living with her Italian born parents, aunts and uncles required her to mingle my Italian and American cultures. Although complicated at times, this living situation helped her develop the skill of seeing many points of views to one situation and today allows her to identify multiple solutions for any situation and remain compassionate to all perspectives.

In her coaching services, she looks at your whole life to shine light on your true self, helping you feel more alive than ever and energized to design the life you love.

Thea Durfee Polancic

Tiara Executive Coach

Thea specializes in working with senior leaders who are already strong, successful and powerful forces in their organizations. Thea has coached senior and executive leadership at firms such as Abbott Laboratories, Automated Data Processing, Bank One, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Sears, ShoreBank and Standard Parking, Inc.

Thea is a founder and partner of ClearSpace, LLC, and has more than ten years of experience as a business leader, entrepreneur, consultant and coach in the areas of strategy, innovation and organizational change. Five of those years were spent in Moscow helping American companies such as Caterpillar Inc. and Forsythe Solutions Group start up and operate joint ventures. She has a proven track record of leading and assisting organizations in identifying and reaching their strategic objectives by enhancing executive performance, developing leaders, creating business strategies, and managing change.
Thea has completed over 100 hours of training in co-active coaching by The Coaches Training Institute (CTI), and is a certified Best Year Yet® Program Leader and Coach. She participates in additional training through Landmark Education courses, and is continuously coached in the Laws of Attraction.
Thea is a published author in the humanities and business strategy. Thea and her husband and son live in Chicago, IL.