About
For almost twenty years, I have coached women through the threshold moments of their lives: career crossroads, grief, and the profound, ongoing work of becoming.
The name GreenLight came from a moment in Kauai, Hawaii, when I first witnessed the GreenLight Flash.
It is a rare and fleeting phenomenon. As the sun touches the horizon above the ocean, for just a few seconds, it appears to change color, a sudden, gorgeous green. But you can only see it if you slow down and pay close attention. Look away, and you miss it.
That moment became a metaphor for everything I believe about this work. Clarity, inner wisdom, and the truth of who you are becoming don't announce themselves loudly. They emerge quietly, in the slowing down. In paying attention. In the willingness to be still long enough to see what is true.
Our culture is addicted to busy and starved for being.
We're moving too quickly to hear what's underneath.
The GreenLight Flash is nature's quiet reminder. You cannot rush into clarity. It only reveals itself to those who have stopped and are truly paying attention.
That is the invitation of this work.
What you are becoming rarely reveals itself through effort. It reveals itself through stillness and self-reflection.
So when you think of GreenLight, think of slowing down. Paying attention. Listening deeply to what is most true in you.
“To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.”
mary oliver
I Believe
Life is seasons, like nature.
Tender hearts carry profound power.
Self-compassion and kindness are a must.
Intuition is often a whisper; we can learn to trust it.
The in-between chapters of life are potent times of possibility.
Becoming is a journey and an ongoing relationship; it is not a destination.
Grief is not a problem to solve. It is a spiral to move through with tenderness and care.
Michelle M. Olsen’s Training and Credentials
—Certified Coach through the Co-Active Training Institute (CTI), which is grounded in the belief that clients are naturally creative, resourceful, and whole.
—Facilitation training through the Matrix Leadership Institute and Interaction Associates.
—Certified Grief Educator, by David Kessler’s Grief Educator Certification Program. And shaped by more than thirty years of living with loss myself.
—M.A. in Organizational Psychology (Golden Gate University) and a B.A. in Anthropology (Northeastern, IL University)
—Twenty years of participating in peer counseling has helped me develop a deep capacity for emotional presence, attunement, and trusting a human’s innate wisdom.
—Almost twenty years of running my own coaching business has taught me something about resilience, creativity, and trusting the in-between.
—Prior to coaching, I spent 14 years working in the corporate world before making my own satisfying career change.
I live in the San Francisco Bay Area with my husband, two teenagers, and our vizsla, Ginger, who is an excellent reminder that presence is its own practice.
Music grounds me. Dance parties are non-negotiable. I am, and will always be, a student of spirituality, personal growth, and the art of leading with heart.
I care deeply about people and this planet, and try, daily and imperfectly, to contribute to the world I want to see.
The human behind the work
