Coaching Courage History
Coaching Courage, LLC was founded in 2019 with a vision to change the world! The idea is to support and empower one person, then one team, and then one organization, creating a ripple effect. This ripple effect expands the creation of bold leaders and influencers! These change agents are beacons of hope, adding vibrant, bright, and colorful light, illuminating the good in the world.
Coaching Courage, LLC officially launched on February 29, 2020, a mere two weeks before the pandemic held the world within its grip. During this forced pause, the original vision remained and even expanded. The expanded vision includes a desire to pay it forward and support individuals and groups that typically do not have access to leadership & mindfulness coaching. In addition, a need to shift focus toward building and developing courageous leaders emerged. This emergence resulted in a tipping point where building and strengthening our individual and collective ‘courage muscle’ became a necessity.
Meet the Coaching Courage, LLC Founder and Owner
Shannon Cochran-Yzquierdo is the founder and owner of Coaching Courage, LLC. She is passionate about inspiring and motivating individuals to embrace their courage as they transition into their best selves. Shannon’s clients build and strengthen their ‘courage muscle’ with her creative & skillful coaching and facilitation. She empowers her clients to increase their self-awareness, confidence, introspection, and emotional intelligence. Shannon’s superpower is her ability to connect & build a relationship with anyone.
Shannon’s Hispanic and Caucasian heritage and LGBTQ+ life experience provide a unique lens with which to see the world. She supports, empowers, and strengthens the leadership capacity of women, minorities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. She coaches entrepreneurs, middle managers, and senior leaders across various industries infusing courage into every interaction. She provides tools, techniques, and skills that clients can utilize well after the business engagement ends.
She is a member of the LGBTQ+ community, an active volunteer with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, an International Coaching Federation (ICF) Coach, and creator of the workshop, Courageous Leadership in Action: No One Said It Would Be Easy. Recently, she held the Marketing Chair position for the Georgetown ITL Network Board of Directors.
Shannon’s leadership, collaboration and relationship-building expertise, flexibility, and teamwork make her a sought-after resource. She is a connector, who inspires and motivates others into action. She speaks ‘truth to power’ which is a gift she offers leaders. While being gentle and straightforward, she challenges boundaries clients place on themselves. Her clients build and strengthen their ‘courage muscle’ and find increased awareness of their own behaviors, which supports their journey of transformation into courageous leaders. Shannon’s use of situational role-playing and direct communication are her key strengths.
Her professional journey includes many pivot points which provide her with a unique lens to support each client on their own journey. Shannon’s journey includes navigation from High School Science Teacher & Head Volleyball Coach; FBI New Agent Trainee to Intelligence Analyst; Government Contractor within the United States Intelligence Community (USIC) to Executive Leadership Coach, Facilitator, and Motivational Speaker.
Shannon designed the workshops Courageous Leadership in Action: No One Said It Would Be Easy that was offered through Georgetown University in 2022 and A Tapestry of Courage: Weaving Love and Preparation in the Face of Terminal Illness, offered both in-person and virtually (coming soon!).
Shannon’s drive, creativity, and ‘out of the box’ thinking landed her a spot as one of The Top 5 Business Coaches to Follow in 2022. She was a guest on multiple blogs, such as the Georgetown University Institute for Transformational Leadership podcast Transformational Leadership for Transformational Times on Courageous Leadership, Make Life Less Difficult Part 1, The Courage of Authenticity and Coming Out and Part 2, Pivots, Depression, and Embracing the Puzzle of Ourselves, Part 3, The Year that Almost Broke Me, as well as the Queens of Moxie, A lesbian finds her footing and new lease on life living out and proud.
Shannon earned a B.S in Biology Education and a M.S. in Forensic Science. She received her Project Management Professional (PMP) certification in 2016 from the Project Management Institute and an Executive Certificate in both Leadership Coaching (2020) and Facilitation (2024) from Georgetown University. She is studying with David Kessler, renowned Grief Expert, and will receive her “Grief Educator Certification” in January 2026. She is an International Coaching Federation (ICF) Associate Certified Coach (ACC). Shannon completed certification for three 360 assessment tools, the Emotional Quotient Inventory 2 (EQ-i 2.0), the Leadership Circle Profile (LCP), and the MyWorldView Assessment.
To decompress, Shannon enjoys spending time with her wife, Kelly, their two kitties (Skittles & Cricket), and their German Shepherd dog (Ashford Ann). Shannon enjoys nature, being creative, volunteering, and paying it forward.
