The Embrace Change Coaching Team

We’re proud to be an all-BIPOC team of expert coaches with different specialities to best meet each client’s needs.

Coaches

  • Portrait of a smiling Latina with long wavy brown hair and gold hoop earring

    Valeria Lopez, MA

    ★★★★★ 5.0

    Valeria Lopez is a trilingual leadership and career coach who helps job seekers, career pivoters, and growth-minded professionals secure opportunities, advocate for themselves, and show up authentically at work. Read more →

  • Portrait of a woman wearing a beige hijab, smiling outdoors with blurred green foliage and wooden background, with an Embrace Change Coaching Certification badge in the bottom right corner.

    Naseem Kapdi, MA, ECCC

    ★★★★★ 5.0

    Naseem Kapdi is a reflective career coach who specializes in working with immigrants, first- and second-generation BIPOC, introverts, and creatives who feel stuck, burned out, or overwhelmed by career decisions and creative blocks.. Read more →

  • A man with an afro hairstyle smiling, wearing a dark blazer and turtleneck, standing outdoors near water. There is a certification badge on the lower right corner that reads 'Certified Professional Career Coach.'

    Brandon Johnson, M.Ed., CPCC

    ★★★★★ 5.0

    Brandon Johnson is a certified job and career transition coach who is passionate about helping BIPOC job seekers and leaders get the tools, skills, and confidence they need to succeed in their careers. Read more →

  • cynthia@embracechange.nyc

    Vince Zabala, M.Ed., PCC

    ★★★★☆ 4.0

    Vince Zabala is a leadership coach with over 15 years of experience empowering diverse individuals to thrive. As a queer, Filipino American and neurodivergent person, Vince brings a unique, open, and rooted perspective to his transformational, strengths-based coaching practice. Read more →

Interested in joining the coaching team at Embrace Change?

Coach Training & Education

  • Ronald Johnson, PCC

    Director of Education & ECCC Director

    An ICF Professional Certified Coach with an M.S. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Ron Johnson coaches individuals through career transitions, leadership challenges, burnout, and life change with greater clarity and confidence. His whole-person coaching approach combines empathy, accountability, and practical strategies to empower clients to create meaningful, sustainable growth aligned with their values.

  • Belinda Chiu, Ed.D., PCC

    Senior Faculty Member and Mentor Coach, ECCC

    Dr. Belinda Chiu is an ICF Professional Certified Coach, 4X author, and leadership expert who helps leaders and organizations thrive through authentic, compassionate leadership. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience across academia, government, and industry, she blends evidence-based practices with practical tools to help clients foster resilience, strengthen relationships, and create meaningful, sustainable impact.

Interns

  • Erica Gibson

    Content & Operations Intern

    Erica J. Gibson is from Atlanta, Georgia originally and moved up to New York to attend Adelphi University. She is a proud pacifist, believing whenever possible a path to peace must be taken or paved. She graduated from Adelphi University Summa Cum Laude with her B.A. in Psychology alongside a double concentration in Ethics, Law, & Justice and Criminal Justice.

    Erica J. was a part of the Emerging Scholars research program at Adelphi, a prestigious organization for those researching in her field. There she created the research project “Why Do People Recidivate?”, alongside her advisor Dr. Moore, to work in stride with her career goals of becoming a incarcerated persons reform psychologist. She wants to restructure the current landscape of incarceration reform to help eliminate our national issue of recidivism.

  • Candice Garwood

    Market Research Intern

    Candice Garwood is a graduate of Adelphi University (International Studies - Business track), and an incoming Master of Management student at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She is passionate about entrepreneurship and inclusive economic development.

    Candice has gained notable leadership skills through her on-campus and community involvement, her social enterprise, and past internships at organizations like the United Nations, the National Urban League, and New York Cares.