CREATE A LIFE YOU DON'T NEED TO ESCAPE!
Hi, I'm Dr. Tanya Raquel
I am a performance and executive coach, trained survivor advocate, and a member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF). I serve as a coach to dedicated individuals to create the lives they desire. I know from my own journey as well as that of individuals and groups I've worked alongside that courage and fear, sacrifice and accomplishment, heartache and triumph often co-exist along our path - no matter our walk of life. My mission is to build partnerships where professionals feel embraced to freely express their challenges, goals, and disappointments while also (re)discovering their authentic power and cutting any limiting beliefs and/or self-sabotaging habits that keep them from excellence. My purpose is to honor every client’s journey and autonomy while co-creating transformative partnerships that lead to deep empowerment, enhanced confidence, self-reflection, and courageous action.
My Story
For most of my life, I unlocked success through a relentless internal drive and unwavering commitment to the goals I set for myself—both personally and professionally. I often tell clients, "I’m a recovering joyful workaholic." I moved from experience to experience, responsibility to responsibility, and success to success, embracing each challenge with open arms. I took risks. I failed. I discovered my strengths, acknowledged my weaknesses, and achieved nearly every goal I set.
Then, everything shifted.
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My father—my biggest supporter, confidant, and “my person”—passed away suddenly, without warning or goodbye. The loss was seismic. In that moment, achievement without intention lost its meaning. Around the same time, I became a parent, and I began to live each day as if it were a once-in-a-lifetime gift.
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Five years later, after 12 years as a professor, certified mental performance consultant (CMPC), and sport psychology professional working in athletics, I made the courageous decision to leave the field I had once loved. My career had taken me to incredible places: delivering the keynote at the 2022 UN Women’s Conference, Victory Over Violence in Sport, receiving the 2020 APA Division 47 Steven R. Heyman Diversity and Inclusion Award, and keynoting the 2019 National Women’s and Girls in Sport Symposium. I authored over 30 peer-reviewed publications and co-edited two books—Examining and Mitigating Sexual Misconduct in Sport and Reimagining Gender in Sport.
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Leaving a career I once loved wasn’t easy, but it was necessary. I turned to what had once been a side hustle - my coaching business - and stepped fully into it. I continue to provide talks and retreats for athletic departments, but what I have discovered along the way is a passion for working with executives and high-achieving individuals beyond the world of sport, too.
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Coaching, for me, is a sacred space—a flow state and a deep expression of unconditional compassion, fierce belief in human potential, and unwavering support. Every person brings a unique story: their personality, identity, values, challenges, and dreams. Coaching allows me to meet people exactly where they are and walk beside them as they heal, grow, and evolve into their most aligned and empowered selves.
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Today, you won’t find me working with athletic teams on the weekends. Instead, you’ll find me cheering on my kids at the baseball field or basketball court, or sipping a latte at a local coffee chop while writing my first non-academic book, Peaceful Renegade.
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It is the deepest honor of my professional life to serve as a coach for those ready to follow their knowing—and create a life that feels as good on the inside as it looks on the outside.
Are you ready to fall back in love with your life?
