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I build the leaders your organization is counting on.

I'm Dr. Evetty J. Satterfield. I develop early-career and mid-career leaders, and I partner with the organizations investing in them, turning real potential into clear strategy, confidence, and results.

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Harvard Ed.L.D.

leadership Coach

emerging leaders focus

 Public Leader

Marathon Finisher

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Three ways to partner, based on where you lead.

You lead an individual, a team, or a whole organization. Together we pick the right mix of coaching, facilitation, and speaking, and get to work.

Leadership Coaching

I coach early-career and mid-career leaders as they step into bigger roles. We sharpen emotional intelligence and authentic voice, so the leader you are matches the leader you are becoming.

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Courageous Facilitation

I lead sessions where teams tackle the hard conversations, decide together, and act. Built for teams and boards that want to move.

Speaking and Keynotes

I give talks that send audiences back to work ready to lead with courage and clarity. Real stories, real tools, grounded in systems change.

01

Harvard Doctorate

I earned my Doctorate in Education Leadership at Harvard, focused on systems-level change. Your strategy stands on real research and real results.

02

Social Worker

I trained as a social worker, rooted in people and community. We never lose sight of the human side of change.

03

Public Leader

Former elected official who delivered tangible policy wins, providing you with battle-tested guidance for navigating complex governance and high stakes.

04

Elected Leader

I served as an elected leader and led a superintendent search. I have governed under real scrutiny, and I coach from it.

Bring me to your stage.

I tailor every keynote to your audience and the moment you are facing.

From Endurance to Infrastructure

I show what distance running taught me about building teams and systems that hold up under pressure.

Courageous Leadership Under Pressure

I break down how leaders make the hard calls and stay clear-headed when the stakes are highest.

From Election to Governance

I map the support elected and appointed leaders need to govern well once the campaign ends.

Building Cultures Where People Grow

I give managers practical ways to help every person on a team feel valued and ready to rise.

Why I built Advancing Lives

I started in the classroom, where I learned something that has guided my work ever since: there is far more potential in a room than most people realize, and it grows the moment someone invests in it. That belief became my throughline. Every person deserves a clear path to grow, and a steady partner while they walk it.

Later, as an elected leader, I governed under real pressure and delivered results that meant moving whole systems, not simply having good ideas. I saw that bold vision becomes real progress when leaders have the right support to carry it.

That is why I built Advancing Lives. I work with leaders and the organizations investing in them, in the space between a bold vision and real results, and it is my favorite place to be, because that is where growth happens. I bring research, lived experience, and practical tools into every engagement, along with a conviction that the people in front of me are more capable than they know. My doctoral work turned that belief into a discipline, and it continues to shape how I coach, facilitate, and speak.

Words from leaders.

“Evetty provides a safe space for vulnerability and transforms ideas into actionable steps. She helped me see my role as change management and reminded me to extend grace to myself as I grow.”

Danielle Collier

Manager, Inclusive Learning & Development, AMC Theatres

“She helped me realize that I have so much to offer.”

Curneisha Williams

Founding Director of New Teacher Development, Heartwood Community School

“Evetty's work was a major factor in allowing us to turn the corner, moving us to a more positive relationship between faculty and between faculty and administrators.”

Daniel Hildebrand

Head of School (retired)

Let's build the leaders your mission demands.

Whether you need a coach for a rising leader stepping into a bigger role, or a facilitator to lead a room through a real decision, I am here to help you move from potential into action.

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