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Can Coaching Impact Societal Change? By Stephen Hinds, ICF Vancouver Vice President
May 2026
President's Message
Dear ICF BC Community,
This month we're sharing the president's message in video format!
Join us for all the exciting ICW programming this year!
With kindness and respect,
Robyn Ward
President, ICF British Columbia
PS. The Moose Hide Campaign is a powerful Indigenous-led movement, standing up against violence toward women and children. Campaign Day, on May 14th, brings together communities across Canada for free online workshops, ceremony, and a collective commitment to change. Free. Online. Open to all. ❤️
Spotlight Event
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ICW Coaches Connect at Steamworks!May 14, 2026 |
Hello Coaches,
We wanted to share that our in-person event at Steamworks Gastown on May 14th at 5:30 PM is selling fast. Get your tickets to secure your spot for one of the most fun and connected in person chapter events of our year and to celebrate International Coaching Week.
What to expect ? A warm and connected atmosphere, good company, delicious food and a fabulous Gastown evening. There will be a lightly facilitated portion to experience Ubuntu, the African leadership philosophy, that will earn you 2.5 coach continued education credits.
ICF members, coaching colleagues, friends of the chapter, and curious newcomers are warmly welcome. Bring a friend, bring a partner and bring your curiosity.
We can’t wait to welcome you ❤️
Hosted by Jonathan Evans, Ashli Komaryk and Linda Schmidt, ICFBC Board Members
Calendar of Events
Coaches & Coffee Meet-Up: Fraser Valley
May 10, 2026
4:00 PM PDT - 5:30 PM PDT
Tap & Barrel Willowbrook
ICW coaches connect in victoria
May 17, 2026
5:30 PM PDT - 9:00 PM PDT
Craft, 450 Swift St., Victoria, BC
View more upcoming events here!
Chapter News
Coach Spotlight
Lily Seto
From HR to the Heart of Coaching: A Conversation with Lily
Lily, a proud Vancouver Island coach, who has dedicated her career to uplifting, educating, and mentoring fellow coaches. We sat down with her to talk about what drew her to the profession, the impact she's witnessed, and where she hopes coaching goes next.
What inspired you to begin your journey in coaching?
I was in Human Resources and I thought "there's got to be a better way to engage my HR partners and I discovered coaching and fell in love with it and haven't looked back.
What is the most meaningful impact you've seen from your work in coaching and organizational development?
At this point in my career, I am increasingly invited to serve as a Coaching Supervisor. I imagine all the clients and people that coaches have impact on and feel honoured to support coaches to grow and be useful to their clients.
How do you integrate coaching into your work with senior executives and organizational transformation?
What I have discovered is that my executive clients often need space to think without interruptions and a thinking partner who can challenge any assumptions and potential blind spots.. They often share that it is lonely at the top and they need someone they can think out loud with while they sort their "stuff" out. Sometimes the most powerful thing a coach can offer is simply that: a safe, uninterrupted space to think.
How has coaching influenced your life and work, both professionally and personally?
It's a way of being in the world...every morning I wake up and think "I can't believe that I get paid to do this!!" - But don't tell my clients! (laughs)
Tell us a little more about Coaching Constellations?
Coaching Constellations is about supporting our clients and organizations that we work with to make visible the invisible. Rather than locating challenges in individuals, we look systematically at the patterns, hidden loyalties, and organizational secrets that may be keeping the client or organization stuck. It is heart and pattern work and helps us, as coaches, to stay dis-entangled from our clients' stories. After over 20 years of coaching, I am adopting more and more of this powerful way of being with my clients. We are bringing this world class training to Victoria, and we are attracting coaches from across the US and Canada, as well as Singapore! This is your personal invitation to join us...you will see your coaching practice different.
What do you hope to see as our coaching profession grows and develops?
I hope for coaching to be more accessible and that we, as coaches, identify as humans rather than credentials. Also, that we look more at the client's wholeness rather than compartmentalizing work and life. I also would like to see coaches embracing coaching supervision as their personal reflection space and that we are trained to consider the systems that the client works and plays in.
May DEIB Reflection
May carries a great deal for our communities. It holds Asian Heritage Month, Jewish Heritage Month in Canada, marks Mental Health Awareness Month, and includes Red Dress Day on the 5th, a day of remembrance and honour for Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people who have been lost or are still missing.
Each of these observances invites us, as coaches, to pay attention: to notice who is in the room, who is not, and how the cultures we move through shape the people we serve.
You will feel the spirit of the International Coaching week at our DEIB event, Coaches Connect on May 14 at Steamworks in Gastown.
Bring your partner, a friend, or the colleague who is curious about coaching. Good food, good company, every coach is welcome!
A reflection to carry with you:
Whose wisdom is already in the room, and what might shift in your coaching if you trusted it more fully?
Linda Schmidt,
DEIB Director, ICF BC Chapter
