September 2026 
President's Message
The Future of Coaching
ICFBC Annual Conference, November 15
Let's Shape What Comes Next
Dear Coach,
When I read the 2026 ICF Coaching Futures Report, I felt fortunate to live in such a time as this!
The profession we love is changing — faster and more fundamentally than most people realize. AI. Economic disruption. Globalization. Shifting trust in expertise. These are more than trends on the horizon. They are already inside our sessions, our practices, our professional identities.
I would love to have you with us on November 15, so you can be acknowledged, learn, and contribute.
2026 ICF BC Coaching Conference and AGM - The Future of Coaching
Saturday, November 15, 2026
12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. PDT
UBC Robson Square, 800 Robson St., Vancouver, BC V6Z 3B7
Online attendance available | Coaches Social to follow
This is also our Annual General Meeting — a chance to learn, connect, and help set the direction of our chapter together.
Register Now
What We Will Explore
Olivier Malafronte, PhD — "AI Coaching: What Coaches Need to Know"
Olivier built one of the world's first AI coaching agents in 2016, co-authored the ICF Global AI Coaching Standards, and has guided more than 190 leaders through AI-integrated coaching. This is not a tech talk. It is a grounded, science-backed conversation about what AI can and cannot do — and how our coaching is changing as a result.
Indy Batth — "Beyond Cultural Intelligence: The Systems Mindset Continuum"
Indy's session is interactive and embodied. Through a six-stage Systems Mindset Continuum, participants move from cultural awareness into a deeper understanding of self, power and systems. You will embody this session beyond thinking about it.
I believe we are at a defining moment. And I believe the people in that room — or on the screen — are the ones who will help shape what coaching becomes next.
Come in person if you can. Join us online if you cannot. Either way, your presence matters!
Reserve Your Spot
You belong here, and your voice is important in shaping our coaching community!
Warmly,
Jonathan Evans
President, ICF BC
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Spotlight Event
Organization Engagement Update - it’s the Season of Coaching Corners!
I feel very grateful to serve our membership and profession in my role in Organization Engagement. We built bridges and deepened connections at our booth at the CPHR conference back in May and this fall we have established agreements with three organizations to provide “Coaching Corners” to add value to their events.
The first is on September 11, at the CPA BC Career Showcase where we’ve been invited back by popular demand after the initial pilot experience in February.
Then on September 24, we’ll be providing a sample of professional coaching to the attendees of the Mosaic BC “Fast Track to your Future - Speed Interviewing Event”
And finally, on November 6, we will be providing volunteer coaching at the annual conference of the PMI (Project Management Institute).
Providing “Coaching Corners” is part of our ongoing commitment to building bridges between the coaching community and various professional sectors. We want HR leaders, executives, and decision-makers to understand how partnering with professional, certified, ICF-accredited coaches can drive meaningful transformation in their organizations. We see this as a way to build awareness of our profession, distinguishing professional coaching from other forms of support and to help make hiring a professional coach something organizational leaders think of as a first resort!
We are always looking for new organizations to partner with so if you are part of a professional organization that holds a conference or if you’re aware of a big event that might benefit from the addition of Coaching Corners, please let us know!
Ashli Komaryk
Organization Engagement Director
[email protected]
Calendar of Events
Walking the Path - Coaching Through Uncertainty, Identity & Transformation
September 16 | 12:00 - 1:00 PM | Online | 1.0 Core CCE
Join Sarah Farina for a reflective exploration of how coaches can support clients when the path ahead is unclear. Drawing on insights from her Camino de Santiago experience, Sarah will connect the realities of uncertainty, transition and identity shifts with the deeper work of coaching. Participants will explore how to stay present without rushing to solutions, listen for what is emerging beneath the story, and support transformation that goes beyond goals and performance toward meaning, alignment and becoming.
RE.SET: Transform Your Coaching Through Game-Based Methods
September 19 | 1:00 - 4:00 PM | Victoria | In Person
Join Julia James, PCC, CPCC, CBCC, M.Sc. for a highly interactive coaching experience that puts play at the centre of learning. Rather than a traditional workshop, participants will become active players in the RE.SET coaching game, using structured gameplay, reflective prompts and facilitated conversation to explore personal and professional themes in real time. Discover how game-based methods can foster psychological safety, deepen reflection and self-awareness, and bring ICF coaching competencies such as presence, active listening, curiosity and evoking awareness to life in fresh and creative ways.
Hope in Action: Navigating Uncertainty with Creativity
September 24 | 12:00–1:30 PM | Online | 1.5 CCE
Join Andrea Fruhling, PCC, for an engaging and interactive session exploring how coaches can cultivate hope and creativity in times of uncertainty and change. Using Hope-Action Theory and the concept of Creative Presence, Andrea will share practical, evidence-based approaches for strengthening connection, deepening listening and helping clients move from hope to meaningful action. Participants will leave with immediately applicable coaching practices, including the use of metaphor and storytelling to deepen client insight and engagement.
Chapter News
An Invitation to Serve: Join the ICF BC Board
The coaching profession is growing. So is our responsibility to lead it well. ICF BC is welcoming new Directors for the 2027–2028 terms, and we are looking for members who are ready to contribute their voice, skills, and commitment to a board that serves 900+ coaches across British Columbia.
Open roles:
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Vice-President |
Secretary |
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Treasurer |
Communications |
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Regional |
Volunteer Engagement |
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Credentialing |
We value diverse backgrounds and provide full onboarding support. Bring what is genuinely yours.
Download the Board Recruitment Package and find the role that fits.
Creating Space for Reflection and Growth
Heather’s journey into coaching began through leadership and her own experience of working with an executive coach. Today, she integrates coaching into her work with senior executives, physician leaders, teams, and organizations navigating change, helping leaders develop greater self-awareness, clarity, connection, and intention.
What inspired you to begin your journey in coaching?
My journey into coaching began through leadership. Early in my career, I was given the opportunity to work with an executive coach, and I experienced firsthand the power of having a confidential space for reflection, challenge, and growth. That experience fundamentally shifted how I thought about leadership development and the importance of self-awareness in leading others.
During COVID, I made the decision to invest more intentionally in my own growth and attended the Royal Roads University Executive Coaching program. It was both a professional and personal turning point that helped reshape my leadership approach, deepen my emotional intelligence, and strengthen how I build and support teams.
What is the most meaningful impact you've seen from your work in coaching and organizational development?
The most meaningful impact is often seen when leaders begin to shift how they see themselves, their teams, and the system around them. I’ve seen coaching help leaders move from reactivity to reflection, from isolation to connection, and from carrying the weight alone to leading with greater clarity and intention.
When leaders and teams develop the capacity to have more honest conversations, work through conflict, and align around shared purpose, the effects ripple across the organization.
How do you integrate coaching into your work with senior executives and organizational transformation?
I integrate coaching by supporting leaders to connect the strategic work of transformation with the human work of leadership. Senior executives are often navigating ambiguity, competing priorities, stakeholder complexity, and significant pressure. Coaching creates space for them to pause, examine assumptions, strengthen their emotional intelligence, and make more intentional choices about how they lead.
Whether working with executive teams, physician leaders, or organizations navigating change, I believe coaching helps create more reflective, resilient, and connected leadership cultures.
How has coaching influenced your life and work, both professionally and personally?
Coaching has profoundly shaped how I listen, lead, and relate to others. Professionally, it shifted my leadership approach from feeling responsible for always having the answers to creating more space for curiosity, reflection, and shared thinking.
Personally, coaching has helped me navigate uncertainty and transition with greater intention and perspective. It has reinforced the importance of authenticity, emotional intelligence, and creating meaningful connection — both in leadership and in life.
What do you hope to see as our coaching profession grows and develops?
As the coaching profession grows, I hope we continue to deepen our credibility while staying connected to the heart of the work. Coaching has tremendous potential to support leaders and organizations through complexity, and that requires strong ethics, professional standards, inclusivity, and a clear understanding of what coaching is — and what it is not.
I would love to see coaching become more embedded in how organizations develop leaders and shape cultures, rather than being viewed only as an individual intervention. At its best, coaching strengthens not only individual leaders, but the quality of conversations, relationships, and decision-making across entire systems.
What September Asks Us to Carry
Two observances shape this month, and both offer us an invitation to deepen our work as coaches.
September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day, opening Suicide Prevention Awareness Month across the country. This isn't an invitation to step outside our scope as coaches, or to carry what belongs to a therapist. It's an invitation to notice. We are often among the first to sense when a client's language shifts: a flatness that wasn't there before, an offhand comment about being a burden, a quiet pulling away from things that used to matter. Holding a client well can mean simply staying open to what we sense, and knowing where the referral pathways are long before we ever need them. An invitation to stay present enough to notice, and humble enough to welcome someone else's support when the work is no longer coaching's to carry.
September 30th is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, when many across Canada wear orange to honour residential school survivors and the children who never came home. It's a day that invites the whole country to sit with grief it might otherwise rush past. That pull - to move quickly toward resolution because sitting with pain feels hard - is one coaches recognize. Our training draws us toward growth and forward motion, toward the next insight. This month invites something different: a willingness to let some things simply be witnessed, rather than turned into a lesson before our clients are ready.
An invitation to reflect on our steadiness as coaches, that can be a reminder that no one has to hold it alone in the room.
If a client, a colleague, or you yourself are struggling, Canada's Suicide Crisis Helpline welcomes calls or texts, 24/7, at 988.
**A coaching reflection for September**
Where have you been nudging someone toward resolution, when what they were really asking for and needing was your steadiness while they sat with their issue or situation?*
Linda Schmidt
Director DEIB
ICF British Columbia
Global Updates
Time to Check Your Credential Status
ICF has updated its competencies, credentialing standards, exams and pathways across ACC, PCC, MCC, ACTC, Mentor Coaching, and Supervision. Now is the time to get clear on what has changed and what it means for your next steps.
The good news: ICF has made it easy. The free Credentialing Webinar Series walks you through every stage of the credentialing process — from your first application to renewal — with guidance from ICF Credentials and Standards staff and professional coaches who know the path well.
It's on-demand. It's free. And it's designed for coaches exactly where you are.
Register for the Free Credentialing Webinar Series
Did You Know?
Our very own ICF BC Membership Director, Anna Boltenko, will be presenting at ICF Converge 2026 in Washington, D.C., October 28-30.
ICF Converge is where more than 1,300 coaching professionals from 50+ countries come together to learn, connect, and shape the future of the profession. Having Anna on that stage is a proud moment for our entire community here in BC.
We'll share more details as the event approaches.
