Hi, I’m Dr. Denise Lopez - your change catalyst.
I provide leadership coaching for diverse high-potential professionals, including women and people of color.
Mission
Spark growth with purpose and impact.
Many leaders reach moments when new demands, changing contexts, or internal tensions call for a different way of thinking, behaving and leading. Today’s work environment is defined by complexity, uncertainty and rapid change. Shifts in organizational structures, increased performance expectations, remote and hybrid work, and increased attention to culture, inclusion, employee engagement and wellbeing have made leadership both more visible and more demanding. What worked before may no longer be sufficient – not because anything is wrong but because growth is asking for something new.
I work with accomplished leaders navigating moments of growth, change or inflection. Many of my clients are high-potential women and leaders of color, stepping into greater scope, visibility or influence. I also support leaders across different sectors who want to strengthen their strategic thinking, leadership presence, communication and influence, motivation, performance management and change management skills. By providing them the time and space to reflect, I help leaders clarify their goals and priorities as well as their personal values and engagement drivers so they can think strategically, plan systematically and execute intentionally.
Through coaching, I help leaders define and unlock their best selves. Finding their authentic voices and styles allows leaders to show up with confidence and conviction, thus fueling growth, fulfillment and success in both work and life.
Inspire yourself. Inspire others.
Meet your coach: Patricia “Denise” Lopez, PhD.
I am a leadership and organizational change expert who works with high-potential professionals, especially women and people of color, to unlock their potential and maximize their impact in organizations and communities around the world. This is particularly challenging in today’s work environment, where leaders are navigating complexity, transitions and inflection points.
As Professor of Organizational Psychology at Alliant University, I teach and conduct research in leadership, work motivation and productivity, team effectiveness, diversity and inclusion, and organizational change management. I consider it my life’s mission to develop great leaders and build workplaces to which people can bring their best and most enthusiastic selves. Over the last 25 years, I have taught, coached and consulted with diverse managers, teams and organizations in the United States and Asia-Pacific.
As an executive coach and scholar-practitioner, I support diverse leaders and professionals – creating space for clarity, courage and meaningful impact. I integrate my deep knowledge in psychology, business and cross-cultural studies in a way that simultaneously challenges and nurtures my clients. As a leadership coach (aka thought partner), I empower high-potential professionals and leaders to think critically, to push the boundaries and design their own paths, and to take accountability for action.
Education & Credentials
PhD in Organizational Psychology - Columbia University, Teachers College, New York City
Professional Certified Coach - International Coaching Federation.
How I Work
My Approach
My approach is grounded in partnership, clarity, and evidence-based practice. I integrate research and academic frameworks from organizational psychology, leadership, motivation, employee engagement, and change management.
Each engagement begins with building clarity around goals, followed by focused sessions that combine reflection, challenge, and action. Frameworks may inform the work — but context, judgment, and human nuance always come first.
What Makes this Partnership Different
I offer a true thought partnership rather than quick fixes or generic advice. My work combines depth without dogma, attention to identity and systems, and a balance of empathy with accountability. Having worked across sectors and cultures, I adapt my approach to the realities leaders face, creating space for insight and intentional action.
What Clients Experience
Clients experience shifts in perspective, broadened awareness of stakeholders, stronger communication confidence, deeper relationships, clarity about their future direction, and increased commitment to courageous, values-aligned action.
Typical Engagements
The typical coaching cadence involves sessions every two to four weeks over several months. Coaching conversations are confidential and designed to create psychological safety. I work primarily remotely, offering flexibility across locations and time zones.
For speaking, training and consulting engagements, I customize the content to suit audience interests and client objectives.
Like the lotus, we rise from the mud not despite it, but because of it.
Ways We Can Work Together
Leadership Coaching
Empowering high-potential women and people of color to advance in their careers, and to navigate organizational change and work challenges with confidence. Topics include:
-Executive presence and visibility
-Influence and communication skills
-Strategic thinking
-Organizational politics and culture
-Overcoming imposter syndrome,
Performance Coaching
For leaders and professionals seeking to maximize their effectiveness and achieve specific performance goals. Topics include:
-Building high-performing teams
-Time management and productivity
-Developing talent
-Feedback and difficult conversations
Career Coaching
Finding clarity in your career direction, maximizing your potential, and designing your best life through deep reflection and courageous action.
Organizational Consulting
Strategic consulting on organizational change, employee engagement, diversity and inclusion, and leadership development. Includes developing coaching and mentoring programs for leaders.
Speaking Engagements and Thought Leadership
Engaging presentations and workshops on topics such as:
-Lead, motivate, engage: How to INSPIRE teams
-How to INSPIRE remote and hybrid employees
-Leading diverse employees
-Creating inclusive workplaces
-Leading with empathy while maintaining accountability
-Coaching authentic leaders
-Managing the people side of organizational change
-INSPIRING your best life: Building authenticity in your work and life
Who Denise Coaches
Women and People of Color
Asian, Latinx, or African-American professionals who aspire to advance significantly in their organizational careers. They need support in navigating through real or perceived challenges such as lack of organizational visibility, "lack of executive presence," self-doubt or impostor syndrome, stereotypes and discrimination, glass ceilings, and lack of clarity in career direction.
Early and Mid-Career Professionals
High technical proficiency professionals who wish to strengthen their leadership skills. They seek to maximize their potential but may be facing questions about their own career and life goals. They often need support in thinking through how to take their career to the next level while addressing work-life balance, engaging and developing talent, creating and managing teams, and handling difficult conversations.
Senior Leaders and Executives
Leaders who set organizational strategy and direction and manage other managers and teams of teams. They are under a lot of pressure to deliver results for the organization, and thus face personal stress. They typically need support in enhancing their transformational leadership skills as they plan and oversee large-scale systemic and culture changes within their organizations. While it is helpful to receive feedback from subordinates, it can be lonely at the top.
Career Changers and Entrepreneurs
Professionals and students who are feeling dissatisfied with their current work or studies and need support in determining their future direction. They are at a crossroad, selecting between pursuing advancement in their organization or embarking on their own entrepreneurial venture.
This process requires deep reflection and examination of one's personal values, assumptions, interests and strengths, and taking courageous action to design one's best life.
What Clients are Saying
"The coaching I received from Denise has been a life-changing experience. She asked me so many powerful questions that tore away my deepest presumptions. It was very liberating and helped me address critical issues in my career, allowing me to move forward with how I show up at work and with others."
— Manager, Asia-Pacific
"I felt deeply supported – and appropriately challenged. She creates a space where you can think clearly and honestly. Our work helped me see my situation from multiple perspectives and make decisions with far more confidence. I left our sessions with new insights, practical direction and a stronger sense of myself as a leader."
— Global executive
"Just had the most amazing coaching from Denise. As early as the first session, I was able to figure out what was overwhelming me in the past year. Thanks Denise, for helping me focus on my next career goals/moves that will provide me with balance, personal and professional growth, and self-care."
— Senior nonprofit leader
Lead, Motivate, Engage Books
Co-Authored with Pearl Hilliard, EdD
Do your employees drag themselves to work reluctantly or are they motivated and passionate about their jobs, driven to achieve the department’s and organization’s goals? What can you as the manager do to lead, motivate and engage your employees?
This book is the first book written for managers who wish to INSPIRE their team members to higher engagement and performance. In developing our 7-step model, we’ve distilled our knowledge and experiences from decades of consulting, coaching and training employees at all levels. The book offers evidence-based recommendations, practical tips, tools and examples that can be adapted for various situations.
The pandemic accelerated a shift that was already underway - propelling organizations into remote and hybrid models that are redefining how people connect, collaborate and perform. While these new arrangements offer flexibility, autonomy and access to larger talent pools, they also introduce profound challenges: isolation, burnout, uneven communication, team misalignments, dwindling engagement, and a diluted workplace culture.
This book shows leaders how to apply the INSPIRE framework in today’s dispersed workplace. We offer new tools and best practices based on the most recent research to help leaders effectively motivate and manage employees, whether they are working in remote, hybrid or in-person modalities.
For more information about the books, visit Leadmotivateengage.com.
To order, visit Amazon.com.
Get in Touch!
Schedule a free 1:1 introductory session with me to discuss your coaching or consulting needs.