Marie Pace

Intro

I’m a coach, facilitator, and educator working at the intersection of personal and collective transformation. I support people and systems navigating the cracks of a rapidly changing world, helping them meet this critical historic moment with clarity, wisdom, and life-affirming creativity. I offer an attentive, relational presence that keeps close to what feels most tender and alive, tracking both fault lines and openings as I help clients recognize meaningful patterns in their lives and the world they inhabit, listen inwardly with greater discernment, and make wise choices aligned with changing conditions and what matters most to them.

What is your specialization and style of coaching?

I specialize in working with people navigating wicked challenges, deep change, and environments shaped by colliding differences. My coaching is grounded in mindfulness and somatic awareness, and shaped by a decades-long inquiry into human sense-making — an inquiry honed through field experience as a qualitative researcher, systems thinker, global (cross-cultural) professional, peacebuilding practitioner, and coach. Across this work, I’ve developed the ability to listen for the values and assumptions that give shape to experience. Years of working across societies and systems stuck in conflict have attuned me to the deeper patterns that underlie processes of collapse and renewal. This lens equips me to support clients navigating uncertainty, while reimagining possibilities, and new ways of being, thinking and taking action— both in their lives and in the systems they influence. Clients describe me as warm, insightful, and deeply attentive — someone who brings relational presence, discernment, and care to the issues that matter most. I aim to create a space where it’s possible to slow down, engage honestly, and make choices with greater clarity and coherence.

What relevant qualifications do you have related to your specialization?

I am an ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC), trained through Presence-Based Coaching, and certified in both Growth Edge Coaching and the Leadership Circle Profile. I hold an interdisciplinary PhD in social science from Syracuse University, where I focused on the inner and outer dimensions of peace and conflict, as well as an MA in international studies from the University of Oregon. I am also a Human Systems Dynamics (HSD) Associate. I bring over 20 years of international development experience, including leadership roles with the UN, USAID, and private contractors working on intractable social issues. In parallel, I’ve spent years teaching in university classrooms, helping students build practical skills for navigating conflict, polarization, and complexity. I currently serve as adjunct faculty at the University of Connecticut, where I teach a course that I designed to offer peacemaking strategies and skills relevant to our turbulent world today.

What types of clients do you enjoy working with?

I enjoy working with people who want to bring curiosity and care to themselves, others and the world — people who are wrestling with hard questions, navigating tough situations, or sensing that something new is wanting to emerge. Many of my clients work in international development, social impact, academia, or mission-driven sectors. Others are in transition — between roles, identities, or seasons of life — and are seeking a thoughtful, grounded space to listen inwardly and reorient. I’m especially drawn to those not just seeking better performance, but who seek a more grounded, relational way of showing up — with deeper presence, fresh ways of seeing, fuller participation, and an expanded sense of what it means to be human in these times.

What types of clients get the most value working with you?

I work with individuals and groups who are looking to: • Unlock fresh ways of perceiving and responding to stubborn challenges • Amplify creativity and resourcefulness • Uncover limiting assumptions and unconscious bias • Act with greater alignment of body, heart, and mind • Experiment with new ways of thinking, being, and acting Clients navigating a rapidly changing world — in their roles, organizations, or lives — often find that our work helps them move through stuckness, reconnect with core commitments, and access new possibilities for action. Those who benefit most tend to be open to both inner and outer exploration, and are ready to engage deeply with the patterns, questions, and choices that matter most.

What’s inspiring you lately?

After many years on the move, what inspires me now-a-days are quieter moments. A snowfall. A shared meal. A book by the fire. It is in these quiet rituals of everyday life that I find the deepest satisfaction and joy.

Anything else you want to include in your profile?

I offer discounted packages of coaching sessions, as well as a sliding scale for clients with limited financial resources.