Contact

dwestcoaching@gmail.com

503-239-5096

Debbie West Bio

I am a creative and life coach who offers inspired support to artists/creatives, students, and others who want creative solutions in their lives. I am a Certified Professional Coach, trained in the Transformative Coaching model through Invite Change/the Academy for Coach Training in Edmonds, Washington.

Creatively, I have studied and worked in media including printmaking, photography, poetry, playwriting, and performance art. I have always had an artistic soul, but in and after college I struggled to find myself creatively. It took me a number of years to focus and find my own aesthetic, and balance creativity with the other areas of my life.

Now I have a small press card printing business and love creating letterpress cards featuring original linoleum block and woodcut designs. I also enjoy writing and making small press publications. I am committed to using recycled materials and to promoting creative reuse through art!

My professional experience includes eight years as a “corporate creative” working in marketing at a large engineering company. I have also freelanced occasionally and worked in performing arts house management and a community college writing center. (Not to mention a decade of low-paying retail and office jobs before, during, and after college…)

I grew up mostly in Virginia, but moved around a lot since my Dad was in the Army. I now live in Portland, Oregon, a city with great creative energy and inspiration! I have been married and divorced, and experienced a wonderful reunion with my birth family several years ago. I am blessed to have wonderful family and friends, and two great kitties!

I have known for years that part of my creative mission is to empower other artists. I see coaching as more than a career, but an expression of my life purpose to play, create, connect, inspire and be inspired. And I love it! It's so rewarding to witness other people's growth firsthand, and it's truly an honor to work with people as a coach. And it's really, really fun!