About me
I know what it means to build a career across countries, systems, and changing contexts.
That experience shapes how I coach: practical, direct, and grounded in the realities of transition.
The Professional Lens
The Hiring Side
My background includes about 10 years in international development program work across infrastructure development, women’s economic empowerment, savings-led microfinance, and local government capacity building in Asia and Africa. This was followed by more than a decade in recruitment, senior talent, and advisory work in international development and mission-driven sectors.
I understand the work behind the titles, not just how those titles appear in a search process. I know how candidates are assessed on paper and in conversation: where a career story is clear, where it becomes too dense, and where strong experience is not yet being translated in a way decision-makers can easily understand.
I help clients see how their experience is coming across, where the story is getting crowded, and what needs to be made clearer.
The Lived Lens
Global Mobility
I also know transition from the inside.
I grew up across cultures as the daughter of a diplomat and have spent more than three decades living internationally. Today, I continue to live the realities of global mobility as the spouse of a diplomat. Across those years, I have moved countries multiple times, adapted to new cultures and systems, rebuilt my work in unfamiliar markets, and repeatedly navigated the challenges and opportunities that come with starting again in new contexts.
I know what it is like to have a solid record and still feel unsure how it applies to what comes next.
Transition is rarely just logistical. It can change how you see your work, your options, and your own judgment. That is why I do not treat career change as only a question of CVs, applications, or next steps.
The coaching lens
The layer beneath the tactics
I am an iPEC Certified Professional Coach and Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner.
AI can help with wording. Career advice can help with tactics. Both have a place.
My work focuses on the decision underneath: what you are positioning for, what you are no longer pursuing, and what version of your experience needs to lead now.
When useful, I use the Energy Leadership Index to add another layer of information about how pressure or uncertainty may be influencing the decision.
Who I work with
Experienced International Professionals in Transition
I work with experienced international professionals navigating career change, global mobility, sector shifts, and professional uncertainty.
That includes senior professionals in international development, diplomacy, multilateral organisations, global NGOs, foundations, mission-driven sectors, and globally mobile professionals whose careers do not fit a standard path.
You may be navigating a role change, relocation, return to work, professional pause, sector shift, or a moment when the old direction no longer feels clear enough to keep following.
What changes
From Clients
The ELI assessment provided useful insights into energy levels and how they can be consciously used to reach specific goals. I am very grateful for Mai's help and guidance, and feel more confident and in control following our sessions.
Edith Read
Mai has a real ability to be intuitive, even in a remote coaching setting. She integrates personal and professional dynamics in a way that feels natural and useful, and it's clear she brings a lot of experience helping people navigate complex situations.
Chris H.
Mai helped me get into a much better place than when we started. She brought a lot of clarity to my positioning, helped me present myself more confidently at the executive level, and gave me practical structure around networking and targeting opportunities. I really appreciated the support and guidance throughout the process.
Hayden A.
WHere to start
The best first step is a conversation
A Career Clarity Call is a focused, no-obligation conversation about where you are, what decision you are facing, and what may be getting in the way.
We will look at your situation together, and I will offer an honest recommendation about the most useful next step, whether that means working together or not.