Rich Raffals                                                                                                                   1 (650) 493-2993

Professional Interests

Coach/Teach/Mentor leadership, coaching, technology, interpersonal, spiritual and career/life skills

to teens and adults, in English or Spanish, in person and by phone

Qualifications Summary

*    Confident and effective in an exceptionally diverse mix of corporate, cultural, and interpersonal environments

     (experience in start-ups, non-profits, for-profits, 23 countries, and living with natives in the Amazon, India, Spain)

*    Natural talent for coaching, tutoring and mentoring success, growth, fulfillment and balance (10+ years)

*    Hundreds of hours of Co-Active Coaching experience; trained by The Coaches Training Institute (CTI) (6+ years)

*    Quickness learning complicated concepts, devising fun and interactive learning experiences, and then teaching

      these myriad concepts to diverse audiences (8+ years, consistently receiving the highest student evaluations)

*    Spanish-speaking community builder, proficient in leading/facilitating teams/groups of 3 to 500+ (7+ years)

*    Consistent client satisfaction and results

Key Strengths (what clients have said most benefits them)

*  Superb questioning, listening and messaging skills          *  Extraordinary patience, sensitivity, and intuition

*  Ability to elicit clarity, focus, and fun                               *  Empathy, compassion, and authenticity

*  Exceptional creativity from diverse perspectives              *  Wisdom and ability to inspire from life experience

Experience

Leadership, Technology and Career/Life Coach

*    Coached hundreds of adults and teens to create, prioritize and realize visions/goals for their careers, relationships,

      and lives with unprecedented levels of productivity, satisfaction and growth

*    Coached, co-developed and assisted training of new coaches and leaders in state-of-the-art methods to create

      sustainable leadership, and balanced lives/careers aligned with values and passions

*    Coached parents and 18 year old individually and facilitate family meetings with all three together
*    Tutored/mentored/home schooled 17 year old; also coached student and parents around his special challenges
      with grades/test taking, motivation, drugs, self esteem, mood swings and emotional blocks

*    Co-authored 1^st draft of book on a new model for leadership, personal evolution and social change with

      Laura Whitworth (co-founder of Coaches Training Institute and co-author of Co-Active Coaching)

*    Co-created and lead 10 week True Work Coaching Seminar for career/life transition and renewal

*    Tutored/coached clients to use technology to its full potential in their business and personal lives
*    Designed juvenile hall youth transition program (job skills, coaching, emotional support group, yoga/meditation)
*    Co-lead interactive “What the Bleep!?” seminar in Italy; Coached participants to apply WtB paradigm in their lives

Relevant Training and Affiliations

*    Re-evaluation Counseling: On-going training to facilitate discharge of emotional blocks to clear thinking/action

*    Workshops and on-going classes with CTI, Coach University, New Ventures West, NLP Institute of CA,

      Thomas Leonard (CoachU/CoachVille founder), Laura Whitworth (CTI founder)

*    Challenge Day Next Step and Leadership Empowerment Trainings on leading experiential workshops

*    Outward Bound Leadership and Wilderness Therapy Practicum

*    Decker Method for Effective Communicating; Langevin Instructional Techniques for New Instructors

*    ATLAS Instructor/Mentor Training to Teach English Literacy and GED Subjects to Sunnyvale community

*    Will Shutz’ intensive Human Element Seminar on corporate relationships and teamwork

*    Member Bay Area Assn. for Psychological Type (BAAPT); New Dimensions' True Work Circle Certified Member

Education (listed in order of completion)

  Bachelor of Science:   Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (High Honors)

                                           Major: Computer Engineering                  Minor: Interpersonal Communications

  Associate of Arts:         Spanish:  DeAnza College, Cupertino, CA (Magna Cum Laude)

  Full Curriculum:          Co-Active Coaching: The Coaches Training Institute (CTI), San Rafael, CA

Other Management, Leadership/Facilitation, Community Building and Teaching Experience

Teaching and Training Highlights

*  True Work Coaching Seminar to adults in career/life transition

*  Y2K concepts to hundreds of utility engineers across U.S. and in 3 foreign countries (taught in Spanish in Mexico)

*  Yoga/Meditation to 1000's of at-risk teens in San Mateo County Juvenile Halls and to adults in various settings

*  Taught Nature/Natural Science to 1st-8th graders in purely experiential contexts (as an “Environmental Volunteer”)

*  English: As a Second Language to Spaniards in Spain; Literacy/GED to adults of Sunnyvale community

Management, Leadership and Facilitation Highlights

*  Managed teams/Lead corporate engineering projects at Silicon Graphics, Inc. (SGI) and NexGen, Inc. (now AMD)

*  Facilitated technology integration with grade school teachers as part of Clinton’s $2 Million education initiative

*  Co-founded/Lead Silicon Valley True Work Circle (95% transitioned to new career and/or living environment)

*  Managed/Facilitated Spanish Group for The World Affairs Council (Grew paper list of 35 and a human phone-tree

      to 500+ members, with shared leadership, a website, a self-maintaining member database, and email invites)

*  Founded/Lead/Facilitate Wisdom Circle for Personal Growth and Community (Since 1998)

*  Directed talent and studio crew of 8 in real time (live) to create “Common Ground” cable TV program

*  Facilitated middle/high-school Challenge Day experiences that empowered teen leaders to transform school culture

Communities Built

Silicon Valley Coaches Support Group,  True Work Circle,  Neighborspace Virtual Community,  World Affairs
Council Spanish Group,  San Mateo County Juvenile Halls,  Bay Area Wisdom Circle,  Multiple Coaching Circles

Work History

Own Business, Self Employment & Contracts:

   2005-pres    Senior Technical Trainer/Coach, Mentor Training, Computer Magic Training – San José, CA

   2000-pres    Leadership, Relationship & Spiritual/Life Coach, Awaken the Magic Coaching – Palo Alto, CA

   2000-2006   Meditation Instructor and Council Facilitator, Youth Horizons (non-profit) – San Francisco, CA

   1999-2001   Senior Technical Trainer, Anderson Software Group, Inc. – San Diego, CA

   1999             Sabbatical: Apprenticed with Tim Corcoran of Headwaters Outdoor School to lead growth-

oriented wilderness classes; Studied Short Story Writing, True Work, Earth Philosophy, Desert

Survival/Herbology, Jin Shin Jyutsu, and “Human/Universal Energy” healing techniques

   1999              Senior Technical Trainer, Learnsoft, Inc. – San José, CA

   1999              Web Programmer, Webster & Associates – San Francisco, CA

   1998-99        Senior Y2K Education Specialist, Electronic Power Research Institute (EPRI) – Palo Alto, CA

Full Time Employment:

    1996-1998     Education Specialist in Customer Training, SGI - Mountain View, CA

1993-1996     Senior Microprocessor Design Project Lead, Silicon Graphics, Inc./MIPS - Mountain View, CA
1993                       Sabbatical: Studied Spanish language/culture and taught English while living in Spain; Toured

                             the Galapagos Islands; Lived with the Shaman of an indigenous tribe deep in the Amazon Jungle;

                             Toured the American Southwest; Visited Native American reservations and museums

    1989-1993     Senior Microprocessor Engineer/Manager, NexGen Microsystems (startup; now AMD) - Milpitas

    1987-1989     System Design Engineer, Amdahl Corporation - Sunnyvale, CA

    Summer 86   Logic Design Engineer, Texas Instruments - Dallas, TX

    Summer 85   Software Engineer, IBM Corporation - Endicott, NY

Personal Interests

African/Middle-Eastern drumming, writing, nature, travel, music festivals, mountain biking, meditation, medicinal/
edible plants, natural healing, Spanish/Italian cultures, snowboarding, shamanism, didgeridoo, salsa/flamenco, kindness