About

Welcome! I help people and businesses get clarity for meaningful growth.

As a San Diego, CA based executive leadership coach and HR professional, I help individuals step confidently into meaningful transition and transformation.

I partner with people and teams ready to align their work and lives with their values, vision, and strengths.

Whether you’re navigating a professional crossroads, reimagining your next chapter, or building a thriving HR function, I bring thought partnership, proven expertise, and practical processes that inspire lasting change.

kristina au

My Why

From a young age, people have felt comfortable confiding in me.  They know I will keep important information “in the vault”. I truly love sitting across from someone, exploring what matters most. Those conversations, the ones that uncover hopes, challenges, and the “what ifs,” have always lit me up.

Over the years, whether in the boardroom, a team meeting, or at the kitchen table, I discovered the most rewarding part of my work is seeing people step into their potential, take action on their ideas, and grow in ways they didn’t think were possible.

Seeing the inner success that supports external performance is incredibly gratifying.

My work in HR and coaching allows me to create that space for others, combining insight, empathy, and strategy to move forward with confidence and clarity..

Purpose

To catalyze healthy, intentional, and fulfilling growth that ripples outward into
meaningful, positive change.

Mission

To create a supportive, strategic, and insight-rich environment where you gain clarity, access courage, make aligned decisions, and grow with confidence.

Approach

Transformation happens when inner clarity meets practical and sustainable strategy. My approach integrates grounded leadership principles, mindful awareness, and real-world experience across HR, systems, and executive leadership to support meaningful and sustainable growth.

How We Work/Values

Curiosity: I ask questions that reveal what’s true and what’s possible.
Courage: I challenge respectfully and invite honest reflection.
Wisdom: I help clients listen deeply and choose with intention.
Grit: I stay engaged through the messy middle of change.
Well-being: I model and encourage sustainable practices that fuel growth and performance.

Fun Facts

Fun Fact #1

Pastry Beginnings:
I’m a professionally trained pastry chef and a proud graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. After school, I packed two suitcases, moved to San Francisco, and spent five years working (and eating!) my way through the city. Bonus: I met my husband my second week there—we’ve been together 30 years.

Fun Fact #2

Change is my specialty: 
I’ve lived in five states (NY, CO, CA, CT, HI) and reinvented my career more than once—restaurants → office management → HR → executive coaching. Most recently, I stepped out of corporate life to build a business that fits the life I want now.

Fun Fact #3

Always creating: 
I’m a mixed-media artist who loves working with paper, paint, fabric, and metal. These days you’ll usually find me dyeing textiles and paper for collages and wall art—my happy place is surrounded by color and texture.

Fun Fact #4

I LOVE talking shop!
I nerd out on process – whether it’s creative or business, personal or professional. I love to build infrastructure for businesses and people that support growth and am happy to talk shop anytime. And because I’m also creative, I live to improve and create new processes in service of the build.