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Pianist and Juilliard
Doctoral Candidate

Astrid is extremely dedicated and focused in each session.  One major breakthrough I have had is the idea that being authentic is a major value for me and that I have spent so much of my life trying to please others or do activities I feel like I "should" do.  I feel like I have blossomed in so many ways this year, taking on creative projects that I might have been cautious of before, meeting incredible colleagues, and being excited about the future instead of fearful of it.  Astrid has a great gift of seeing the beauty in each person and allowing their strengths to come through.

— JC, New York, NY

Social Worker

As someone who has spent years in asking what it means to be a guide in another's process, I particularly appreciate Astrid's unique mix of compassion and drive.  She knows when to push through doubt, ambivalence and confusion while honoring the sensitive and deeply personal components that contribute to each of our motivational processes. I plan to return to Astrid frequently as I chart the next phase of my professional development.

— MAM, New York, NY

Meet Astrid Baumgardner

My Background

Education, Coach Training and Credentials

Meet Astrid Baumgardner

I discovered coaching after a traumatic life experience—a sudden and nearly fatal illness— that altered my concept of a fulfilling life. After several surgeries and a month in the hospital, I could barely walk or talk. Yet something inside me knew that I was going to be okay. With an unfailing sense of the positive, a lot of hard work and determination, together with incredible support from family and friends, I regained my health. I realized that I had been given the opportunity to create the life that I always wanted. This led me to discover that I had a mission to inspire and empower others to find and live their authentic selves and I have been coaching ever since.

I bring more than 30 years of varied experience as an attorney, non-profit executive, musician, arts advocate, Board Chair, wife and mother. This experience, combined with rigorous training from one of the world’s leading coaching institutes, gives me a unique advantage in helping clients create balance and derive greater satisfaction from their professional, creative and personal lives.

My Background

Throughout my career, my approach has been to make choices based on my values, strengths and passions. This principle guided me through my evolution from lawyer to non-profit executive and consultant to coach. The key for me has been to remain authentic to myself. The result is a deep feeling of personal success and fulfillment, as well as insight into many different worlds, all of which I share with my clients.

• I was among the early wave of women lawyers to join large NYC law firms in the mid-1970’s. I began my career as a litigation associate at Weil Gotshal & Manges and Debevoise & Plimpton and became a partner at O'Melveny & Myers. I then joined New York office of the Paris-based firm Gide Loyrette Nouel in order to achieve work/life balance and combine my love for France and my French-language skills with the law.
• While practicing law and raising a family, I studied piano and became involved in a number of arts organizations in New York City, including The Acting Company, Manhattan School of Music, Musica Viva of New York and the American Composers Orchestra.
• After practicing law for 25 years, I transitioned to arts management where I could apply my professional skills in service of the Arts, and became Deputy Executive Director of the French Institute Alliance Française of New York.
• I then became an independent consultant to non-profit boards and did extensive pro bono legal work.
• I currently serve as Vice-Chair of the board of the American Composers Orchestra, (which I chaired for 5 years) and actively participate in Sanctuary for Families as a past board member, member of the Legal Advisory Council and pro bono attorney in the Center for Battered Women’s Legal Services.
• I am a Certified Professional Coach specializing in career and success planning and transitions.

Education, Coach Training and Credentials

• Mount Holyoke College, B.A.Magna cum laude; elected to Phi Beta Kappa
• Rutgers Newark School of Law, J.D.; member of the Rutgers Law Review
  
• NYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies, Coaching Program
  
• IPEC, the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching, the country’s leading coach training institute, which I attended and graduated from as a Certified Professional Coach
  
• Member of the International Coach Federation (ICF)
  
• Associate Certified Coaching (ACC), the ICF credential which is your assurance that I have met rigorous standards of training, ethics and professionalism
  
• Energy Leadership Index Master Professional certification