Helping people and organizations lead, live, and Love with presence.

Through Empowered People® Coaching & Consulting, I bridge executive leadership and community healing.My work integrates facilitation, mediation, qualitative research, and mindfulness-based coaching to help people move from exhaustion and uncertainty into clarity, confidence, and connected action.Rooted in womanist traditions and cultural inheritance, I design spaces for rest, reflection, and real transformation — from the boardroom to the living room, and everywhere care and leadership meet.

Empowered People® Coaching

The Calm and Thrive Coach

Coaching and community spaces for parents, leaders, and seekers of new ways of living and leading.Together we reimagine family rhythms, education, and self-leadership through reflection, rhythm, and practice.One-on-one and group experiences support those navigating divorce, parenting transitions, relocation, high-pressure work, or major life change.You’ll leave with clarity, calm, and next steps you can trust.

Offerings:

  • Calm Coaching™ — individual emotion management skill-building sessions

  • Custom 1:1 Packages -- 1-month and 3-month private coaching experiences.

  • Empowered & Peaceful™ Parenting — 6-week cohort

  • Grounding & Clarity Sessions — 60-minute body resets

  • Design Your Family’s Education Reality — 90-day learning design

Empowered People® Consulting

Specialized Executive & Community Facilitation

Strategic consulting and facilitation for nonprofits, schools, project and family-centered initiatives seeking culturally responsive leadership and rest-centered programming.I design and guide experiences that move teams from exhaustion and division into clarity, collaboration, and care.

Trusted by:

Focus Areas:

  • Facilitation & Qualitative Research -- Burke Institute–trained moderator experienced in discussion design and synthesis reporting -- particularly skilled with sensitive subject matter and innovation.

  • Mediation & Conflict Transformation -- Virginia Supreme Court–track mediator-in-training; restorative approaches for families, teams, and boards.

  • Leadership & Program Design -- Executive-level strategist guiding trauma-informed, culturally-responsive training and policy development.

  • Meditation & Wellness Education -- Yogamu 100-hour meditation teacher-in-training + decades-long mindful living practitioner leading body-based mindfulness for teams and leaders.

Speaking & Restorative Spaces

From keynote talks to restorative retreats, I create experiences that slow us down, open reflection, and reconnect participants with ancestral practices of wholeness.Designed for summits, leadership gatherings, and community events where calm presence and clarity are needed most.

Currently Available for New Contracts & Collaborations

After four years of steady consulting work, I’m now open for new opportunities aligned with my expertise and values.• Short-term contracts and facilitation projects
• Fractional executive or strategy roles
• Speaking engagements and restorative leadership workshopsRemote • Hybrid • Virginia-based

About Yolonda Coles Jones

Facilitator · Calm Coach™ · Mediator-in-Training · Parent & Co-Parent Support · Community LeaderI’m a facilitator, consultant, and community leader with two decades of experience guiding people and organizations through change with clarity, compassion, and presence.I create spaces where individuals, families, and teams move from exhaustion and confusion into grounded confidence, connection, and direction.My work spans culturally responsive facilitation, qualitative research, leadership development, and restorative community design.I bring a rare blend of intuitive depth and professional rigor — drawing on womanist traditions, ancestral inheritance, and evidence-based practice. My approach is relational, body-centered, and always anchored in Love as a guiding methodology.I serve clients across Virginia and internationally through Empowered People® Coaching & Consulting and The RESTORE Project™, a nonprofit dedicated to whole-being wellness and community transformation.---MY APPROACHEvery space I hold — whether with a parent, a leader, or a team — is built on calm, clarity, and care.
I help people slow down, listen to their bodies, and communicate with honesty and compassion.My work blends trauma-informed care, deep listening, somatic regulation, and mindful communication.
Clients describe my presence as steady, intuitive, and deeply human.---WAYS TO WORK TOGETHERCalm Coaching™
Private sessions for grounding, nervous-system regulation, and clarity during seasons of transition or stress.Parent & Co-Parent Coaching
Guided sessions to strengthen communication, boundaries, and shared responsibility — supporting families navigating custody, transitions, or daily parenting challenges.Customized 1:1 Coaching for Leaders
For high-impact, visionary leaders and changemakers who want to move from reactivity to capacity.
This work supports those experiencing or recovering from burnout and ready to lead and live with presence, power, and sustainability.Mediation & Restorative Dialogue
Supporting individuals, families, and organizations to resolve conflict through structure, compassion, and clear communication.Facilitation & Moderation
Designing and leading spaces for groups, teams, and communities to move through charged conversations, strategic visioning, and restorative engagement.---TRAINING & EXPERIENCE- Founder & Lead Coach, Empowered People® Coaching & Consulting (est. 2017)
- Executive Director, The RESTORE Project™ (501c3)
- Mediation Training, Mediation Center of Charlottesville — pursuing General District as well as Juvenile & Domestic Relations certifications*
- Co-Parent Instructor Certification (in process) — Virginia Supreme Court
- Clinical Mentorship & Supervision — trauma-informed parent coaching under licensed clinical mentors
- Burke Institute-trained Focus Group Moderator — Basic & Advanced
- Mindfulness & Meditation Teacher Training (100 hrs, in progress)---GUIDING VALUESPresence. Care. Accountability. Restoration.I believe in slowing down enough to listen — to yourself, to your body, and to the moment that’s asking for transformation.
Every conversation I hold is an invitation to remember your agency and to practice Love as a way of restoring balance.---CONNECTIf you’re seeking a calmer path forward — for yourself, your family, or your organization — I’d love to connect.Book a 15-Minute Consultation →
or email [email protected]>> Go to Home Page <<

A quiet note for practitioners:

Why this exists --

Alongside my public work in Calm Coaching™, family life, and care practices, I also support values-aligned, nontraditional communities behind the scenes.From time to time, I’m asked to recommend practitioners who can offer clear, bounded support without overriding their own sustainability.This page exists to hold that process with care.

What this is / what it isn’t --

This is:• relationship-building
• informed consent
• slow, thoughtful connections

This is not:• a job post
• a hiring call
• a commitment or roster

Areas of practice I’m commonly asked about --

(Examples, not roles)• Financial systems support (cleanup, clarity, sustainability)
• Digital infrastructure support (websites, ordering systems, back-end setup)
• Operational clarity and workflow design
• Short-term facilitation or process support
• Defined-scope technical assistance in values-aligned spaces
• Legal Support (estate planning, divorce, child support, separation)
• Specialized Project-based Space Cleaning & OrganizingSpecific support needs are clarified only after internal work-mapping with the community involved.

How I approach referrals --

I do not broker labor or manage engagements.I prioritize clarity as care — for communities and practitioners.Any introductions are grounded in consent, clear scope, and mutual fit.Not every connection leads to work, and that’s intentional.

Optional next step --

If this way of working resonates and feels relevant to you,
you’re welcome to share a bit about your practice here:

No obligation attached.

Thank you for reading with care.

>> Go to Home Page <<

Contact Us

Empowered People® Coaching & Consulting
Charlottesville, VA | Remote / Hybrid
[email protected]
© 2025 Empowered People® Coaching & Consulting