Executive and team coaching for leaders and staff in NGOs, independent media and civil society — informed by 13 years working inside that world.
NGOs, independent media and civic organizations carry a particular combination of pressures: mission strain, unstable funding, political risk, displacement and, often, direct threats to safety. Coaching in this context needs to hold all of that at once — which is why it gets its own page rather than a line item on the homepage.
I spent thirteen years in independent Russian media before political pressure forced me into exile — an experience that shapes how I work with leaders and teams under similar strain.
I worked in independent media in Russia from 2012 — as a journalist and producer, multimedia editor, strategy consultant, and as a founder, editor and editor-in-chief. When the space for press freedom closed, in 2022 I was forced into exile and had to shut down my projects. That experience of personally navigating crisis, loss and reinvention — including through spiritual traditions — led me to the helping professions. I now bring that lived understanding of leadership in the third sector to coaching work with people who operate under similar pressure.
Founder and editor-in-chief of Supernova — a media outlet on the future, technology and freedom in Russia (2020–2025). Journalist and editor at Meduza and Novaya Gazeta (2016–2020). Produced major award-winning special projects: C for Community (Winner, Global Health Reporting Contest 2017); published Russia's first book of documentary comics The Kafka Code; covered the global refugee crisis in Europe for Open Russia (2016), worked on reporting about the war in Ukraine. Consulted for Newsmaker Moldova and Glasnaya, led courses for Prague School of Media, and designed and delivered training programmes for Equalit.ie — a Canadian international NGO working on digital resilience and open-source technology for communities under censorship and surveillance.
Taught at HSE University Moscow (alma mater), ITMO and RANEPA (2018–2022) — courses in documentary storytelling, creative producing, media management and multimedia journalism.
Leader burnout is a risk to the whole system: decisions, team, product, reputation. In NGOs and media that's compounded by mission pressure, funding instability, unsafe political environments, the challenges of displacement. Coaching in this context is underused — yet it works preventively: 4 sessions over a month can bring you to a point of clarity and renewed direction, help you recognize what's happening in the team, and see what can shift before things reach a breaking point. The particular feature of executive coaching in this space is the weight of responsibility a leader carries, and the reach of their decisions across team, project and stakeholders.
Focus: resilience and resource · decision-making under pressure · burnout prevention · displacement and transition · leadership through crisis and change.
From a single team session to a full organizational resilience programme — designed around your specific needs. Options: group workshops on burnout, crisis resilience and team dynamics; training series; hybrid programmes combining staff coaching and conflict work; individual coaching for key staff or departments; a comprehensive programme combining team health assessment with ongoing support. I can work with an existing format or design a programme from scratch for your organization. Details discussed at an introduction call.
Formats: one-off workshop on a specific topic · team conflict work · session series for organizations · long-term team programme · individual coaching for staff.
Invoicing available to organizations.
Book an introduction callFor organizations that want to include a coaching programme — for leadership, staff or team resilience — in a grant application, I provide support at the proposal-writing stage: framing the intervention, scoping a budget, and describing expected outcomes for funders.
Discuss a proposal →For staff in NGOs, media and the civic sector
For independent media and non-profit organizations in a funding crisis, the standard session rate may be out of reach — but support through change is exactly what's needed. For people and organizations in this space going through a difficult moment, I have special conditions — reach out and we'll find a format that works.
Payment accepted in EUR, RUB and any cryptocurrency. Instalment payment and formal invoicing to a legal entity are available.
Confidentiality is the foundation of all my work — and I know from my own experience that for clients in the media and human rights field, security can be critical and often a reason not to seek support at all. On request, I use security protocols that I know well from my previous professional life: encrypted communication channels and other tools. I do not keep records, or encrypt them, to protect client safety.
Book a free 30-minute introduction call, or reach out via any contact channel. For general coaching formats and pricing, see individual coaching and team programmes on the homepage — and for background reading, see the articles.
Choose a time →