By Ellen Neiley Ritter, Ph.D., BCC

Nine months ago, Pat Williams and I received emails from an inmate in a federal prison who was reading Becoming A Professional Life Coach and wanted to bring coaching to the prisons. Since ILCT's mission is to not only provide the best coach training to our students, but to also take coaching to those who can most benefit from coaching, ILCT decided to donate its training to a group of eight men in this facility.

Last week, Pat and I had the honor of joining these men to celebrate their graduation from ILCT's Foundational Coach Training Program. It was a moving and powerful experience for all of us. Listening to them talk about how coaching has changed their lives, their sense of themselves, and their interactions with others (not only fellow inmates, but also their families), was not only inspiring, but also an incredible confirmation of the power of coaching.

Later this month, a second Foundations class will begin, with the current graduates serving as peer coaches for the 13 new students (as well as others within their system.) Due to the success of this pilot program, its outreach is already expanding, and with it the hope that all involved will be able to continue to reveal and share the power of coaching to improve the world. ILCT is honored to be a part of it!

Read more about the project on the ICF blog as we work on pulling together a paper using the men's testimonials.