Bio

Marianna Lead, PCC, PhD, is the Founder/Executive Director of Goal Imagery® Institute  and a pioneer in tapping the subconscious power of emotions and imagination for personal and professional success.  Twice-elected president of the International Coach Federation’s  award-winning New York City chapter (ICF-NYC), she had served on ICF’s global marketing committee, and has been  an ICF Credentialing Examination Assessor since 2008.  Marianna is also the Founder of Practitioners for Personal and Professional Transformation and the President of the International Association of Counselors and Therapists (IACT) NYC Chapter.

In 2006, Dr. Lead became the first expert invited to speak at the world-renowned Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, on the subjects of hypnosis and life coaching.  She was featured on the cover of INSIGHT Magazine in June of 2011 for her ground-breaking work in creating her Goal Imagery® Method in 1998, which serves as the basis of the Goal Imagery® Institute. Marianna’s Goal Imagery® Coach Training program is the only coach training approved by both the ICF and IACT.

In addition, Marianna Lead has created and taught a number of university and graduate level courses in coaching, leadership, and interpersonal communication skills.  She co-designed the Competitive Advantages of Women in Leadership program at Columbia University; taught New York University’s Master’s Degree and Coaching Certificate Programs; and created numerous courses for NYU’s School of Continued & Professional Studies, including Finding Your Inner Life & Career Coach, Introduction to Hypnosis, and Goal Imagery® – the Shortest Distance between You and Your Goals.

A sought-after speaker and active SAG (Screen Actors Guild) member since 1996, Marianna has also taught many courses on presentation skills, lectured at the 92nd St. Y, and co-hosted/produced Laughter as a Life Skill with comic Yakov Smirnoff at the American Airlines Theater on Broadway.

Marianna has been an Expert Life Coach for Fitness Magazine, collaborated with Dr. Candace Pert (best-selling author of Molecules of Emotion) on her Psychosomatic Wellness CD, and was the creator/host of Life Coach TV on Manhattan Cable in NYC, as well as Life Coach Radio with Progressive Radio Network. She has frequently been featured on national TV (including NBC morning news) & radio, in magazines such as Fitness, Natural Health, Time Out and documentaries – both as a coach and personal/professional development expert.

Dr. Lead’s background in the performing arts enhances her skills as a coach, therapist and teacher – and makes her an engaging host, presenter, and on-camera guest.  A classically-trained pianist and former stand-up comic, for many years, she served as the Acting Instructor and Theater Director at Shorefront YMHA in Brooklyn, NY, coaching teens and young adults on acting and presentation skills.

Marianna is a certified mentor with EQMentor, providing mentoring/coaching for executives with focus on emotional intelligence concepts. She is also a senior executive consultant for Rock the Boat Consulting, an international coaching and consulting firm. An ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC), she is also a certified stress management consultant with IACT, as well as IACT’s approved provider of hypnotherapy certification courses since 1996.

Dr. Lead is the author of ten audio programs, including: Letting Go of Your Weight, Becoming a Non-Smoker, Stress Release, Improving Your Memory, Discovering Your Yoga Master Within, Freeing Your Creativity, Conquering Stage Fright, and Creating Happiness. She is currently writing a book entitled Goal Imagery®  – The Shortest Distance to Health, Wealth & Happiness.

Dr. Lead teaches at her Goal Imagery Institute and maintains an active coaching tele-practice with clients across the U.S., as well as a New York City- based hypnotherapy practice. Marianna’s range of clients includes large corporations (Ernst & Young, American Airlines), entrepreneurs, small business owners, entertainers and nonprofit organizations (Society of Women Engineers, The New York Urban League).