Yumi is of Japanese heritage, born in Germany and raised in the US. Before shifting to executive and team coaching, she spent 16 years leading emergency response and development programs for non-profit organizations in the Middle East and Asia, from small grassroots set-ups to international non-governmental organizations. Living and working in different countries and contexts honed her ability to navigate complex multicultural environments and connect with people from diverse backgrounds. This has also led to her passion for intercultural dialogue and diversity, equity, and inclusion work. Now as a systems coach and facilitator, she brings in an intercultural lens to support people to raise their collective awareness about how they function together and make informed, conscious choices towards their goals.

Yumi is warm, funny, and a bit quirky; she puts people at ease and brings playfulness into discussions. As a coach and facilitator, she cuts to the chase, supports clients to take a step back from their issues and see the bigger picture, and holds space for emerging emotions without losing focus. She currently coaches leaders, groups, and teams across different continents and loves designing and running fun, interactive workshops on leadership for a global remote audience. She is also a Mentor Coach for Coach Diversity Institute’s Diversity Coach Certification Program, whose mission is to empower diverse communities through coaching.

Yumi continues her nomadic existence as a global citizen, moving from country to country worldwide. She speaks English, Japanese, and decent Palestinian colloquial Arabic from having lived in the Gaza Strip for nearly a decade.