Anita van Vlerken (1955),
originally a social scientist and educator, has been active since
1995 in coaching. She is the founder of the Association for Coaching.
Previously she worked as a teacher in secondary and vocational
education as a student counsellor at the University of Groningen. She
gained her management experience as Director of an organisation for
Social Services. In addition, she was twelve years as a member of the
Board of Rabobank Surveillance, including six years as chairman.
Anita is fascinated
by the question of how people learn. She has also experienced that the theory is often dry and
it costs if there are no interactions with
practice. But only experience is also not
enough. In essence, it all has to do with the
ability to establish a connection between the two. Translating
the theory into practice and above all reflecting
on your experience ensures that you can
learn something. Based on your reflection you
are able to adapt your behaviour, broaden your
horizons and become a better person and a better
professional.
From the language classroom to the Harvard Medical School Conference & the United Nations Emerging Leaders Experience in 2019 and the UNDP in 2020
Pamela is an innovator in the field of coaching and intellectual performance enhancement. She specialises in instilling awareness and mental strength to those around her who seek it. Through her “drilling” and challenging coaching she facilitates change by creating an initial profile of her clients and then by helping them tune into their needs and enhance performance, talents and skills.
Her coaching intervention challenges them to face the music, evolve in a targeted and effective manner, by ensuring that mental strength becomes a key tool. She also helps her clients develop the necessary daily thought patterns to design and implement their personal and professional decisions and turn them into effective performance.
Her coaching assignments and contracts through her British-based company, Coaching Evolution Int'l Ltd, has added a breadth of experience to her work since she has travelled to culturally diverse sites such as Italy (Turin & Venice), Tunisia, Morocco (Casablanca), Algeria (Oran), Istanbul, New York, Paris, Ireland and the Netherlands (Amsterdam).
Research & published papers: Find them here
She holds a Postgraduate Degree (Master’s) from Aston University in Teaching, has studied all issues and topics on coaching since 2007 and was a pioneer in including microexpressions, positive psychology and neuroscience in her coach training programmes since 2013.
She authored the Academy’s first 2-year diploma course which was conferred the EQA (European Quality Award) at Practitioner Level by the EMCC (European Mentoring & Coaching Council) for the period of 2013 –2018.
In 2011 she authored her first journal paper, "The Damned Session 3: A Cultural Analysis of the Coaching Impact in Greece", which was published in the EMCC Coaching Journal.
In 2013 she collaborated with the Dutch Embassy in Greece for the current Ambassador's initiative, the Orange Grove, a start-up incubator. She has logged in hundreds of hours coaching young entrepreneurs on all issues from confidence, to leadership to empowerment to personal branding and pitching their idea.
In 2017 she officially entered the world of research which included working with federal investigators on interviewing and interrogation techniques, work on micro-expressions / basic and complex emotions, telling lies in normal environments and in specific environments or when under pressure, linguistics, inductive & deductive reasoning (mathematics in life), critical reasoning and verbal reasoning.
The title of the research presentation was “Detecting lies in coaching sessions and modifying coach language to reach positive outcomes”. It was presented at the 11th IoC / Harvard Medical School Conference in Boston, September 2018.
In March & October 2019 she collaborated with the United Nations System Staff College on delivering the “Developing the Brain Attic for Conscious Negotiations Course” for the UN Emerging Leaders Experience.
Her intent to promote justice and equality through her work is supported by her attending the online course “Anti-Corruption in the Context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” in August 2019 and receiving the respective Certificate. This course was provided jointly by the United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) that works to eradicate poverty and reduce inequalities through the sustainable development of nations, in more than 170 countries and territories.
Since August 2020, Pamela has been collaborating with the Dutch company eCoachPro on a five-month project delivering coaching to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for one of their global talent development programmes. She is part of a team of 10 international leadership coaches who coach, guide and empower women for the purposes of the SPARK project (*Strive *Perform *Aspire * Reimagine *Know). This special career development programme is aimed at a first cohort of more than 200 UNDP women professionals based in over 100 of UNDP's country offices around the globe.
She has two publications (research papers) in her name following research in the fields of medicine (rehabilitation) and coaching (emotions).
- Participant Modeling: The Use of a Guided Master in the Modern World of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy Targeting Fear of Heights (Springer, October 2020). Field: Psychology, Technology
- Emotional stimulation during motor exercise: An integration to the holistic rehabilitation framework (published by IEEE, July 2019). IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organisation for the advancement of technology. Field: Medicine, Technology, Psychology.