About Us
THE COACHING CERTIFICATION EXPERTS
Who We Are
At Mentor Agility, we prepare you to partner with your clients so they may turn a new page in their lives.
Mentor Agility is an accredited coaching training program for the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and the National Board of Health and Wellness Coaches (NBHWC). Committed to providing the highest standards in training, we submit our programs to the rigor of evaluation by the gold standards for coaching education globally.
With story at the center of everything we do, our trauma-informed coaching approach is novel. We are the leading voice in storytelling and coaching with renowned instructors, personalized programs, and transformational learning experiences.
Mission Statement
Mentor Agility’s mission is to prepare trauma-informed coaches to work in all settings through the lens of storytelling, including in the community, workplace, healthcare, government, outdoors, historic sites, and online.
Learning Environment
We are a platform of acclaimed educators, highly experienced working coaches, and expert storytellers. In the words of Dr. Howard Gardner, “Stories constitute the single, most powerful weapon in a leader’s arsenal.” We embrace the power of storytelling to transform lives.
Mentor Agility is celebrated for its internationally renowned instructors, personalized programs, and transformational learning experiences. Our courses are a blended model of live coaching and fully remote, self-paced training. With Mentor Agility, students are provided with opportunities to practice coaching, consult with instructors who have built successful coaching careers, and receive support from alumni.
Mentor Agility's Acclaimed Instructors
Mentor Agility Instructors are sought-after storytelling coaches. As working professional coaches, they have built highly successful careers and collaborated with renowned organizations.
Dr Julie Elledge
LMFT, MCC, NBC-HWC, BCC
Dr. Elledge has enjoyed a successful, diverse career as an educator, therapist, entrepreneur, and world-class coach. As a master certified coach (MCC), the highest certification in the coaching community worldwide, she found her calling to share her passion for innovation and storytelling with others.
As an educator, with a Ph.D. in education, Dr. Elledge specialized in creativity and organizational dynamics, collaborating to build education and training programs for Apple Education, Twentieth Century Fox, NOAA, BP, and INEEL, often using her gifts for storytelling to advance client goals.
Her coaching practice has grown from the foundations of creativity, storytelling, and the importance of self. The creator of the Hero's Journey® Change Model, Dr. Elledge pioneered trauma-informed coaching through the lens of storytelling, depth psychology, and financial well-being as a source of suicide protection.
The formation of Mentor Agility has allowed Dr. Elledge to use her creativity and diverse skill set to broaden the skills and perspectives of professional coaching. She works with coaches to become proficient and courageous in the application of their own creativity. In turn, they coach clients to become the heroes in their own stories. She has sought out the best in the coaching industry and in other realms of expertise to fashion a company steeped in story.
Her work with Veterans and our protectors is near to her heart. Being a part of their healing journey is a great privilege, especially for those that do what gives them the most pleasure - to serve others.
Dr. Elledge serves on the committee for Wyoming Governor's Challenge to Prevent Suicide. She and her family have lived for over 20 years in the natural world of Jackson Hole, where health and a rousing story are all part of the life and the ethics she inspires at Mentor Agility.
Reverend Alice Ford
PCC, NBC-HWC
A natural mentor and storyteller guiding Mentor Agility coaches to success.
From the seeds of corporate management, ministry, and social work, Rev. Alice Ford brings a unique and dynamic perspective to Mentor Agility. As an ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC), she draws upon her degree in social work and specialization in conflict and mediation to provide transformational coaching for a diverse roster of clients. Her dynamic background equips her to mentor coaches specializing in business, health and wellness, trauma, and life coaching.
Alice began her career in corporate management in companies such as ADP, AmEx and Kraft. Hearing her own call to adventure, she left corporate America and became an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, starting her mentoring journey.
Intrigued by Mentor Agility’s storytelling approach, Alice once again answered a call to adventure and decided to further her coach training. She graduated with the first Mentor Agility Raconteur Coaching Cohort, applying her storytelling skills learned in ministry to coaching. She describes her coaching style as being rooted in self-inquiry and spirituality. Some of her favorite coaching topics range from discerning individual life purpose to leadership development and professional relationships.
You might find Rev. Alice Ford in Michigan reminiscing about her adventures on a motorcycle or on a Story Quest Walk with her golden retriever John Wesley.
Ryan Elledge
NBC-HWC
In addition to his passion for teaching at Mentor Agility, Ryan Elledge is the project manager for the Veterans Talking to Veterans Program. His training in Jungian Studies is a great asset in his role overseeing the continual development of diverse storytelling methods for Mentor Agility's trauma-informed trained coaches.
As a young man, Ryan learned about the importance of good health as he worked towards earning his black belt in kung fu. He had the good fortune to study at the world-famous Shaolin Temple in China where he ate a strictly vegetarian diet. Following his curiosity and desire for adventure, he continued his journey to Europe, South America, and Asia seeking to understand the touch points between story, culture, social bonding, cooking practices, healthy eating, and cuisine.
Ryan’s curiosity was sparked. He pursued training in the culinary arts where he was exposed to a variety of chefs, cuisine, and nutritional solutions. His passion for understanding cooking as a way to restore culture, create connection, and heal trauma shapes an embodied coaching experience.
In addition to being a coach, Certified Natural Chef, and Nutritional Consultant, Ryan has a bachelor of science in agroecology with a minor in soils from the University of Wyoming.
Dr. John Bucher
PCC
Here at Mentor Agility, we pride ourselves on our magical storytellers and John Bucher proves it!
A highly acclaimed story consultant in Hollywood, you may find John’s fingerprints in film, television, and virtual reality in places like HBO, DC Comics, and The History Channel. John decided to take his expertise to a new level when he found Mentor Agility. He is a graduate of the first Raconteur Coaching cohort and now teaches numerous exciting courses for Mentor Agility.
John Bucher built a career helping others learn how to tell better stories. He is a highly acclaimed story consultant, mythologist, and author of six books including the best-selling Storytelling for Virtual Reality, named by BookAuthority as one of the best storytelling books of all time and his latest book, The Storytelling Almanac.
In addition to his growing coaching practice, John serves as Executive Director for the Joseph Campbell Foundation. He spends much of his time as a speaker, podcaster, and teacher. He holds a Ph.D. in Mythology and Depth Psychology and has spoken on 5 continents about using the power of story and myth to reframe how individuals, organizations, cultures, and nations are viewed.
Simon Blackhall
PCC
A seeker of self-inquiry, Simon Blackhall teaches how to use your intuition to transform client consciousness.
Simon has traveled many paths of self-reflection and consciousness on his way to becoming a highly regarded international coach. He cites his troubled childhood as the impetus for his own journey of self-discovery and connectedness that has guided him to coaching as a way to help others look inward to find their own solutions.
A natural-born seeker, he has always been curious about cultures, languages, and human behavior. Derived from a desire to reinvent himself and embody other lives through story, he attended the world-renowned Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Simon credits his intense training there for fueling his imagination to create new worlds while sharpening his empathy and emotional intelligence.
Simon values innovative coaching and self-discovery through storytelling to find inner truths. Forming a unique international partnership with Mentor Agility in 2019, he teaches the Victim To Creator series.
Dr. Sherry Yellin
PCC, BCC
Grow your practice and increase the impact of your coaching voice with this world-renowned coach.
For more than twenty years, Dr. Sherry Yellin has worked with thousands of influencers, from coaches to executives, to design and administer high-impact, brain-based learning programs focused on healthcare and corporate leadership.
She is a highly successful leadership coach, working at the highest levels of the healthcare industry, certified through the International Coaching Federation and the Center for Credentialing Education.
Sherry’s early life goal to be a college English teacher at Texas A&M was achieved and abandoned in short order, preferring to focus her energy on “how the brain learns” to support the growth and success of people who struggle to learn.
After receiving her Ph.D. in Cognitive Learning, she worked with Texas Instruments, building an executive training program. She became the Director of Learning & Development for the City of Plano (TX).
Robin Elledge
BCC
Robin Elledge is the COO of Mentor Agility. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies like Anheuser Busch, IBM, Emerson, and 3M. His experience in branding, media arts, IP and copyright protection, marketing, sales, and distribution are invaluable to Mentor Agility and our coaches.
Credentialed through the Center for Credentialing Education, Robin coaches business clients, developing their strengths for professional development and entrepreneurial endeavors.
In his spare time, Robin is a published photographer and writer. He chronicles special events in sports, corporate branding, and auto racing.