My path has been anything but linear, marked by professional achievements, personal challenges, health issues and profound growth. I come from a small, sleepy seaside town near St. Petersburg, Russia. I grew up with very little and in a very humble family, surviving the post-soviet Russia food shortages and generally dreary times.

When I moved to London in my early 20s, the “West” felt very jazzy and inviting – but also quite hard to get into a career – work doors seemed sealed shut, my foreign degree wasn’t good enough for the British standards, my accent was too off putting, my smile was too naïve.

I spent my 20s on hard hard graft – I clawed my way into the very bottom of a company and gradually claimed bigger and more exciting work. I felt accomplished and like I had truly “made it” - not many of my friends from my small town made it this far in their life and career - working for a Fortune 500 business, work trips, facilitation of complex organisational design, influencing senior leaders in the company, and leading a team. I felt like I was being rewarded - I worked and studied hard to get there.

So when the children came, I was prepared to do whatever it takes to have both – motherhood and career – because I had worked so so hard to get to the job I was in. I had to learn a new language, learn and fit into a new culture, with no family near me. There was no way I was giving that up. And I didn’t…

Instead, I became the superwoman. I relished the comments from my friends – I loved hearing things like – “Wow I just don’t know how you are doing it all” or “Where do you find the energy? You must be made of strong stuff”. It spurred me on to push even harder, go for bigger jobs, a more senior leadership job, say yes to the work trips, say yes to more workload, say yes to working from family holiday. Never say no. Why would I - I was the superwoman.

Come late 30s, life presented a complex tapestry: embracing a new baby (#3 for me, #1 for my new partner) and a blossoming relationship after a painful divorce, while simultaneously stepping into a demanding leadership role. The exhilaration was palpable, but so was the exhaustion.

Sleep deprivation, relentless work travel, and the unyielding pace of life led me to the brink of burnout. I became irritable but also quieter, slowly withdrew from my support networks and became a productivity robot.

I remember people at work saying “Wow you work so fast” and, of course, the superwoman was satisfied. I started to face health issues, including a skin infection that left scars, a thyroid condition, and the heartbreak of multiple miscarriages. I also felt numb. I stopped being able to enjoy the little things, like cooking a nice meal, or putting on a nice dress or reading a book. I also had a permanent cold that would not go away - for years.

My body effectively ringing all the alarm bells was a slow but loud wake-up call. I got to the point of physically feeling something was “off”.

I had to re-evaluate my approach to my life, my parenting and my career. I read a dozen or so self-help books (I’m a book worm!). Burnout by Nagoski sisters was one of the most impactful ones at that time. I finally took some time off to just be in a quiet space (of course that made my permanent cold kick in stronger but it was a start), I sorted out a solid and sustainable exercise routine.

Coincidentally, or not, it was at that time I also discovered the power of coaching. I was given an opportunity to work with a coach and with her help, I slowly realised that motherhood had endowed me with newfound strengths, resilience, empathy, perspective, and strategic multitasking that I hadn't fully acknowledged or integrated into my professional identity. I never took a moment to take stock.

I realised that I actually WAS a superwoman but I was using it wrong. It was a different kind of superpower. I never knew about matrescence. I was almost 40 and a mother of 3!

This introspection was like coming out of a portal or a tunnel, it was so so clear to me what I was really good at and what I wanted to say no to - that alone made my life lighter.

It also ignited a spark of passion to support others navigating similar crossroads. I looked around me and saw all those “successful women”, some of them my good friends, all walking on autopilot into burnout after becoming mothers.

I spent the next few years training and practicing coaching. I continued leading my team at work but took a very different approach, more relaxed, wiser. It’s like a really KNEW what mattered and what didn’t. It reduced my anxiety and the intense need to push so hard.

Before I knew it, people on my team started to get promoted, and colleagues outside of my team approached me to be their mentor, and then more people came. They also got promoted. I started noticing, that I have a special gift for helping people see their strengths and believe in themselves. One common thread between people I led, mentored, and coached is that they left our relationship confident and believing in their strengths.

I founded Working Parent Coaching to empower career-driven parents, especially those in leadership roles, to provide the support I didn’t have at this busy and wonderful crossroads between their professional ambitions and raising their children.

My mission is to help my clients come off the autopilot path, rediscover joy, establish purposeful leadership, make informed career choices that are right for them and their family, and unwrap a new level of confidence that their matrescence and patrescence has already gifted them.

My ultimate vision is a world where parenthood is recognised as a leadership superpower.

In my coaching practice, I offer a space to explore your inner critic, your strengths, values, set boundaries, and develop strategies that align with your unique circumstances. I'm here to support your journey toward a fulfilling, conscious life and a leadership style that’s incorporating your new strenghts.

P.S. Another thing I often take for granted - I’m fluent in three languages and coach in English, Italian and Russian.

I’m also a self-taught swimmer and love open water swimming, especially in lakes.

I love learning and I am a big believer that consistency and showing up beat most things.

I had a far from privileged start in life and I’m literally living my life of dreams – my secret has always been focused determination and consistent small steps – be it learning a new language, learning to swim with no teacher, finding your way into a new culture, getting a promotion, starting a business, becoming a certified coach, happy marriage, healthy body – these things are all achievable if we put our minds to it.