About Goal Imagery® Coaching Academy

Marianna Lead, MCC, ACTC

Marianna Lead is an internationally recognized Master Certified Coach (MCC), Advanced Certified Team Coach (ACTC), Mentor Coach, and Credentialing Portfolio Assessor with the International Coaching Federation (ICF) since 2008.

The program that laid the foundation for Goal Imagery® Coaching Academy was Marianna’s Holistic Life, Career & Executive Coach Training™—designed in line with her belief that coach certification should include all core areas of coaching practice. Over the years, it has evolved into a program supporting all ICF credentialing levels and is continuously updated to reflect the evolving standards of coaching mastery.

Marianna remains the lead instructional designer for the academy and continues to teach within the program, maintaining a direct, hands-on role in the development of coaches worldwide.

She was among the first to introduce the intentional use of emotions and imagination within professional coaching—expanding the field beyond purely cognitive models into deeper, transformational work.

When coaching was still an emerging field, Marianna was invited by the Smithsonian Institution to introduce coaching to its audiences, becoming the first expert to present on the subject.

Her academic work includes designing and teaching coaching-focused curricula at New York University, where she taught coaching over several years within both Master’s Degree and Continuing Education programs, contributing to curriculum development and advancing her proprietary Goal Imagery® Method.

A twice-elected President of ICF’s flagship New York City chapter, Marianna has contributed extensively to the evolution of coaching standards globally. She has served on ICF Global initiatives, including the MCC Assessors Taskforce (2025), and earlier on the ICF Global Marketing Committee. She also co-authored the ICF Credentials & Standards MCC Resource Guide (2025), supporting the advancement of assessment quality at the highest credentialing level.

Marianna is the co-author of Me, My Brand and WHY, a self-coaching guide to personal branding, and the creator of numerous personal and professional development audio programs.

Her clients include global corporations such as Ernst & Young and American Airlines, as well as nonprofit organizations, business leaders, and government agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

In addition to her work in coaching, Marianna brings a unique background in the performing arts. A former stand-up comedian and Screen Actors Guild (SAG) member, she has appeared on national television, radio, and in major publications. She is the creator and host of Life Coach TV on Manhattan Cable in New York City and Life Coach Radio on Progressive Radio Network, and co-hosted Laughter as a Life Skill with Yakov Smirnoff at the American Airlines Theater on Broadway.

Marianna is also the founder of the LinkedIn community ICF Coach Mentors & ICF Coaches, with over 19,000 members, and has received over 200 recommendations on her LinkedIn profile from alumni and clients worldwide.

Allexis Tuccio, MCC

Allexis Tuccio is a Master Certified Coach with the ICF. She has a national reputation in sales and marketing, coaching executives at companies like Samsung, Apple, AT&T, and Verizon.

In her role as Regional Manager for Zagg, Inc., she significantly increased Samsung’s market share through training and educating sales representatives. She has been a spokesperson for Samsung North America, appearing on Fox5 Business and CNET. Allexis joined the academy in 2018 as VP of Sales, Marketing, and Training.

Her humor and dynamic presentation style make learning enjoyable.

John M. Ward, Jr., PCC

John is an accomplished ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC), a Coach Training Instructor, a Certified Team Coach, and a Certified Grief Educator.

For more than 20 years, John served as a business management professional with extensive experience supporting nonprofit research and human development organizations.  He brings a deep understanding of the challenges organizations and their leaders face today.  Having served as a management and leadership team member for many years, he specifically understands the shifting landscape of the workplace, and the need for managers and leaders to be flexible, adaptable, and resilient in organizations.

As a Coach Training Instructor with Goal Imagery Coaching Academy, John brings his passion for coaching and teaching into the virtual classroom. Students in John’s classroom are provided with an exciting and safe learning environment where they are taught the art of masterful coaching through the Goal Imagery coach training programs. Students in John’s classes describe him as an authentic, compassionate, relatable, and enthusiastic instructor.

Along with his extensive leadership and development background in coaching teams and individuals, John also supports clients who are currently experiencing major life and career transitions. John helps his clients gain deeper awareness and insight into their behaviors, beliefs and values; and empowers his clients to create the change they are seeking in order to transform the quality of their personal and professional lives.

In 2022, John was named one of the Top 15 Coaches in Washington, DC by Influence Digest.

In addition to his work as a professional coach and instructor, John is an inspiring and engaging arts educator and expressive arts facilitator for children and older adults of all ages and abilities.

John has also served as a volunteer providing compassionate comfort and support to hospice/transitions patients, to individuals living with Alzheimer’s, dementia, and other neurocognitive disorders, and to children and adults who are experiencing grief.

Mareike Walter Paschkowski, PCC

Mareike Walter-Paschkowski is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and Honors Graduate of Goal Imagery Coaching Academy, certified as Holistic Life, Career and Executive Coach. Mareike’s expertise extends to Organization and Relationship Systems Coaching (ORSC™), which supports her holistic approach to teaching. This knowledge allows her to adeptly navigate complex organizational dynamics and foster healthy, productive relationships within individuals, couples, teams and organizations.

As project, coaching and talent management professional with more than 14 years experience in managing complex projects in Europe and Middle East, Mareike has been a passionate trainer and mentor for the Goal Imagery® Coaching Academy in English and German.As an active member of the German ICF Mentor Coach Group, she is committed to fostering growth and excellence within the ICF coaching and mentoring community.  Her approach is known for being challenging, structured, and fun, ensuring that her students not only achieve their goals but also enjoy the journey towards coaching success.

Eduardo Villegas PCC, ICF Assessor

Eduardo Villegas is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coaching Federation (ICF), and Honors Graduate of Goal Imagery Coaching Academy, certified as both Holistic Life, Career and Executive Coach and Team Coach.

As a finance executive in the Pharma industry, Eduardo worked for more than 25 years in Latin America, South Asia, and the USA. Combining his passion for developing leaders with his prior experience and knowledge, he has helped many corporate leaders to successfully transition into new roles enabling them to quickly adapt and perform at their best.

Originally from Venezuela and now living in the USA with his family, Eduardo is teaching at Goal Imagery Coaching Academy in Spanish.

Andre Ribeiro, MCC

Andre Ribeiro is a Master Certified Coach with the ICF and Senior Practitioner by the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC).

His corporate background includes developing international businesses in e-commerce, travel, and online marketing, and he has served as Director of Communications at a Nasdaq-listed company.

Andre brings 20 years of experience coaching teams and organizations to the academy.

Mohamed Hamza, PCC

Mohamed Hamza is an international leadership development expert and coach who has worked across the GCC, Europe, and Africa.

He manages the coaching business line in Elm, a leading organization in coaching and leadership development services, and is Training Director, Middle East, for the academy.

Sofia Denel, Executive Coach & Business Owner Mentor

Sofia Denel has over 18 years of experience as a business trainer and mentor, conducting more than 2,000 training sessions and webinars to help over 20,000 individuals worldwide. She founded DenelCoach in Germany in 2021 and has since guided over 160 business clients across 50 industries, with two clients achieving multi-million-euro revenues.

Sofia completed a year-long program at Goal Imagery® Coaching Academy and specializes in guiding market leaders, top executives, and notable bloggers in Europe and America to launch and scale their projects effectively while minimizing financial risks.

Sofia focuses on strategy and identifying limiting beliefs that hold clients back. Her clients highly recommend her, with 90% extending their coaching contracts or returning for new outcomes.