CLICK TO TWEET:
“When something
gets closed, what
other things are
opening for you?”
A New Point
of View
Abby Tripp Heverin
As ICF’s Communications
Coordinator, Abby oversees
content development for
Coaching World and helps
implement the organization’s
public relations strategy. If
you’re interested in submitting
to a future issue of CW,
email her at abby.heverin@
coachfederation.org.
18 Coaching World
Dr. Elena Espinal, MCC (Mexico),
is no stranger to turning
challenges into opportunities.
As a pioneer of the coaching
industry in Latin America, Elena
worked tirelessly to change the
minds of individuals who were
skeptical—even fearful—of
coaching. Now, more than two
decades later, she’s using her
business’ newest venture to help
visually impaired individuals
turn their own challenges into
opportunities through a first-ofits-kind coach-training program.
From White Coat to Coaching
The daughter of two prominent
dentists, Elena considered a career
in medicine before her father
encouraged her to follow in her
parents’ footsteps. After Elena
completed her dentistry training she
moved into the field of pathology,
earning master’s and doctoral degrees
and numerous accolades for her
achievements as a researcher.
Soon after Elena’s father passed away,
she had an epiphany that changed the
course of her professional life.
“One afternoon, I found myself doing
biopsies in the laboratory. I was looking
at a slide from a young woman, showing
that she had a cancerous tumor in
her breast,” Elena remembers. “When I
finished, the patient came in to look for
the result, and I had a real contact with
her. I thought, ‘In two minutes, she will
know that she may only have five years
to live. Surely, she has kids, a husband,
parents and plans for her future.’ I