Does this sound familiar?
- Feeling stuck or unsure about your next step
- Looking to find balance with professional and personal responsibilities
- Seeking better time management
- Facing a career transition or burnout
- Struggling with life transition and balancing responsibilities
- Aligning your purpose, confidence, and direction
- Wanting accountability to achieve your goals
If any of this sounds familiar, coaching can help you create lasting, positive change.
Executive Function Coaching for Adults – How It Works
When is coaching helpful?
Coaching offers personalized support that helps individuals develop practical strategies for evaluating resources, formulating plans and following through. Coaching helps individuals prioritize, better manage time or stay organized, as well as improve focus. Through regular, goal-oriented sessions, coaching can boost self-awareness, build confidence, and foster independence in academics, work, and daily life. It also provides accountability and emotional support, helping individuals navigate transitions and reduce feelings of being overwhelmed while leveraging an individual’s unique strengths. Here are a few examples of when coaching can be helpful:
- When seeking guidance for adult responsibilities
- Life Transitions & Personal Focus
- Balancing Financial Demands
- Career/Professional Coaching
- Relationship & Communication Coaching
- Unique situations such as ADHD, Working Memory or TBI
How to determine if coaching is right for you
Schedule A Free Discovery Call
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Schedule Free Discovery Call – We clarify what you’re seeking and how we can help.
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Schedule a few 1:1 Coaching Sessions – Weekly or bi-weekly deep dives tailored to your goals.
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Experience Sustainable Progress – You gain clarity, tools, and momentum for real-life results.
Whether you are an adult experiencing a transition or you need help figuring out life how to overcome an obstacle, coaching can help.
“I cannot say enough positive comments about or families experience with Maureen Carlomagno and the Effective Students group. From our initial session she made us feel comfortable and confident that our family member would not only be supportive but feel successful in a re-entry to his work after a critical life event. Maureen not only took time to fully walk alongside our goals with us but dove deep into learning his business field of work in order to best support him. From verbal questions to phone script, we moved to reentry to use of his cell phone for business. Now several months later he is reading some spread sheets, creating emails with use of her crafted templates and increased confidence leading to in-person job visits! We are beyond grateful for both her professionalism innovation, kindness and superior dedication to his success. We have purchased several packages and each time it keeps getting better.”
What are executive function skills and why are they important?
Executive functions are the skills we utilize to make decisions, plan ahead, and follow through on tasks and goals—very important skills to have. Adults, particularly young adults can greatly benefit from executive function coaching for several key reasons. Executive functions are the mental processes that help individuals plan, organize, remember information, manage time, solve problems, and regulate their emotions and behaviors. These skills are crucial for success in school, work, and personal life. Here’s why young adults may need executive function coaching:
1. Transitioning to Independence
- New Responsibilities: As young adults transition from high school to college or into the workforce, they face greater independence and more complex responsibilities. This requires advanced executive functioning skills like time management, organization, and task prioritization.
- Self-Management: Without the structure of high school or family support, young adults may struggle with self-regulation and organizing their day-to-day tasks. Executive function coaching helps them develop these self-management skills.
2. Academic and Professional Success
- Planning and Organization: In both college, graduate school and professional settings, young adults need to juggle multiple tasks, deadlines, and projects. Executive function coaching can improve skills like breaking down large tasks, managing long-term projects, and maintaining focus.
- Time Management: Managing a busy schedule with work, studies, and personal commitments is a challenge. Coaching can help young adults develop systems to better organize their time and prioritize their responsibilities.
3. Emotional Regulation
- Managing Stress and Frustration: The demands of young adulthood can lead to stress, anxiety, and emotional overwhelm. Executive function coaching includes strategies to help manage emotions, stay calm under pressure, and avoid impulsive reactions.
- Self-Motivation: Sometimes, young adults may struggle with motivation, especially when tasks feel overwhelming or uninteresting. Coaches can teach techniques to boost motivation and sustain focus on goals.
4. Goal Setting and Decision Making
- Clarifying and Setting Goals: Young adults often struggle with defining their long-term goals and breaking them down into achievable steps. Executive function coaching teaches them how to set realistic goals, track progress, and adjust strategies as needed.
- Making Informed Decisions: Good decision-making is rooted in executive functions. Coaching helps young adults weigh pros and cons, evaluate risks, and consider long-term consequences of their actions.
5. Developing Life Skills for the Future
- Improving Communication and Interpersonal Skills: Executive function coaching often addresses how to manage relationships, communicate effectively, and regulate emotions in social situations—skills crucial for personal and professional success.
- Building Self-Awareness: Coaching helps young adults become more self-aware, improving their ability to recognize when they are struggling with executive functions and developing proactive strategies to manage challenges.
6. Support for Neurodiversity and Learning Differences
- ADHD and Other Conditions: Many young adults, especially those with ADHD or learning disabilities, face difficulties in executive functioning. Coaching provides tailored support to help them develop the skills they need to overcome challenges related to attention, memory, and self-regulation.
- Customized Approaches: Executive function coaching can be personalized to address the specific needs of individuals, offering tools and strategies that work best for their unique cognitive profiles.
In summary, executive function coaching helps young adults bridge the gap between where they are and where they want to be in terms of academic, professional, and personal development. It fosters essential life skills, enhances overall productivity, and empowers individuals to achieve their goals with confidence.
Meet the Team
Meet Rachael Barron:
Rachael Barron has built her career around helping people solve complex problems, discover their strengths, and develop practical strategies for success. As the founder of Effective Students, she brings years of experience in education, advocacy, coaching, and leadership to her work with adults who are looking to feel more organized, confident, and in control of their work and lives. Rachael understands that being capable isn’t always enough—sometimes we need the right systems, strategies, and support to turn our intentions into action.
Before founding Effective Students, Rachael worked as an educational advocate, helping families navigate the complexities of public and private school systems and finding solutions for learners with diverse needs. Today, she brings that same thoughtful, individualized approach to adults who want to strengthen their executive function skills—from managing time and priorities to getting organized, overcoming procrastination, following through, and balancing competing demands. Her coaching is practical and encouraging, with a focus on building sustainable skills that support greater independence and confidence.
Rachael’s commitment to helping others extends beyond her coaching practice through her leadership and board service. She has served in nonprofit board leadership, including five years on the Carl E. Sanders YMCA Board, and currently serves as Secretary of the Board of Trustees at The Swift School. She is a member of the Leadership Cobb Class of 2024. Across her professional and community work, Rachael is passionate about creating opportunities for people to thrive. She brings warmth, curiosity, and a problem-solving mindset to every coaching relationship, meeting each person where they are and helping them build the tools they need to move forward with greater clarity and confidence.
Rachael Barron
CEO & Executive Function Coach
Effective StudentsMeet Catherine.
Dr. Sherrard comes to the Effective Students team in Louisville following 25 years of experience in higher education including roles in admissions, student life, and most recently as the chief academic officer at a large campus within a statewide community college system. Her career in education includes a number of community initiatives focused on student success and credential
completion.
As a lifelong Kentuckian, Catherine earned her Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice from Kentucky Wesleyan College and Master of Science in justice administration from the University of Louisville. She spent her early career working in local government at a criminal justice planning agency. She earned her Doctor of Education in leadership education from Spalding University.
As the mother of two boys, a young adult with Down syndrome and a soon-to-be college freshman, Catherine has a passion for working with students of all ages and abilities. She and her husband own two assisted living homes in the Greater Louisville area. In her free time, she enjoys traveling with her family and close friends.
Catherine Sherrard Ed.D.
Louisville Lead & Executive Function Coach
Effective Students
Meet Bob:
A seasoned business executive, Bob Manasse is an experienced Senior Advisor, having spent his career in a variety of international assignments. Skilled in economic development, leadership development, management training as well as business development and retention, Bob has a passion for coaching individuals as they learn to successfully respond to opportunities in the professional arena. His professional journey began with a Master’s in education and as a dual sport, college athletic coach. Bob transitioned successfully to the world of business and now brings over fifty years’ experience in economic development, sales and origination as well as strategic planning. Presently the Managing Partner at BACINT Associates LLC, Bob leads a team of professionals serving multinational firms seeking to establish a foundation in North America. In addition to his role as Managing Director, Bob dedicates his time to mentoring leaders of tomorrow. With a solid understanding of multicultural environments and an ability to listen, Bob has been able to guide the individual’s entrepreneurial spirit, discipline and focus in several industry sectors.
Raised and educated in Europe, Bob is fluently trilingual (Italian, English, & French), with cross-cultural skills acquired over a lifetime of overseas postings.
When not working or coaching, he enjoys spending time with family, time on the tennis court, travelling , music and discovering old and new movies.