Women Leaders Association Taps Neuropsychologist for New Coaching Pilot

The appointment of Dr. Laabs marks the beginning of a national rollout for the Coaching Partners program. By standardizing the vetting process, the association seeks to remove the uncertainty often associated with finding high-impact leadership support. Candidates must now meet rigorous standards for certifications and client results before receiving the organization's endorsement, a shift intended to protect members from unregulated or unproven services.

Dr. Laabs brings a specialized background to the role, having spent nine years advising senior leadership at the Office of Naval Intelligence. Her approach merges clinical neuropsychology with executive performance, focusing on decision-making, resilience, and data-driven assessments. Her experience includes a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School and service at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, providing a rare technical foundation for the Washington-based coaching partnership.

Lydia Price, the association’s 2026 volunteer chair, noted that the initiative addresses a primary pain point for professional women: identifying reliable guidance in a saturated market. This program complements the association’s existing research-heavy efforts, such as the Glass Ceiling Score project, which uses big data to evaluate corporate equity. As the organization expands this coaching model across its 130 chapters, it aims to provide members with both the landscape visibility to navigate their careers and the individual support required to advance.