These scholarships are open to engineering leaders at any level — from Senior Engineer to CTO — who identify as being from an underrepresented group in technology and would not otherwise be able to easily afford coaching.
To apply for one of the 29 coaching scholarships on offer fill out this application form by the end of the day on 30th June 2026.
ApplyOver 20% of applicants were offered a scholarship in our last round of scholarships.
Coaching can be life-changing, but it is not always accessible. These scholarships exist because we want to change that, and because we believe that increasing the diversity of senior leaders in technology matters.
Our coaching offers you a powerful way to develop your skills and advance in your career. Our clients typically find that coaching brings them greater clarity, confidence, and control in their professional lives.
If you want to learn more about what coaching is and how it can be valuable, then the following articles may be useful:
We are all professional coaches. You can find out a little more about each of us below.
Joel coaches talented senior engineering leaders to successfully navigate difficult transitions and achieve significant career breakthroughs. His style is calm, thoughtful, and supportive. His background as a CTO allows him to blend pure coaching with practical mentoring when needed.
His coaching is transformative and supports leaders to renew confidence, gain clarity on goals, build stronger relationships with stakeholders and teams, and develop practical tools and skills that they continue to use long after their coaching ends.
Joel is offering 2 coaching scholarships.
Alex is an existential leadership coach with over a decade of experience supporting leaders. Typical requests he works with include stakeholder management, emotional regulation, difficult conversations, dealing with uncertainty, and untangling internal conflicts such as impostor syndrome, perfectionism, or lack of motivation.
Before becoming a full-time coach, he spent nearly two decades in tech, half of it in leadership roles. Alongside his coaching practice, Alex has run a Ukrainian restaurant in Prague with his wife for the past five years.
A fun fact: Alex earned his first money online in the mid-2000s by selling a hip-hop beat on MySpace.
Alex is offering 2 coaching scholarships.
Alia is a leadership coach with a background in engineering, management, and entrepreneurship. Prior to launching Frank & Eddy Leadership (with Fiona!), she was a coach manager at Spotify for 7 years of explosive growth, where she helped product and engineering leaders (Sr, Director, VP) lead through continual change. She specializes in supporting engineering and product leaders on collaborative leadership teams, and is passionate about digging into understanding – within oneself and amongst others – in order to provoke change and get to impact faster.
Alia is offering 1 coaching scholarship.
Amy focusses on helping seasoned and emerging Engineering leaders, especially those operating in environments of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA), improve outcomes for themselves and their organizations.
Amy is offering 1 coaching scholarship.
Blanca offers transformational coaching, a focused, one-on-one process designed specifically for technical leaders, staff+ engineers, architects, and senior managers seeking a thinking partner. Her coaching enables lasting, sustainable change by helping clients develop their own unique leadership style. This deep approach tackles core challenges such as increasing influence, enhancing communication, and amplifying impact, ultimately leading to greater clarity, improved decision-making, and significant career and personal growth.
Blanca is offering 1 coaching scholarship.
Cara is a coach with 20 years of experience working with teams and leaders. She was embedded for five years as a leadership and management coach for the engineering team at Tableau software. She has experience working with neurodivergent leaders (and she is one herself).
Cara is offering 1 coaching scholarship.
Cate loves working with Staff+ engineers figuring out how to scale their impact, and engineers stepping into leadership roles. She also loves to work with engineers in a time of transition or pressure, helping them move to a place of empowered choice.
She has extensive engineering leadership experience, so for some problems I can and will give you a playbook. For less concrete problems, she is a Co-Active trained coach who can help you get unstuck.
Cate is offering 1 coaching scholarship.
Clem is an executive and leadership coach focused on helping new senior technology leaders increase both their impact and personal fulfilment through compassionate, people-focused leadership. He combines a background in technology and consultancy with his ICF-accredited coaching practice to help leaders create the conditions for better communication, high-performing teams and inclusive, engaging company culture.
Clem brings experience from a wide range of leadership roles spanning engineering, test, architecture, people operations and tech academies. He’s known for his empathetic and warm style and strongly believes that organisations that put humanity first are also the most successful.
Clem is offering 1 coaching scholarship.
Dan coaches emerging leaders in Tech, helping them build the clarity, confidence and momentum that creates impact—for themselves, their teams and their organisations. He helps leaders connect with a more authentic, centred leadership that doesn’t skimp on purpose. He loves supporting leaders who want to bring the human side to Tech.
With over 15 years’ experience as an engineer turned leader, Dan has founded and exited 2 companies. Alongside his geeky credentials, he has spent 2 decades immersed in meditation practice, primarily in the Vipassana tradition. His coaching blends a welcoming warmth and calming clarity that supports genuine growth.
Dan is offering 1 coaching scholarship.
If you’re an individual contributor aiming for a promotion, finding your feet in a new role or organisation, or feeling uninspired or overwhelmed, Dianing can help you get unstuck and move forward. She supports you in uncovering what’s holding you back, reconnecting with what matters, and building clarity, confidence, and a deeper sense of fulfilment in work and life. She is a certified coach with 20+ years in tech as an individual contributor. As a neurodivergent woman from a minority ethnic group (and a parent), she brings lived understanding to her coaching.
Dianing is offering 2 coaching scholarships.
Fiona works with established and emerging tech leaders who are looking to feel more comfortable in their role. She helps overthinkers and doubters develop the confidence to get out of their own way so they can find their own authentic leadership style.
Fiona has spent 20 years building software development orgs. A generalist, she has been a project manager, engineering manager, agile coach and operations lead. She is known for her curiosity, pragmatism, empathy and frankness.
Fiona is offering 1 coaching scholarship.
Francis coaches CTOs and VPEs to become leaders who nurture amazing engineering cultures. He helps his clients transition from “building the product” into “building the org that builds the product”.
Before coaching, he spent over twenty-five years in the open-source and cloud developer tools industry. First, as a software engineer, then as an engineering leader at Canonical, Heroku, and Salesforce, where he built successful high-performance remote engineering teams. With a long history of contemplative practice, he’s also a meditation teacher with Buddhist Geeks since 2020.
Francis is offering 1 coaching scholarship.
Jessica works with emerging leaders (ICs and managers) in tech, particularly those facing Imposter Syndrome or feeling stuck in their career. Through her undergrad at UCLA, grad school at Stanford, and 11+ years at Airbnb through hypergrowth to IPO, she has dealt with self-doubt and insecurity herself. With supportive coaches and mentors, she progressed from a new grad IC to leading multiple teams as an Engineering Manager.
She is known for being action-oriented, pragmatic, and empathic. As a Co-active Institute trained coach and international conference speaker, Jessica is passionate about helping others discover their inner strength and finding their path forward.
Jessica is offering 1 coaching scholarship.
Katharine’s work with engineering leaders so that they can enjoy the second half of their careers and succeed through the transitions which come with increased seniority and outside responsibilities. She transitioned from a technology career within investment banks to coach full-time in 2022. Her experience of managing global teams, working internationally and the promotion processes, alongside navigating major transitions, means that she can offer practical techniques alongside transformational coaching.
Her coaching centres on helping leaders gain a deeper understanding of themselves as a powerful tool to build a fulfilling career and life. Her coaching is supportive and gently challenging.
Katharine is offering 1 coaching scholarship.
Kevin Ball, also known as KBall is a multiple-time entrepreneur, engineer, podcast host, and current VP of Engineering at Mento. He coaches engineers and engineering leaders who are navigating the transition from execution to influence to help them level up their human skills and obtain more leverage from their technical abilities.
Kevin is offering 1 coaching scholarship.
Mathias is an executive coach, advisor, and co-author of the book The Intentional Organization. As Founding Partner at The Intentional Organization, he works with founders, CTOs, and senior leaders to build purposeful organizations grounded in clarity, inclusion, and learning. Previously, he co-founded two successful developer tools companies and held leadership roles including CEO of Travis CI and CTO of Reaction Commerce, bringing deep experience in scaling distributed teams and organizations.
Mathias is offering 2 coaching scholarships.
Melinda coaches engineers, managers, and experienced leaders who want to communicate confidently and lead more effectively. With over a decade of experience managing teams, running workshops, and speaking at conferences worldwide, she brings a distinctive blend of communication frameworks, team culture, and learning design expertise to her coaching. Her background as an event organiser and speaker coach makes her especially well-placed to support folks who want to build high-trust teams and grow their presence and voice.
Melinda is offering 1 coaching scholarship.
Sasha Laundy works closely with thoughtful, empathetic leaders to help them debug their thorniest people problems and get their org to the next level fast—all without burning out. Her coaching practice is hypothesis driven and centered in acceptance (of knowability, of how brains work, how power works, and how other people work). She was director of data science and worked closely with R&D at Warby Parker, was an early employee at Twilio and Codecademy and holds three patents. Before working in tech, she taught physics and neuroscience. She is a New Yorker living in Los Angeles; please send bagels.
Sasha is offering 1 coaching scholarship.
Stefan coaches engineering and non-technical leaders at tech startups and scaleups. Drawing on over 20 years in high-growth engineering companies, he brings deep understanding of the challenges leaders face. Clients can get straight to thinking clearly about what they actually want, recognise strengths and achievements they’ve overlooked, and find their own way forward. His style is curious, direct, and non-judgmental, and his clients consistently describe leaving sessions with greater clarity and confidence in their own capabilities.
Stefan is offering 4 coaching scholarships.
Theresa is a leadership coach who helps ambitious product and engineering leaders grow effectively, strategically, and sustainably. A former senior engineering leader with over 13 years in tech at companies like Square, Apple, and Intuit, she understands what it’s like to navigate growing scope, shifting identities, and high-stakes decisions at work while trying to lead well and live well.
Theresa is trained by the Co-Active Training Institute, and her coaching style is supportive and practical. Through empathetic listening and structured, actionable strategies, Theresa helps clients focus on what matters most and take meaningful steps toward their goals.
Theresa is offering 1 coaching scholarship.
Elevate your impact and guide your team with renewed clarity by learning to lean fully into being brave. Tobi provides a dedicated space for leaders to build deep self-awareness, make courageous decisions, and cultivate authentic confidence.
As an ICF-certified coach who has spent two decades navigating the wild world of fast-paced tech, he acts as a collaborative thinking partner focused on actionable growth. By designing a bold strategic vision and building habits that actually stick, he helps leaders turn courage into lasting resilience.
Tobi is offering 2 coaching scholarships.
We share these quotes from some of the talented alumni of this coaching scholarship programme to offer you a tangible sense of the experiences and benefits of our coaching.
Over the course of our working together [with Fiona], I was able to implement better ways of communicating. I’m now more confident to share my perspective when before I would have held back, and I’m influencing better outcomes by proactively sharing my experience and opinions. I’ve seen a lot of positive changes in my professional life
I was lucky enough to win a scholarship with Fiona, and in advance of us starting to work together I wasn’t entirely sure what we should focus on - I had been struggling with a few things at work, but I couldn’t see the common theme. But in our first meeting Fiona helped me to organise my frustrations and worries into a specific goal: to speak and be heard. There were a number of reasons why I currently didn’t feel like I was being heard, and over the course of our six sessions together we were able to identify and work through each one.
Over the course of our working together, I was able to implement better ways of communicating. I’m now more confident to share my perspective when before I would have held back, and I’m influencing better outcomes by proactively sharing my experience and opinions. I’ve seen a lot of positive changes in my professional life.
I really felt seen and understood by Fiona - she is an insightful, empathic coach who listened to my frustrations and made visible the issues I couldn’t quite identify by myself. I’d highly recommend working with her, and intend to work with her again at the next stage of my career.
Joel’s style of coaching resonated with me and I found our first conversation very engaging, with an healthy dose of challenge. Joel managed to pick up on a lot of nuances on what I was saying. He gently questioned and challenged some of my thoughts and perceptions of myself, and situations around me. Even when it made me feel (physically) uncomfortable, with his help, I was able to navigate my ways of thinking and identify where I was heading into negative thinking/behaviours and adapt my approach
Joel’s style of coaching resonated with me and I found our first conversation very engaging, with an healthy dose of challenge. Joel managed to pick up on a lot of nuances on what I was saying. He gently questioned and challenged some of my thoughts and perceptions of myself, and situations around me. Even when it made me feel (physically) uncomfortable, with his help, I was able to navigate my ways of thinking and identify where I was heading into negative thinking/behaviours and adapt my approach.
In leadership positions it may feel very lonely as you need to be the leader, to guide other people on their own journeys and instill confidence. If you have doubts yourself there may not be a friendly ear to turn to. Joel’s coaching broke down the barriers in my own mind and helped guide me towards your best path for me.
Throughout the journey, Joel encouraged me to reflect and introspect deeply. He would challenge me where I needed to be challenged and he would support me where I needed to be supported - while continuously sharing relevant experiences and insights along the way.
I’ll always look back at this period of my life as a significant turning point in my career and I have Joel to thank for that
Joel helped me identify what I really wanted from my career. He helped me navigate my thoughts, aspirations, and emotions and supported me in transitioning to a new role that aligned much more with my personality, skillset, and overall career ambitions.
Throughout the journey, Joel encouraged me to reflect and introspect deeply. He would challenge me where I needed to be challenged and he would support me where I needed to be supported - while continuously sharing relevant experiences and insights along the way.
I’ll always look back at this period of my life as a significant turning point in my career and I have Joel to thank for that.
Joel coached me in a very important moment of my career, as I had just been promoted to CTO and also had additional new challenges including leading the product organization, going through an M&A and important cultural and strategy changes. At the beginning of our conversations I was feeling very overwhelmed and worried about doing a great job in my new role and ensuring my team and my company succeeded.
Having Joel as a coach was very valuable to me and had great impact on my team and company. As my confidence in my role grew, I’ve been able to better direct my team and we’ve been hitting our targets and constantly delivering value to the company. I recommend that any leader going through challenging and stressful times be coached by Joel.
Working with Amy was a positive game changer. With each of our conversations, I either learned something new about myself or it reinforced a strong belief that aligned with my values. It was a very holistic way of approaching engineering leadership, going beyond the technical aspects and into the whole self. In doing so, that reaped greater rewards and it had positive ripple effects in my personal and professional life, along with teams and community. I highly recommend Amy!
I had a really great time working with Alia as my coach. She excelled at taking my thoughts and, through thought-provoking questions, guided me to profound insights I wouldn’t have discovered on my own. These “gems” not only gave me a deeper understanding of my professional motivations but also enabled me to become a more effective leader by clarifying my career priorities and what to let go of.
It’s been really fantastic to work with Tobi as my coach. Tobi has a remarkable way of asking insightful questions that challenge my assumptions, spark new insights, and help me see things from fresh perspectives.
Through thoughtful inquiry, he empowers me to find my own path forward, rather than just waiting for someone else to give me the answers.
If you want to understand yourself better, and gain clarity on your goals and challenges, I highly recommend working with Tobi.
Alex’s exceptional approach made it a game-changer for both my professional and personal growth… His deep expertise in coaching shone through in his ability to ask thought-provoking questions, challenge my assumptions, and guide me toward meaningful insights with remarkable skill. He helped me uncover strengths I hadn’t fully recognized and empowered me to become a more confident, authentic version of myself as a leader
I recently completed a leadership coaching program under the guidance of Alex Martynov, and it was a profoundly impactful experience that exceeded all my expectations. As my first time working with a coach, I wasn’t entirely sure what the process would entail, but Alex’s exceptional approach made it a game-changer for both my professional and personal growth. His calm, compassionate presence created a safe, trusting space where I felt genuinely understood and supported. His deep expertise in coaching shone through in his ability to ask thought-provoking questions, challenge my assumptions, and guide me toward meaningful insights with remarkable skill. He helped me uncover strengths I hadn’t fully recognized and empowered me to become a more confident, authentic version of myself as a leader. What sets Alex apart is his rare blend of empathy, intuition, and practical wisdom. Working with him was transformative, and I’m immensely grateful for his guidance. I wholeheartedly recommend Alex to anyone seeking a coach who can unlock their potential and inspire lasting change.
Working with Joel has been transformative for my career as a senior technical leader. His unique blend of coaching and mentoring combined with deep expertise helped me navigate complex leadership challenges, guiding me to understand myself better than I could’ve ever imagined in the process.
Joel creates a space where you can think clearly, challenge your own assumptions and discover solutions you didn’t know you already had. I’m endlessly grateful for his guidance, it’s genuinely been life-changing for me.
Working with Stefan has been genuinely transformative. He has helped me not only to navigate my job search but to rediscover confidence in my own abilities that I had not fully recognised.
What sets him apart is his ability to shine a light on the achievements you’ve accumulated over a career but somehow never stopped to acknowledge. He helped me to see the real value in what I have done, articulate it clearly and walk into interviews with a confidence I simply did not have before.
Thanks to the coaching I have received from Francis, I have gained a new perspective, enhanced confidence in my decision-making as an executive, and greater effectiveness as a leader in managing and navigating challenging situations with my team.
These scholarships are open to engineering leaders at any level — from Senior Engineer to CTO — who identify as being from an underrepresented group in technology and would not otherwise be able to easily afford coaching.
We understand that these critera are not clear cut. If you are not sure whether you can apply then we encourage you to do so.
No.
The coaching scholarship covers the full cost of a coaching programme with us and so the programme will be free to you.
Previous recipients of the scholarships have included people who are from groups which are underrepresented based on gender, or ethnicity, or disability, or neurodivergence, or a combination of these and we are also open to considering other underrepresented groups too.
If you feel that you are part of any group that is underrepresented in technology then we encourage you to apply.
Yes.
The coaches offering these scholarships are based all over the world and they all offer coaching via video call and so we are open to applications from whereever you are based.
These scholarships are open to the full range of engineering leadership levels.
Previous recipients of the scholarships include Senior Engineers, Team Leads, Lead Engineers, Engineering Managers, Heads of Engineering, Directors of Engineering, VPs of Engineering, and CTOs.
It is very hard to choose between applications.
Once we have checked that applications meet the criteria for the scholarship then each coach will select from the applications based on their own judgement about where they can have most impact.
It can help coaches to choose your application if you are specific about the change that you would like to achieve with their coaching support.
Each coaching programme included in the scholarship will consist of a series of coaching sessions designed to support you to work towards your goals.
The duration, frequency and number of sessions will vary by coach. Each coach has committed to providing at least 4 hours of online coaching in the programmes that they offer. Also, typically programmes will need to be completed within 4-5 months of starting.
When you apply you can share any preferences that you may have for which coach you would like to be assigned. This will be taken into account as part of choosing which coach you might be assigned.
If you are offered a scholarship then you will be assigned a coach who will set up a coaching chemistry call with you. This call will be a chance for you to get to know one another and decide whether you want to work with them.
Coaching is a personal thing and you may find that you do not want to work with the coach that you are assigned. This is OK, you are under no obligation to enter a coaching relationship with the coach that you are assigned. If you decide that you do not want to work with them, then just let them know. We will understand and will not be offended in any way.
No.
The coaching programme is entirely for your benefit. However good your coach is, it may not work between you.
You can stop your coaching programme at any time. If you decide to stop then let your coach know. We will understand and will not be offended in any way.
Joel started offering these coaching scholarships in 2023 in order to support leaders from under represented groups in technology.
Since then, 21 other coaches have taken part in offering scholarships and between us, we have provided 78 coaching scholarships.
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