Coaching Forward:
Michigan ICF Professional Development Day
Join Michigan ICF on Friday, October 16, 2026, at Davenport University in Grand Rapids for Coaching Forward, a dynamic Professional Development Day designed to bring coaches together for learning, connection, and practical growth.
The day will feature keynote speaker Shaina Lane, PCC presenting Beneath the Brilliance: How I Built a Coaching Business by Getting Almost Everything Wrong First, along with interactive Learning Labs covering topics such as certification pathways, internal coaching, powerful questions, and AI in coaching. Attendees will also enjoy morning coffee and networking, a collaborative networking lunch, a movement and recharge session led by a Health and Wellness Coach, and opportunities to connect with mentoring, volunteering, and other ICF Michigan initiatives.
Event Time: 10:00 AM–2:00 PM
Doors/Registration: Opens between 9:15–9:45 AM
Location: Davenport University, Grand Rapids, MI
Come ready to learn, connect, recharge, and move your coaching practice forward.
Coaching Forward
COACH. CONNECT. GROW.
Energize Your Coaching Journey
Join fellow Michigan coaches for a day of learning, connection, and fresh momentum. Whether you’re growing your practice, strengthening your skills, or exploring what’s next, you’ll leave with practical ideas, valuable connections, and renewed inspiration.
What’s in store:
Connect & Conversation
Start with coffee, lively conversation, and meaningful connections.
Keynote with Shaina Lane
Beneath the Brilliance: How I Built a Coaching Business by Getting Almost Everything Wrong First
Get practical insights and honest guidance to move your coaching business forward.
Learning Labs
Explore topics including certification pathways, internal coaching, powerful questions, AI and the future of coaching, and more.
Networking Lunch
Share ideas, exchange experiences, and build lasting relationships.
Wellness Practices : Mind & Body in Coaching with Michelle Knickerbocker, ACC
Discuss ways to notice the ways our body is an essential part of coaching. Whether it pertains to how we (as coaches) feel in our body when showing up to our session, or perhaps its the recognition we see in our clients- before and during our session. As coaches it's imperative to understand compassion fatigue is real, and we must utilize tools that offer care to ourselves. Additionally, we become more aware of how we will share useful tools with clients that prioritize overall wellness.
Community Connections
Discover mentoring, volunteer opportunities, and ways to engage with Michigan ICF.
Whether you’re new to coaching, an experienced practitioner, an internal coach, or somewhere in between, this is your opportunity to learn, connect, and be inspired by your coaching community.
Davenport University, Grand Rapids
Hosted by Michigan ICF
Come ready to learn. Leave connected, inspired, and energized.
Our Keynote Presentation:
Beneath the Brilliance: How I Built a Coaching Business by Getting Almost Everything Wrong First with guest speaker Shaina Lane, PCC
Building a coaching business rarely follows the neat, strategic roadmap we imagine it will. In this candid and humorous look behind the scenes, Shaina Lane shares the winding journey of building her coaching practice. From early experiments and wrong turns to unexpected referrals, reinvention, and the lessons that only come from figuring it out along the way. This isn’t a “10 steps to a six-figure coaching business” talk. It’s the real story of what worked, what didn’t, what she got completely wrong, and how trial and error ultimately helped her build a coaching business that reflects who she is and how she wants to serve. Because sometimes the fastest way to find your way is to get a few things spectacularly wrong first.
Key Learning Outcomes
*Identify common trial-and-error traps coaches encounter when building and growing a coaching business
*Evaluate how well their current business model aligns with their strengths, values, expertise, and desired way of working
About Shaina
Shaina Lane is a professional speaker, author, leadership expert, and ice cream addict. Before starting her own business in 2019, she built a career in healthcare and successfully transitioned to HR 15 years later. She has a master’s degree in education and more coaching credentials than should be legal. When she’s not developing leaders, she’s taking comedy classes, training for triathlons, or coming up with increasingly creative excuses to avoid yard work.