Today we’d like to introduce you to Terrell Sledge.
Hi Terrell, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
As a San Diego native, it has become increasingly meaningful to find and create pathways for investing in the environments that shaped me and the people who make up my San Diego community. TD Sledge Empowerment Coaching represents one dimension of my commitment to doing that in ways that honor the gifts and encouragement my communities offered me along the way. My journey has been dynamic and at times unexpected but it is my story that fuels my passion.
I am a multi-disciplined creator of responsible art and expressions that re-imagine culture and social perspectives. I harness empathy, understanding, and social integrity through performance, literature, graphic storytelling, and multi-sensory immersive experiences. I draw upon my background in expressive arts, community advocacy, writing, and higher education as an International Coaching Federation (ICF) credentialed leadership and performance coach in my work with TD Sledge Empowerment Coaching.
I became an artist to liberate my identity and rescue my future from the statistics-driven outcomes predicted for me. At age 6, I began attending acting classes at a local San Diego community theatre meeting my single mother’s need for child care and honoring her instinct to provide an outlet for expression to her young sons. This experience introduced me to the power of performance and opened the door to possibilities that circumstances too often leave obscured and seemingly impossible.
Performance inspired me to set a goal of studying theatre at Yale University —a goal I proclaimed in the 4th grade and not only achieved but exceeded, going on to receive an MFA in Acting from Brown University as well.
My love of language, speech, narrative expression and embodied storytelling became the tools through which I created change in myself and my community. Writing, performing and an arts-minded approach to empowerment and education, became the core of my work and has only deepened over the years.
Decades later, my work as a leadership and performance coach incorporates music, voice, graphic storytelling and more. From stage-plays and films to graphic novels, immersive wellness experiences, and leadership programming, my repertoire continues to expand and my curiosity for its many applications remains unquenchable.
I aim to function as a catalyst for my clients’ self-awareness and critical engagement with the socialized perspectives that may be influencing their experiences of self, identity, and community. My coaching focuses on activating the transformative nature of storytelling through restorative engagement of purpose, practice, and passion. Through TD Sledge Empowerment Coaching I endeavor to pass on the gift of self-determination as I partner with clients on their journey to greater life satisfaction, maximized potential, and amplified joy.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When I look back on the journey to TD Sledge Empowerment Coaching, there were inevitable ups and downs. However, with each challenge came a lesson and an opportunity to move into a new manifestation of my vision and the purpose I want to fulfill.
I set out on this journey to help groups identify tools that might make their day-to-day not only more bearable but more satisfying. The opportunity to support healthy relationships with self and others is an opportunity to help others unlock more of the joy and peace that we all strive for deep down. In today’s world, vulnerability, doubt, fear of failure and judgment, and so much more, stand in the way of the good that everyone deserves. Removing those barriers and reducing their negative impact on client outcomes makes facing the challenges of maintaining and growing a business worthwhile.
Just as I share with my clients, sometimes the most important vote of confidence is the one you give yourself. When the challenges of being a business owner come up, I remember why I began the work and how the way that I move through the challenging moment is a vote for or against myself and my future. In doing so, I continue to find the grace, drive, and awareness to face what is ahead of me and be proud of how I represent my values through my work.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about TD Sledge Empowerment Coaching?
TD Sledge Empowerment Coaching (TDSEC) invites you to re-imagine your personal power, social and cultural identities, and agency as individuals and global community members to identify and maximize the joy, success, and possibilities present in your life. TDSEC offers multi-layered approaches that invite communities and individuals into new perspectives and awareness of both personal and shared creative possibilities.
I am an ICF-credentialed (ACC) leadership and performance coach with an extensive background in education, performance, and narrative practices. With 15+ years of experience developing programming and curricula for individual and community empowerment and well-being, I bring a dynamic sensibility to the world of coaching and wellness. At the heart of my practice is a prioritization of empathy toward self and others, drawing on my many disciplines to create pathways to acceptance, healing, clarity, and motivation.
My approach centers around revealing the creative intersection of perspective, identity, and empathy through multi-sensory experiences ranging from aural narratives and immersive story experiences to guided reflections and cognitive reappraisal journeys for individuals and groups. TDSEC coaching and projects blend storytelling, sound production, graphic storytelling, and performance theory and practice with leadership and empowerment techniques to create mediums and experiences that are not only rich and compelling but personally and socially restorative.
But don’t just take it from me – hear it from my clients:
“ If you’re searching for a space where you feel truly seen, heard, and empowered, TD Sledge Empowerment Coaching is exactly where you belong. After just a few sessions with Terrell, I experienced a profound shift within myself. I found a renewed sense of motivation, self-awareness, and the desire to strive for something greater.” – J. V. (Coaching Focus: Life, Empowerment, and Identity)
“ I had the privilege of working with Terrell, who has profoundly impacted both my business and personal life. With his remarkable gift for communication, he effortlessly breaks down complex concepts, providing invaluable clarity and perspective. His advice is not just insightful; it’s transformative” – K. M. (Coaching Focus: Business and Performance)
“T is a one of a kind kindred spirit who is relentless at getting to the root cause of your setbacks/disappointments and working through them in a specialized way tailored specifically to your personality and traits. […]Overall his coaching is like the light at the end of a dark tunnel if you stay consistent and trust the process you’ll come out in a way better and more refreshing place than before no matter how low you were previously.” – D. C. (Coaching Focus: Life Change and Self-Confidence)
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
I am a doer.
I am a problem-solver.
I am an encourager.
I am a limit-breaker.
I am a multi-disciplined artist and advocate.
My journey as an artist developed a sense of empowerment and compassion that make up the core of my work. Performance taught me to embody the principle of Kujichagulia, the Swahili word for Self-Determination. As a result, I have spent my life defining and shaping my identity in a world that wanted to do so for me. As I support others in removing obstacles to their next victory and setting the path forward to the futures they choose, these qualities have been essential to my success. I want to share those gifts with as many people as I can.
Pricing:
- 1-1 Strategic Coaching Session – $125
- Milestone Coaching Package (4 sessions) – $400
- Emerging Adult Leadership Coaching – Sliding Scale
- Student/Educator Support Package – (Sliding Scale Available)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tdsledgecoaching.com
- Instagram: @thetdsledge
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tdsledgecoaching
Image Credits
Photo Credit: TDSEC
