Today we’d like to introduce you to Sherry Samuels.
Hi Sherry, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Before moving to Maryland, I was living in Atlanta, doing family support for a nonprofit. The work I was doing for the nonprofit was both deeply rewarding and painfully heavy. And then, about five years in to my tenure, I went through a breakup that left me questioning every decision I had ever made in life. Something needed to change, but I wasn’t sure what or how. Fast forward about two years, I was in a better place, but still feeling like I needed something MORE in and for my life. An acquaintance told me about an intuitive life coach and, although initially a bit skeptical (I literally said to her, during our consult call, “You seem too happy. Are you sure you can help me?”), I started working with her.
After about six-ish months, she suggested that I take a life coach certification course. Again, initially skeptical, mainly because I wasn’t interested in helping anyone do anything anymore, I did some research and decided that, if nothing else, the program would help me deepen the personal growth work I had been doing with her. Looking back, in so many ways, that’s when it feels like life really began for me. I learned how to connect deeply with all of who I desired to be. I learned how to lean into love — for myself and with others. I learned how to trust myself.
Weeks after completing the certification program, still unsure if I would turn this training/certification into a career move/business, I met my now wife, who lived in Maryland. I moved here eight months later. That was 12 years ago. Fast forward…
I remember the excitement I felt when I took my first client, just weeks before leaving Georgia to move to Maryland. I had visions of helping everyone, showing people how to live life fully and make all their dreams come true. And while I do still have that desire, over the years, my passion for supporting Black women has pulled me toward not only one-to-one coaching, but also creating virtual small group spaces for Black women to connect deeply to self, give life to their dreams, create community, and reconnect to their authentic voice.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has NOT been a smooth road. I have had to pivot, more than once. I had to find my voice in business. As someone who loves to get things “right”, I have had to give myself permission, time and time again, to try again when things didn’t go my way. When I first hosted groups, I had to be OK with not getting people registered. I have had to get more and more comfortable with asking for support and leaning into my insecurities. I had to learn to be OK with months that felt slow. I have had to find ways to get and stay connected to my WHY…even when no one else understood. The same things I teach my clients, or encourage my clients to do, I had to be willing to do myself.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Chrysalid Coaching?
At the heart of my work is an abiding commitment to supporting Black women as they do the work to reclaim their authentic voice, live with intention, and lead with confidence. Through my coaching practice, I specialize in personal development, mindset coaching, and transformational leadership. Through one-on-one coaching, group programs, workshops, and guided journals, I create spaces for self-discovery, personal healing, and professional growth.
I am known for my keen ability to blend practical tools with deep emotional insight — helping clients challenge negative self-talk, set healthy boundaries, communicate from a place of clarity, and set & achieve meaningful goals. My work is rooted in compassion, curiosity, and trust. Clients often tell me they feel seen, supported, and empowered to show up more fully in both their personal and professional lives.
In addition to individual and group coaching, I provide trainings to small businesses and local government agencies focused on professional growth, mindset, stress management, self-care and communication.
What sets me, and therefore Chrysalid Coaching apart is the keen ability to listen deeply as I connect to both what is said and unsaid while quickly building rapport with my clients. Whether through my signature coaching programs like Align & Thrive and The Empowered Leader, or my transformational journaling tool ‘Permission to Feel’, everything I offer is designed to nurture wholeness and cultivate the kind of inner alignment that leads to real, sustainable change.
I’m most proud of creating spaces where I can support women in quickly feeling at home within themselves, spaces where they can be vulnerable, celebrate their brilliance, and rewrite the narratives that have held them back. My brand is about more than growth — it’s about liberation, self-trust, professional development and joy.
At the end of the day, I want your readers to know this: you don’t have to shrink or shape-shift to succeed. You can lead, live, and thrive on your own terms — and I’m here to walk beside you on that journey.
What makes you happy?
In the Fall of 2022, our now 5-year-old great niece came to live with us. I share that to say that, right now, what makes me most happy is seeing this Tiny Human living the “soft life” that so many of us, as Big Humans, strive to create for ourselves. We are blessed to be able to show her ease, self-love, peace and joy. I feel happy when I hear her giggle over silly things, when I watch her walk out of her room feeling good about herself in an outfit that makes me wonder if she realizes she doesn’t match. It makes me happy to see her sing her favorite songs at the top of her lungs as my wife sits nearby, playing her “hype woman”. I am happy when I give myself permission to see just how much her unbothered, joyful presence teaches me about how to show up in this thing called life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://chrysalidtransformations.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrysalidcoaching/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherrysamuelslifeandleadershipcoach/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@chrysalidcoaching
