Women Leaders Association launches San Diego coaching program with Kimberly Prentiss

The Women Leaders Association named Kimberly Prentiss its first official Coaching Partner for the San Diego chapter, launching a vetted executive coaching program for local members. The rollout gives women professionals direct access to screened coaches as the association expands the initiative across more than 130 chapters.

Why it matters: - The Women Leaders Association is trying to make executive coaching easier to trust and easier to buy for women professionals. - The new San Diego program gives members access to vetted coaches instead of forcing them to sort through an unregulated market on their own. - The rollout is part of a broader effort to help women advance in workplaces where pay and promotion gaps still persist.

What happened: - The Women Leaders Association named Kimberly Prentiss the first official Coaching Partner of its San Diego chapter, SanDiegoWomenLeaders.org. - The announcement launches the association's Coaching Partners program in the San Diego metro area. - San Diego-area members can view Prentiss' profile, book a complimentary consultation, or send her a private note through her booking page. - The association plans to expand the Coaching Partners program across its network of more than 130 chapters.

The details: - The Women Leaders Association has 43,000 members and more than 130 regional chapters. - The Coaching Partners program screens coaches for recognized certifications, verifiable experience and strong client reviews before listing them for members. - The association says the program is meant to remove guesswork from executive coaching, where titles are unregulated and quality varies widely. - Prentiss is the founder and principal coach of San Diego-based Ignite Change Global. - Prentiss built her career across higher education, IT, financial services, government contracting and a fintech startup that she helped lead through a successful exit. - Prentiss holds ICF coaching credentials, including Certified Coach and Master Certified Intelligent Leadership Executive Coach certification. - Prentiss also offers in-person and virtual coaching, structured assessments, 360-degree feedback, customized development plans, group and cohort leadership development, and facilitated leadership offsites. - The association said Prentiss' operator background and fintech experience made her a strong fit for the program. - Prentiss previously served as vice president of communications and culture at a fast-growing San Diego SaaS company. - Prentiss is also a program leader for executive education courses through the Kellogg School of Management and the Wharton School.

Between the lines: - The program reflects a push to package executive coaching as a curated member benefit rather than a standalone marketplace search. - The association is also reinforcing its larger brand as a data-and-rankings organization focused on how employers advance women. - Its Glass Ceiling Score project evaluates how major U.S. employers promote women into management and executive roles, and its chapters publish Best Women Employers rankings, compensation studies and Top 50 Women Leaders awards. - The launch comes as women still earn roughly 15% less than men on average, according to research cited by the association.

What's next: - The Women Leaders Association plans to extend the Coaching Partners program to more chapters nationwide. - San Diego members can continue using Prentiss for consultations and coaching through the chapter site. - The association will keep pairing local chapters with coaches selected for each market.

The bottom line: - The San Diego launch gives Women Leaders Association members a vetted coaching option and sets up a national expansion of the program.**