I was going to be Dr. Ellyn! Now I’m a…
Systems Builder.Capacity Protector.Game Changer.
I’m a sustainable performance coach and systems consultant. I help high-achieving founders build the systems and sustainable rhythms that let them keep performing without burning out.
hi, i'm ellyn
Ellyn at a Glance
My background, my credentials, and a few things you won't find on LinkedIn.
I help founders and small teams build businesses that don't depend on one person remembering, managing, and holding everything together.
- Position
- Sustainable Performance Coach & Business Systems Consultant
- Signature move
- Settle the score.Not more motivation. Not more hustle. Real data from your actual life, clarity on who you are and what you want, and a playbook built for the person running the business.data > drive
- Before coaching
- Research → PhD → Master's → a new definition of successResearch-trained. Hypothesis-driven. Interested in what actually works.
- Training
- Professional Certified Coach (PCC)
Sleep, Stress Management & Recovery CoachAffiliation: Notion Ambassador
Full training & credentials
- Professional Certified Coach (PCC) · World Coach Institute
- Sleep, Stress Management & Recovery Coach (L1) · Precision Nutrition
- Mental Health & Stress Management Certification · The Health Sciences Academy
- Level 5 Sleep Management Certification · The Health Sciences Academy
- NLP Practitioner · iNLP Center
- MS, Microbiology & Immunology
- Notion Ambassador
The fun stuff
- Before the workday: Reading, journaling, then the morning walk. Obviously.
- On the field: Four years of varsity soccer. Still processes stress through movement, just with fewer cleats.
- Off the clock: Rooftop journaling, brewery hopping, and a LOTR marathon on standby.
- Ask her about: The Queen karaoke story.
- Coaching philosophy: Your ambition isn't the problem. The way you're supporting it might need a different play.
- Unpopular opinion: Balance is bullshit. Motivation is a consumable. Your business needs a plan for when it runs out.
- High standards. Actual laughter. Room to be a person.
The tools on my bench. I only partner with tools I actually use with clients. Some are affiliate links, so I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
You’ve done the work. It still feels Hard.
You’ve tried the apps. You’ve bought the templates. You built the Notion dashboard, and maybe you’ve got AI running a few things. You’re not disorganized. You’re carrying too much.
Here’s the part nobody says out loud: having systems isn’t the same as having systems that fit. Fit how you actually work, and fit how much you can actually carry. That gap is where the hard part lives.
Find your fit →"On my way to revoke someone's coaching certification for saying 'just delegate.'"
Ellyn probably this weekHow I got Here
From research scientist to sustainable performance coach and systems builder. swipe →
KICKOFF
00:12:04 · The lab coat erasmiling. running on empty.
Someone was always in my corner. Until grad school.
A piano teacher who said, “Practice this one section.” Coaches with a comeback plan when I blew out my knee, twice. A dad who said, “Did you learn something? That’s all that matters.”
I have undiagnosed ADHD, but I was never the disorganized one.
Nobody saw how hard I was working to hold it together.
● observationI was on track to be Dr. Ellyn. But it wasn’t my game.
My peers in the Ph.D. program loved the process. I didn’t. Then I looked up the ladder at the people ahead of me and realized I didn’t want that life.
I stayed anyway. For the letters after my name, other people’s pride and a paycheck.
● data i ignored
00:44:10 · Exit, stage left↳ best decision i ever made.
Then came my avalanche.
My grandpa passed away while I was 3,000 miles from home. A hit-and-run. A broken arm. Then a mentor tore apart every slide before I could finish a sentence. I closed my laptop and thought: I’m done.
My dad was the last person I told. He said he was disappointed. It was the worst thing I could have heard. And I survived it.
It was the first time I chose my own life over someone else’s scoreboard.
● testMy halftime was a year on the road.
After I left, I spent a year traveling and working remotely with Remote Year. A new city every month, from Colombia to Cape Town, and my first bullet journal. Building a system that fit me, instead of squeezing myself into one, is where I fell in love with planning and organization. It shaped everything I wanted from my systems once I went digital.
It's also where I started coaching.
● adjust the game plan
01:02:33 · Second halfbuilt to last.
Then I looked at the design.
I got sold the same three answers every high achiever gets: find balance, find the right guru, be the hero. Every one says the problem is you. It isn’t. I’m a scientist. When something fails for almost everyone, you look at the design.
So I give founders what athletes get: someone who sees the real problem, a plan to follow and a reminder of what matters.
● result · look at the designEND OF REEL
People show up with one thing and need Another.
It’s what my coaches, my piano teacher and my dad gave me: a reminder of what matters, a plan that fits, and someone who sees the real problem. So I look at the person and the business before I build anything. Then I build through my READ method: Read, Engineer, Apply, Debrief. And you leave able to run it and change it yourself. Tap a player to see the five systems.
One place the business lives.
Your CEO dashboard: priorities, clients and what's next, set up so you can take it all in at a glance and stop keeping the backup copy in your head.
tap a player on the field →What I bring to your Build.
- A research scientist’s brainAn MS in Microbiology & Immunology and genetics research training. I diagnose before I prescribe.
- A coach’s earProfessional Certified Coach (PCC), plus sleep, stress and recovery coaching through Precision Nutrition.
- A builder’s handsNotion Ambassador. I build alongside you, not just advise from the sideline.
- A four-year varsity soccer playerWhich is why everything here sounds like a playbook.
I traveled to Mexico for 5 weeks. My pipeline kept running. That’s what the systems work did for me.SRShelly ReesDivorce Financial Consultant
Sooo, I am actually a Psychologist (PhD and everything) and I specialize in late ADHD diagnosis in women. This is a BRILLIANT example of working with your brain instead of against it!EWElle Windsor, PhDPsychologist
You have to put your own oxygen mask on before you can take care of others. Thank you, Ellyn. I wouldn’t be where I am without you.★1:1 coaching clientpost-match review
This will literally change my business. I’m anticipating getting multiple hours back every week just from this system.KBKate BrannaYour Ops Alchemist
Is this coaching or systems work?
Both. The person first, then the business, then the systems. We look at your capacity, how the work runs, and where things keep getting stuck before deciding what needs to change.
Do I need to be in crisis to work with you?
Nope. Some clients come in exhausted. Others just have a business that's outgrown its setup. Both are my people.
Do I need to know how to use Notion?
No. I build in Notion and walk you through running it. Tools that already work for you can stay.
Do you work with teams and nonprofits?
Yes. Small teams and organizations work with me through The Dynasty, where I build it for you.
What happens after we're done?
You get a walkthrough so you can run it and change it yourself. If you want me on call after that, that’s The Roster.
Why all the sports language?
I played four years of varsity soccer. Game plans, film review, and recovery days are how I think about sustainable performance.
Want me in your Corner?
Not sure where to start? Take the fit quiz →
Systems you can trust. Finally on your team.
