About me

I was born during an earthquake in San Francisco and I’ve been shaking things up ever since.  

I’m the CEO and founder of Bonsai Leadership Group, a boutique consulting, executive coaching, and leadership recruitment service for nonprofit organizations focused on creating racially diverse candidate pools for consideration in positions of power within the nonprofit sector.  As a Birkman Certified Consultant and Certified Executive Coach, I utilize my skills to help clients achieve their professional goals.

During my time as an Executive Leader in the nonprofit space, I worked at premier organizations, including Boys &Girls Club of America, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, American Red Cross, The Nature Conservancy, and National Park Foundation. During these tenures, I influenced more than two hundred million dollars in donations and drove life-saving policies into effect, along with bold conservation invitations. 

In my personal life, I’ve served on the boards of the North American Association for Environmental Education, EarthShare, Minnesota Council on Foundations, Birds Georgia, West Central Initiative, Alexandria Area YMCA, and Lakes Area Professional Women. I live with my family in the Washington, D.C. metro area with our poochon pup, Pancake.

I am grateful to have had the life-changing opportunity to be coached by LaTresse through Bonsai Leadership Group. I have deeply admired and learned from LaTresse's leadership for many years, so to now benefit from her coaching services has been an incredible full-circle moment. During our very first session, I gained more clarity and insight about my own trajectory and motivations than I had over literal years of effort. From understanding my own leadership style to identifying and setting concrete goals for clarifying my vision, LaTresse's expertise has been invaluable.

So many Black early-career scientists like myself are thrust into a space of activism around racial, economic, and environmental justice, and it forces us to address these issues in professional contexts, many times or being incorporated into, or becoming our jobs.

From my experience and conversations, this leaves many of us wondering how we move forward in our careers given our priorities -- our passions for science and dismantling systemic oppression and exclusion -- and navigating socially challenging professional environments, ranging from taxing to hostile in the process. I have personally witnessed how well-equipped LaTresse is for helping professionals like me through these very challenges and I am thankful. I cannot recommend her services enough.

~ Corina Newsome
Conservation scientist