About Our Founder

Marianna Lead, MCC, is a Master Certified Coach with the International Coach Federation (ICF) and the Founder/Executive Director of Goal Imagery® Institute and its International School of Coaching Mastery™.

A pioneer in tapping the subconscious power of emotions and imagination for personal and professional success, she was twice-elected president of the International Coach Federation’s award-winning New York City chapter (ICF-NYC); has served on ICF’s global marketing committee, and has been an ICF Credentialing Examination Assessor and MCC coach since 2008.

Marianna also created a popular LinkedIn group called ICF Coach Mentors & ICF Coaches that currently boasts over 14,000 loyal members and is growing every day.

As an instructional designer and teacher, Marianna has created numerous educational curriculums, including co-designing the “Competitive Advantages of Women in Leadership” program for Columbia University, a number of innovative courses at New York University where she also taught her own Goal Imagery® Method—in addition to teaching NYU Master’s Degree and Coaching Certificate Programs.

In 2006, Marianna became the first expert invited to speak at the world-renowned Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, on the subjects of hypnosis and life coaching—and was featured on the cover of INSIGHT Magazine in June of 2011 for her groundbreaking work in creating her Goal Imagery® Method, which serves as the conceptual basis of the Goal Imagery® Institute. A sought-after speaker, Marianna has also taught a number of courses on presentation and communication skills.

Marianna has been an Expert Life Coach for Fitness Magazine; collaborated with the late Candace Pert, Ph.D., (best-selling author of Molecules of Emotion) on her popular “Psychosomatic Wellness” CD; and was the creator/host of Life Coach TV on Manhattan Cable in NYC, as well as Life Coach Radio with the Progressive Radio Network. She has been featured on national TV (including NBC morning news) & radio and in magazines such as Fitness, Natural Health, Time Out, and documentaries—both as a coach and personal/professional development expert.

Marianna recently completed co-authoring a new book, “Me, My Brand and WHY“, and is currently writing another on the topic of coaching mastery. She is also the author of over dozen audio programs, including Letting Go of Your Weight, Becoming a Non-Smoker, Stress Release, Improving Your Memory, Discovering Your Yoga Master Within, Freeing Your Creativity, Conquering Stage Fright, and Creating Happiness.

An active Screen Actors Guild (SAG) member since 1996, she has served on the 2013 SAG Award Nomination Committee and co-hosted/produced “Laughter as a Life Skill” with comic Yakov Smirnoff at the American Airlines Theater on Broadway. Marianna’s background in the performing arts enhances her skills as a coach, mentor, and teacher – and makes her an engaging host, presenter, and on-camera guest. A classically-trained pianist and former stand-up comic, for many years, she served as the Acting Instructor and Theater Director at Shorefront YMHA in Brooklyn, NY, coaching teens and young adults on acting and presentation skills.

In addition to running the Goal Imagery® Institute, Marianna maintains an active coaching and mentoring practice. Her range of clients includes large corporations (Ernst & Young, PWC, American Airlines), entrepreneurs, small business owners, entertainers, nonprofit organizations (Society of Women Engineers, The New York Urban League), and government agencies including FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency).