The Coaching Leader Program and GroupWorks Global are proud to announce that Dr. Vanessa Downing has joined CLP as Program Manager.
Dr. Vanessa Downing is a licensed psychologist and leadership coach. She received her doctoral degree in counseling psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park. The early years of her career were spent as a cardiovascular psychologist working at the bedside of patients facing life altering diagnoses. Her experiences on multidisciplinary teams included navigating intense system demands while fighting for the lives of patients. These experiences sparked her enduring passion for the well-being of physicians, nurses, and all healthcare workers.
This work led to the creation of one of the nation’s first hospital-based centers dedicated solely to original interventions and wellbeing services tailored for delivery to individuals and teams on the job. Her role as Director of the ChristianaCare Center for WorkLife Wellbeing emphasized advocacy for frontline workers, leadership development, and empowerment of individuals to influence culture change in meaningful and lasting ways. Heading a team of psychologists and researchers, Vanessa became a national thought leader, providing mentorship, education, and consultation to healthcare systems across the country as they established nascent programs.
Vanessa has led grant-funded mixed methods research on the application of emerging best practices to the psychological treatment of healthcare workers, and has produced multimedia continuing education for therapists working with this very special population. Her thousands of hours of expertise working to identify and center the humanity of patients and the healthcare workers who care for them serves as a powerful foundation for individuals and organizations ready to take the next step.
