Meet Our Founder

Dan Freehling is the founder of Contempus Leadership, an ICF-certified coach, and an organizational leadership consultant. He is the author of The Career Design Map, the host of the Forward-Looking Leadership podcast, and a member of the PRIME Coaching Academy board of advisors.

Dan brings cutting-edge approaches and common-sense solutions to his partnerships with leaders and teams worldwide, with a particular focus on the social impact space.

Prior to founding Contempus Leadership, Dan led highly rated, multimillion-dollar leadership, organizational development, and coaching programs for global clients.

He holds International Coaching Federation (ICF) certification, the “gold standard” for quality and ethics in the coaching profession. Dan has graduated from Coach U’s introductory and advanced programs, totaling over 150 hours of coaching education. He also has a coaching certificate from the Association for Talent Development (ATD) and Ubuntu coaching certification.

Dan has earned an MA in Organizational Leadership and Learning from the George Washington University, an MBA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and a BA in International Relations & Political Science from Boston University.

Now residing in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood, he has called Boston, Washington, DC, and New York City home in recent years. In addition to his obsession with all things leadership, Dan enjoys entertaining friends and family (learning to cook from his Sicilian-American grandmother didn’t hurt), taking long walks with an iced coffee in hand, and exploring Boston’s dining scene with his wife, Heather.

For inspiration on ways to work together, some of Dan’s recent coaching and consulting engagements (in addition to private pay coaching clients) are detailed below.

  • -Conducted an organizational effectiveness benchmarking study for a type of global operating unit.

    -Coached multiple senior leaders one-on-one.

    -Facilitated a retreat for a 50-person team based in Africa.

    -Served on panel for a career development Q&A session hosted by an industry magazine.

    -Coached multiple international staff members one-on-one.

    -Redeveloped a supervisor orientation program for a large consulting firm.

    -Redeveloped a flagship leadership development program for a federal client.

    -Facilitated a retreat for a 20-person team based in Washington, DC.

    -Coached a director and specialist at a large consulting firm.

    -Coached a program manager at a large philanthropic organization.

    -Delivered a training-of-trainers for a newly designed course.

    -Designed an organization-wide course on managing a hybrid workforce.

    -Facilitated a supervisor orientation program for a large consulting firm.

    -Coached 4 directors/deputy directors at an international non-profit organization.

    -Facilitated a retreat for a 15-person team based in Washington, DC.

    -Advised 2 learning and development teams on effective program implementation.

    -Presented on modern career mapping to members of a national industry association.