Before I became Alison Tibbetts, Life Coach/Enneagram Practitioner/Entrepreneur, I was an overachieving, exhausted corporate executive. I started my career as a nurse, driven by a desire to help people, but my ambition led me to senior roles in biotech. Despite a life full of achievements and experiences, I was deeply unhappy and disconnected from my true self, constantly exhausted and unfulfilled.
After a traumatic breakup, a friend suggested I hire a life coach. This marked the beginning of a transformative journey. Despite trying various quick fixes and reading all the self help books I could get my hands on, nothing seemed to work until I embraced coaching. Hiring a coach ultimately helped me uncover my true self and helped me create a life of happiness and ease. It was the best decision I have ever made and changed my life forever.
My Story
So What Changed?
I vividly remember the day a friend advised me to get a coach. Despite never having tried therapy or coaching before, I decided to give it a shot, admitting I needed help. Working with a coach for months transformed my life, taking me from a people-pleasing, overachieving, worn-out business executive to a vibrant, open-hearted woman living life on my own terms. I no longer felt obligated to conform to societal expectations or seek validation from others. Instead, I focused on myself, identifying and overcoming self-sabotaging behaviors and defense mechanisms that were holding me back.
This inner work led me to quit my senior executive job from a beach in St. Martin and start my own biotech consulting company. While the work was intellectually stimulating, it didn’t satisfy my soul and my desire to help people. I made the decision to go back to school to become a certified coach and Enneagram practitioner. Today, I am ready to help you embark on your own journey of self-discovery, enabling you to lead an authentic life unique to you. And yes, I am still a scientist—proving that we can be many things in this life without having to choose just one.
My style is conversational and easy with a lot of humor. But I will not hold back from being honest. I promise you will have a lot of ah ha moments and we will laugh along the way.
I am deeply committed to my clients and will be your biggest cheerleader.
I use a holistic approach to my coaching; grounded in science and evidence with just a touch of “woo”. If you are into it, we can add in meditation techniques and reiki healing to your coaching plan.
I’m a total geek and love resources. You can expect suggestions from me for books, podcasts, classes, and more! Coaching doesn’t have to stop at the end of each session.
I combine all my education and life experiences (good and bad) to create a unique coaching experience.
Unlike many personality assessments that focus primarily on behaviors or traits, the Enneagram explores the deeper motivations and unconscious patterns that drive how we think, feel, relate, and respond to stress. It helps us understand not only WHAT we do, but WHY we do it.
Why I Believe In The Enneagram
Many other personality tools identify patterns, strengths, or communication styles, but the Enneagram goes deeper into the unconscious motivations, fears, and coping strategies that drive our behavior.
I spent 20+ years in Corporate America taking all sorts of personality tests and assessments only to hear feedback about my personality and behavior: what I should do less of, how I should communicate differently, how I needed to change. But underneath all of that was a question these assessments could not answer: Why was I doing these things in the first place?
For me, discovering the Enneagram changed everything. For the first time, I could see that my patterns were not signs that I was bad or broken. They were coping strategies. They were ways I learned to protect myself, gain approval, avoid pain, or feel safe. That understanding replaced shame with compassion. And this deeper self-awareness allowed me to make meaningful, lasting changes in my life.
The Enneagram doesn’t ask us to become someone else. It helps us come home to ourselves with greater awareness, self-compassion, and choice so we can be the best version of ourselves.
Certifications & Education
Science & Research
Enneagram Coaching & Personal Development
MPH in Biostatistics From Boston University
MPH in Epidemiology from Boston University
RN/BSN from University of Pennsylvania
Guest lecturer at Boston University School of Medicine and School of Public Health
Certified Integrated Energy Therapy Practitioner
Integrative Wellness
Ayurvedic Health Counselor through Boston Ayurveda School
Master Level Reiki Practitioner, certified through Usui Reiki International
Leadership Coaching Certification from Brown University
Certified ACC Coach through International Coaching Federation
Certified Enneagram Practitioner through The Integrative Enneagram Program
