About Rhonda

The Alchemy of Becoming

I’m Rhonda Reliford—a storyteller, philosopher, and fierce believer in transformation. This space was born from a single, soul-stirring prayer I uttered more than a decade ago—one that quietly reoriented the course of my life.

What followed dismantled much of what I thought I understood about love, purpose, healing, and the formative power of words. Over time, lived experience, rigorous study, and contemplative practice converged into a way of working with complexity—internally and relationally—that now informs everything I do.

Today, I work with individuals navigating periods of transition, leadership evolution, and inner reorientation through one-to-one conversations and guided inquiry. Grounded in conscious leadership, the focus is discernment: learning how to listen with care, recognize what is emerging, and move forward with clarity and integrity as life reorganizes itself.

Philosophy, Consciousness, and the Inner Architecture of Change

As a philosopher, my work is rooted in the study of consciousness—what some call the soul, and what I often understand as a vital, dynamic energy that carries memory, perception, and continuity across the human experience.

I approach these subjects as meaningful windows into how human beings heal, choose, and evolve. Consciousness, to me is the quiet architecture beneath our decisions and the reservoir from which transformation becomes possible.

Mysticism is also part of my lens, understood as a dimension of human experience that reveals our layered, relational, and ever-becoming nature. It points to ways of knowing that arise through presence, attunement, and lived encounter, shaping how meaning is integrated rather than merely interpreted.

My life has been shaped by moments that exceed ordinary understanding and leave enduring imprints on the soul. These transpersonal experiences called me into a deeper sense of responsibility, humility, and sustained awareness.

These moments remind us that we are more than what the world reflects back to us—formed through layers of time and becoming..

Executive Leadership and Strategic Advising

Professionally, I serve as Executive Director of the Office of the President at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), where I work in close partnership with the President and Board of Trustees on institutional strategy, governance, and executive decision-making.

My role centers on advising leadership at moments where clarity, judgment, and alignment matter most—supporting long-range vision, navigating complexity, and translating insight into responsible action. This includes guiding strategic direction around institutional priorities and advancement initiatives, ensuring that growth, partnerships, and philanthropic efforts are aligned with mission, values, and long-term impact. This work requires discernment, relational intelligence, and the ability to hold competing priorities without losing coherence.

Over time, I’ve learned that effective leadership is not driven by control or certainty, but by presence: the capacity to listen well, to communicate boundaries clearly, to repair after rupture, and to remain steady under pressure. These are the same capacities that shape healthy organizations, ethical leadership, and resilient cultures.

Motherhood, Leadership, and the Relational Ground of Coaching

Alongside my professional life, motherhood has been one of my most profound teachers. Over more than two decades, raising and guiding my children has deepened my understanding of emotional intelligence, intuitive self-trust, and the long arc of human development.

Parenting, for me, is not separate from leadership—it is one of its earliest and most formative expressions. Long before leadership shows up in titles or roles, it is formed in relationships: through presence, language, emotional regulation, and repair. These relational dynamics shape how we come to lead others, and how we learn to lead ourselves.

This understanding informs my work as a coach and guide. Whether someone comes to this work as a leader, a parent, or simply a human navigating change, the focus remains the same: cultivating clarity, responsibility, and inner coherence so that growth is sustainable and grounded.

Closing

This space holds the full human experience—the grounded and the mystical, the analytical and the intuitive. It is a place for inquiry into consciousness, healing, leadership, memory, and transformation.

Whether you are here to question, to remember, to integrate, or to step forward with greater clarity—welcome.

We are not here to perform change.
We are here to embody it.