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Ouida Duncan appears as guest on iPEC's Energy Explorer platform.

Follow your knowing: How trusting your urge to pivot can lead to big things with Ouida Duncan, MBA

In this episode of the Energy Explorer Live Series, Ouida will join iPEC graduate and Certified Coach Grace Germond to share about how she shifted from working in advertising to her work with Duncan Tree Foundation—a move that happened over the course of many years. - Join us as Ouida talks with Grace and shares how and why the foundation pivoted from providing scoliosis surgeries to children around the world to offering mentoring and coaching services around STEM careers to underserved teens in the United States, an idea that had been brewing for seven years. In this compelling conversion Ouida will also talk about how her childhood experiences in Jamaica have helped shape her path as well as her desire to bring balance to people’s lives through what she calls a four legged–chair approach to balance—physical, emotional, financial, and spiritual healing.

Program OverviewOperated by Duncan Tree Ventures, Inc. (a tax-deductible 501(c)(3) public charity), In The Middle (ITM) is an evidence-based emotional intelligence and leadership development experience. Developed and delivered in direct partnership with iPEC Coaching and White River Consulting—the M/WBE-certified for-profit arm founded by Ouida Duncan—the program is architected to build capacity for indispensable human skills. In a professional landscape rapidly automated by artificial intelligence, the ITM initiative addresses the "interiority problem" by workshopping the irreplaceable human capacities that algorithms cannot replicate: Attunement, discernment, presence, and emotional resilience.

The Four Pillars of WholenessThe program rejects abstract corporate fluff in favor of an integrated framework addressing the complete professional through the Four Pillars of Wholeness. Research consistently links this social and emotional wellbeing baseline to measurable professional outcomes:

• Physical Wholeness: Focusing on body baseline metrics such as brain health, healthy lifestyle choices, mindful eating, and sleep as a primary wellness pillar.
• Emotional Wholeness: The heart of the ITM program—building deep self-awareness, authentic trust, vulnerability, emotional vocabulary, and resilient peer support systems.
• Spiritual / Mindfulness: Weaving gratitude, meditation, personal alignment, and intergenerational wisdom through every stage of professional development.
• Financial Wholeness: Providing real-world tools for career and personal resilience, including debt freedom, credit literacy, emergency funds, and professional agility.

Who We Serve & How We Benefit ThemITM bridges generational, corporate, and institutional gaps to support professionals navigating critical life milestones and career changes:

• Individuals in Transition & Entry-Level Professionals: Empowering Gen-Zers and emerging talent with the emotional intelligence frameworks, self-awareness, and practical guidance needed to handle professional shifts.
• Professional Associations: Differentiating professional development (PD) offerings with customized ITM workshops that attract, engage, and retain emerging younger members.
• Organizations & Institutions: Enhancing team dynamics and leadership pipelines through custom-tailored corporate boot camps featuring clear, measurable outcomes and flexible in-person, virtual, or hybrid delivery options.
• Government Agencies: Facilitating large-scale, institutional professional development mandates through the programmatic capabilities of our M/WBE-certified partner, White River Consulting.

Delivery & EngagementLed by certified industry experts, including founder Ouida Duncan, MBA, CPC, ELI-MP, the ITM framework brings actionable insights directly to the workforce via 5-Week Core Boot Camps, standalone corporate workshops, and targeted multimedia coaching highlights on the Duncan Tree Podcast with Ouida. Backed by structured strategic alliances, corporate stakeholders, and public donations, the ITM initiative invites organizations and community members to invest directly in the human elements that drive institutional evolution.