Meet Amarilis!
Amarilis Pérez Pullen is the Founder and Principal of Raíces Coaching and Consulting, a certified executive coach, and a member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF). With 20 years of experience across nonprofit leadership, social justice, and philanthropy, she leverages her toolbox to support Black, Brown, Indigenous, Latine, and People of Color in their leadership. Her work is rooted in a commitment to supporting leaders stand in their purpose and power. Her leadership has been shaped by prior roles at the Perrin Family Foundation and the Educational Alliance, where she contributed to youth development, social justice grantmaking, and movement-building strategies that inform her current practice.
Amarilis approaches leadership and organizational development through the lens of justice, equity, and collective power. She believes identity and lived experience are a leadership strength. She supports leaders in reclaiming their power and leading from a place of authenticity. She has supported leaders across generations and career stages — from executives shaping philanthropic strategy, to mid-career professionals stepping into senior roles, to young leaders building their vision, and elders reimagining their legacy. Across all these experiences, Amarilis creates pathways for leaders to stand firmly in their purpose, connect to community, and lead transformational change.
Amarilis’s academic journey includes a Bachelor of Arts from Temple University, a Masters in Social Work from Columbia University, and a Coaching Certification from the Hudson Institute of Coaching. Beyond her professional endeavors, she finds joy in connecting to the land, practicing reiki and honoring her Dominican heritage and ancestors.
What are your raíces/roots? I can’t wait to hear your story and support your journey.
In Solidarity,
Amarilis Pérez Pullen
My Journey Story: Finding my Rootedness
When will I arrive? Ever since I could remember, I’ve been so preoccupied with the concept of “arriving” at success. That if I checked every box on society's status quo lists of accomplishments; school, career, marriage, that I would arrive at the mountain top of success. I had experienced burnout, overwork, underpay, harm and trauma no matter where I was in my career and my personal journey. I knew in my gut that I needed a deep mindset shift. Instead of thinking “when” and “what” questions to “how” questions.
How do I meet this moment?
How do I listen to the messages from my mind, body and heart?
How will this impact my life in tomorrow, in three months, a year, five years?
By exploring the how, I became rooted in my understanding that my journey, my transformation and my success are not linear.
As Adrienne Marie Brown says “Transformation doesn’t happen in a linear way, at least not one we can always track. It happens in cycles, convergences, explosions. If we release the framework of failure, we can realize that we are in iterative cycles, and we can keep asking ourselves—how do I learn from this?”
The belief that my worth is directly related to my accomplishments did not come from thin air. It is threaded into the fabric of race, systemic oppression and power in this country. As a women of color, these invisible whispers that say I am unworthy of success no matter my talents, work ethic, leadership and success are living rent free in my mind. It was time to break intergenerational cycles of trauma. And I learned the hard way that this “arriving” is a false destination, because our journeys are not linear.
I share my story because the beginning of all of our leadership stories start with our most vital super power-vulnerability. It’s time to live fully into your purpose and stop folding yourself into spaces that deny who you are and the power of your raíces.
It’s time to unpack your own leadership journey and tap into coaching as a space for transformative leadership. Let’s connect!
Start your coaching journey today!
“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive, and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”
-Maya Angelou