About Us
Our Story
Back in early 2020, at a time when they didn’t know one another, Jennifer and Kim each decided to independently leave their advertising careers behind and take some time off to travel, regroup and figure out what’s next. The pandemic halted those dreams of travel, but they both quickly pivoted and enrolled in iPECs virtual coach training program.
About midway through the 9-month program, Jennifer and Kim were in the same virtual module, with about 40 other people. After the program, they started noticing each other’s social media presence and realized that their stories were quite similar. They met up on zoom and quickly realized how much their stories overlapped. They both spent 15+ years in the ad world, Kim on the account side, Jennifer on the creative. They both loved working in the high energy creative industry, but also majorly felt the effects of burnout.
From the moment they started swapping stories, they were aligned on what they were here to create in their businesses and how they wanted to support people in the creative industry. After months of working behind the scenes, Jennifer and Kim officially launched Create + Lead in 2021. They developed Create + Lead because its offerings are what they wished they had access to back in their own agency journeys. The focus is on how to thrive in careers in an empowered, confident and balanced way.
Meet Jennifer
“I’m passionate about resourcing people to thrive and creating their dream career right where they are.”
Jennifer Schwartz is a Life and Professional Coach inviting passionate high achievers to define their own versions of success, purpose and thriving. She partners with people to create aligned action from their heartspace instead of their mindspace. Jennifer’s an advocate for dreaming bigger and instilling techniques that help people lead with intuition, consciousness and mindfulness in and out of the workplace.
Before coaching, Jennifer worked as a Creative Director in advertising for 15 years, partnering with mega brands including Porsche, Samsung, Dell, Crate & Barrel and Oreo. She helped big brands put their voices out into the world while creating multi-million dollar campaigns. She was quoted in Forbes Magazine about bringing mindfulness into the workplace and often found herself asking deeper questions about purpose. She acted on the desire to combine her passion for mindfulness with her passion for creativity through helping individuals (in place of companies) reinvent themselves. Jennifer enjoys discovering new neighborhoods in her hometown of New York City while venturing to the beach at any chance.
Jennifer is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) through the ICF and an iPEC Certified Professional Coach (CPC) and Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner (ELI–MP)
Meet Kim
“I love seeing our clients step into their power, become fully engaged in their lives and work, and walk away with confidence.”
Kim is a coach and recruiter for the advertising industry. She splits her time working as Coach for Create + Lead and a Senior Recruiter for Kay + Black. Her passion is focused on empowering people to discover more agency in their lives and careers and to find work and roles that light them up. She helps people to move from where they are now to where they REALLY want to be, and takes incredible joy in seeing her clients tap into their highest potential. She is a partner, a trusted advisor and a support system, working with her clients to stay focused on their goals and their dreams.
Prior to coaching, she spent 17 years leading teams in advertising agencies like Ogilvy, TBWA\, Grey and GSD&M working with iconic global companies like Hilton, IBM, Kraft and Kellogg’s. She comes to the table with a deep understanding of marketing, agency life and how it all works together.
Kim is an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) through the ICF, a Certified Professional Coach (CPC) and Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner (ELI–MP) through iPEC and trained in Positive Intelligence.
Jennifer and Kim also share their love of travel, the outdoors, music, yoga, the beach and all things fun!
Get in touch
Let’s talk about working together and what’s best for your team’s specific needs