Lizzie Rodriguez is a community psychologist, restorative practitioner, educator, and executive coach. She is the founder and principal of Thrive Coaching and Executive Training.
In her work, Lizzie integrates social, cultural, and environmental influences to promote positive change, wellbeing, and empowerment at individual and system levels. Lizzie brings an evidence based liberatory approach to criminal justice systems, K-12 schools, business & government entities, and other diverse community settings. She is passionate about helping individuals unlock their potential through individual coaching, group trainings, conflict resolution, and facilitating thinktanks.
Lizzie earned her MA in the Community, Liberation, Indigenous, and Ecological Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, receiving the Herman Warsh Scholarship and PGIAA’s Wendy Davee Award for Service. Her research includes measuring the efficacy of trauma healing and reconciliation programs on the wellbeing of individuals and communities in post-conflict Central African settings.
She is currently serving on the Santa Barbara Fire & Police Commission, an Executive Board Member of the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the Advisory Council for the Strategic Alliance to Fight Exploitation (SAFE), an alliance of movement-minded partners from a variety of sectors united to address sex and labor trafficking in Santa Barbara County.
Her current projects include teaching social-emotional learning in Lompoc Federal Prison and serving as a member of the Santa Barbara CLUE/League of Women Voters Criminal Justice Reform Workgroup, advocating for reduced jail population among vulnerable individuals such as the unsheltered and individuals experiencing mental health challenges.
As a child when asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, not really knowing what it meant, she would respond, “I want to build bridges in Africa”. Many years later she found herself facilitating trauma healing and reconciliation workshops in Central Africa, bringing together genocidaires and their survivors for the purpose of healing, reconciliation, and peace building.
Today, Lizzie is known as a bridge builder and motivator; whether it’s mediating adversarial relationships towards common ground or bridging individuals from limiting beliefs toward infinite possibilities, Lizzie help individuals and teams nurture a growth mindset to expand their vision of what’s possible and cultivate success and wellbeing.
