Meet Andrew.
I am a coach, facilitator, and barber. A bridge-builder by nature and community organizer by training, my work centers on helping people lean into curiosity and lead with integrity.
I grew up as a white Polish American man in a multiracial, working-class family in Detroit and its suburbs—often feeling in-between communities. That experience shaped how I move through the world and showed me how being in community requires collaborating across difference.
That conviction to understand and influence broader systems led me to community organizing. Working with the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless while in undergrad at Loyola and later with MOSES in Detroit, I worked alongside hundreds of community members, faith leaders, and union workers. I learned how critical connections can outweigh critical mass—and that lasting change happens when the people most affected are the ones driving it. What we practice on a small scale creates larger patterns.
From there, I facilitated intergroup dialogues at the University of Maryland, studied leadership and human development at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and consulted with organizations working to build more inclusive teams and equitable systems. Along the way, I came to see how knowing better doesn’t always mean doing better. My coaching focuses on exactly this: closing the gap between our values and actions. Even if we know what we need to do, we may still need help moving through the challenges holding us back.
Today, I coach students and facilitate the OB 374: Interpersonal Dynamics course at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, helping students develop self-awareness and practical interpersonal skills to cultivate trust and connection. I also cut hair at Dax Lee's Barber & Apothecary in Oakland. Turns out a good haircut and a good conversation are both building blocks of community.
I hold a B.A. in Sociology from Loyola University Chicago and an Ed.M. in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard, where I was an Equity & Inclusion Fellow. I earned an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) credential through the International Coaching Federation and am a certified conflict mediator with SEEDS Community Resolution Center. I’m based in Oakland with my partner, Nimah.
