WHO IS DARLENE CROSS?

Born and raised in Akron, Ohio, when it was the “Rubber Capital of the World,” I grew up endlessly trying to escape the foul stench of rubber on hot summer nights.  Over the years, I watched as a thriving city turned into a ghost town.  Jobs disappeared, families moved away, and the ominous absence of that familiar smell was always a reminder of days of prosperity that would never return.  Watching these events planted a passion in my young mind for the relationships between people and business, a passion that has never been satiated to this day. 

As a young adult, I worked meaningless jobs I thought were my only option until one day I walked into a General Electric office.  Little did I know back then how my life had taken a major turn and my professional career was born.  I spent my first day at GE in “Personnel” and just knew that was where I belonged.  Determined, I had my first promotion into Human Resources in nine months and was part of the HR management team within a year.  I never looked back—there wasn’t any time!

Excited about my growing career, I went to my boss to get approval to create and offer a career development workshop for our employees.  I wanted to share with others how to advance their careers the way I had learned to create success within my own.  I volunteered to design the course on my own time and offer it on a Saturday when the business was closed so there would be no cost to the company.  I was warned that no one would come on their day off and for no pay, but I got the approval I sought. 

To the amazement of senior management, the first Career Development Workshop was filled to capacity with several more classes scheduled to accommodate the demand!  The resulting success of many of the course graduates did not go without notice.  My Human Resources career focus in training and development was clear, and my professional life’s mission of working to help others grow and develop was officially launched. 

My corporate life took me on an amazing journey that lasted over 17 years and included over a dozen progressively challenging assignments in multiple G.E. businesses in multiple cities (see resume).  Motivated by a life-altering personal event along with corporate gypsy fatigue, I decided it was time to make a career change. 

I became a full-time student in 1994 and obtained my graduate degree in Counseling.  Never known for patience, I completed a three-year program in two.  Learning Family Systems therapy immediately gave me a new perspective on how people relate that I had never considered in all my HR training!  My dual education and careers have blended both my professions in a way that truly makes the whole greater than the sum of its parts.

I have been providing both counseling and business coaching services in my own businesses since 1997, loving the experience of small business after life in the Fortune 500 world.  And now the next generation has joined me as my youngest son and I bought and opened a franchise business in 2006, boasting one of the most successful start ups out of 121 locations.  Today we are most proud of surviving the 2009 economic downturn only to come out with a stronger business than we even dreamed of having before!

I am not a mental health professional offering life and business coaching.  I am a business professional who is also skilled as a mental health professional working in a thriving private practice in Henderson, Nevada.  I go to work every day helping individuals and couples with personal challenges, and I provide mentoring and business coaching to individuals and businesses.  I love what I do and look forward to each day, still sharing the lessons I have learned along the way, seeing them make a difference one person and one business at a time.