We illuminate possibilities and activate outcomes
Leadership isn’t about perfection. It’s about capability, connection, and confidence.
The Light The Way team brings decades of lived experience, deep curiosity, and a human-centered approach to help leaders thrive by facilitating interactive, insight-driven development.
Samantha believes leadership becomes powerful the moment our words become clear.
For 20 years, she’s supported, trained, and advised leaders to elevate awareness and build understanding of critical initiatives, programs, and organizations, helping leaders articulate vision, navigate complexity, and align teams around what matters most.
Before launching Light the Way, Samantha founded an award-winning communications consultancy recognized by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), advising organizations across healthcare, education, advocacy, and technology sectors. Through that work, she partnered closely with executives and senior leaders, sharpening her ability to see where communication gaps, misalignment, and unclear expectations quietly erode performance.
Her work creates space for honest reflection, courageous conversations, and meaningful behavioral change. Samantha brings strategic rigor, thoughtful facilitation, and a deep belief that when human brilliance is brought into focus, leadership becomes less about pressure — and more about possibility.
Samantha lends her insights to organizations like Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center, Georgetown University, Emory University Advancement and Alumni Engagement, CHIEF, Paradigm for Parity, and Veritux, and she is honored to contribute her expertise as an awards judge for PRSA and Philadelphia250.
Samantha Carroll, MBA
Annette believes leadership begins with self-awareness - and strengthens through intentional practice.
Before becoming an executive coach, Annette spent more than a decade leading inside some of the world’s most complex technology organizations, including Google and Cisco. She supported high-performing teams across product, sales enablement, marketing, and community strategy; navigating scale, innovation, and constant change. She understands firsthand what it feels like to be a capable manager holding ambitious targets, evolving priorities, and the responsibility of leading others through uncertainty.
As a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) and an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) through the International Coaching Federation, she supports emerging and experienced leaders as they refine their voice, presence, and impact. Her coaching work focuses on the development of clarity, resilience, and trust - helping individuals lead from values driven vision rather than reactivity.
Annette believes that when leaders reconnect to their own strengths and humanity, they create teams that are grounded, aligned, and capable. Because when human brilliance is brought into focus, leadership becomes both more effective - and more human.
Annette lends her insights to organizations like UCLA Anderson School of Management, Emory University Advancement and Alumni Engagement, CHIEF, Creative Mornings, The SF Battery and the Women in Tech Conference, and she is honored to contribute her expertise as a board member for the International Coaching Federation Foundation, the UCLA Anderson Board of Directors and the UCLA Anderson Women’s Alumni Association.
Annette Blum Pearson, MBA
We’re here for you.
You don’t have to navigate growth alone.
Reach out. Introduce yourself. We’ll take it from there.
