Today we’d like to introduce you to Courtney Bishop.
Courtney, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story is not a straight line. It is a series of choices, some intentional and some born out of necessity, that slowly taught me how much power we actually have when we pause, reflect, and choose differently.
I began my career in education, serving as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, and public school principal. I loved the work deeply. I loved learners, educators, and the complex human systems within schools. But what stayed with me most was not curriculum or compliance. It was people. I became fascinated by how adults learn, how beliefs shape behavior, and how often we expect change from children without giving adults the tools, space, or permission to do their own work first.
That curiosity led me back to school. I earned my Doctorate in Educational Leadership, with my research focusing on growth mindset theory and self-perceptions. At its core, my work explored how the stories we tell ourselves shape what we believe is possible. What I found, both in the data and in real life, was simple and profound. When adults feel psychologically safe and learning is free from blame, shame, and guilt, real growth becomes possible.
At the same time, my personal life was stretching me in ways no textbook ever could. I am a neurodivergent wife and mama raising neurodivergent children. Regulation, resilience, and forward motion were not just professional concepts. They were survival skills in our home. I had to learn, in real time, how to slow down, name what was happening in my body and brain, and choose responses that aligned with the kind of human and parent I wanted to be.
That intersection of education, neuroscience, lived experience, and leadership is where my work was born.
I founded Yes, AND Conscious Coaching to support adults first because they set the tone in homes, classrooms, workplaces, and communities. My work centers on teaching accessible, brain science-backed tools that help humans move through hard things with clarity, compassion, and intention. Not to fix themselves, but to build skills. Skills for regulation. Skills for resilience. Skills for choosing forward motion even when life feels heavy.
Today, I design and facilitate learning experiences, courses, and coaching spaces that honor real life. The messy middle. The pauses. The conversations that happen at kitchen tables, in cars, and after long days. Everything I create comes from my home, head, and heart, and is meant to be used in real time by real humans in their own best learning spaces.
I did not set out to build a brand. I set out to be helpful. Over time, that commitment to choosing consciously, challenging with connection, and continuing to live in forward motion became the work I am proud to share with my community.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, it has not been a smooth road. And I no longer believe it is supposed to be.
Much of my journey has lived in the tension between what looked successful on the outside and what felt sustainable on the inside. In education and leadership, I often found myself navigating systems that moved fast, demanded more, and rarely made space for the human nervous system behind the role. I carried responsibility for outcomes, people, and communities while quietly learning how to regulate my own stress and expectations.
Personally, raising a neurodivergent family while leading in high-capacity roles stretched me in ways I could not outsource or outwork. There were seasons of deep exhaustion, moments of self-doubt, and times when I had to confront my own conditioning around productivity, perfection, and worth. I learned quickly that being capable does not mean being limitless.
Professionally, stepping away from traditional systems to build something of my own came with uncertainty. Letting go of titles, predictability, and external validation required trust. Trust in my work. Trust in my voice. Trust that slowing down and doing things differently was not failure, but alignment.
The greatest struggle, and ultimately the greatest gift, was learning to pause instead of push. To listen instead of override. To choose forward motion that honored my values, my family, and my nervous system. Those struggles are the reason my work looks the way it does today. They taught me that resilience is not about powering through, but about building the skills to stay present, connected, and intentional when things are hard.
I would not change the road. Every challenge clarified the work I can now offer others.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
At the heart of my work is adult learning. I design and facilitate learning experiences that help adults build the skills they need to regulate, reflect, and move forward through complexity, both personally and professionally.
I specialize in teaching accessible, brain science-backed tools that support regulation, resilience, and intentional decision-making. My work lives at the intersection of neuroscience, education, leadership, and lived experience. I support parents, educators, leaders, and organizations who want to move away from blame, shame, and quick fixes and toward clarity, shared language, and sustainable growth.
I am known for making complex concepts feel human and usable. I do not believe learning should exist solely in theory. Everything I teach is meant to be used in real time, in real homes, classrooms, workplaces, and relationships. My approach is adult-first because when adults build their own skills, the impact ripples outward to children, teams, and communities.
What sets my work apart is that it honors the nervous system. I design learning that allows people to slow down, notice what is happening internally, and choose responses aligned with their values. There is built in permission to pause, reflect, and process. Learning is free from judgment and grounded in psychological safety, because that is where true growth happens.
I am most proud that my work is both deeply personal and widely applicable. It was built through lived experience, research, and years of walking alongside humans in moments of challenge and change. I am proud that the tools I teach help people feel less alone, more capable, and more connected to themselves and others. I am proud that the work does not ask people to become someone new, but supports them in becoming more of who they already are.
Ultimately, my work is about forward motion. Not perfection. Not urgency. But conscious, connected steps that honor real life and create lasting change.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I think we often overcomplicate mentorship and networking. For me, the most meaningful connections have never come from cold outreach or transactional spaces. They have come from shared values, shared curiosity, and shared work.
My advice is to start by being genuinely interested rather than trying to impress. Pay attention to the people whose work makes you pause, reflect, or think differently. Read what they write. Listen to how they speak about people. Notice how they show up when things are hard. Those are often the humans worth learning from.
I have found that mentorship grows best when it is built slowly and organically. Ask thoughtful questions. Offer your perspective when invited. Show up consistently and do good work. Over time, relationships evolve into guidance, collaboration, and mutual respect.
When it comes to networking, I focus less on visibility and more on connection. I look for rooms where learning is happening, where people are willing to think out loud, and where generosity is valued. I am not trying to collect contacts. I am building relationships.
What has worked best for me is leading with authenticity. Sharing my thinking. Naming what I am curious about. Being honest about what I am learning and where I am still growing. The right people tend to lean in when you show up as yourself.
I also believe mentorship does not always look like a single person. Some of my greatest mentors have been books, colleagues, clients, and even my children. Each has taught me something about leadership, resilience, and forward motion.
At the end of the day, meaningful connection is not about proximity to power. It is about proximity to people who help you become more aligned, more capable, and more grounded in who you are.
Pricing:
- Course: Raising Regulated AND Resilient Humans $49
- Hourly Pricing Available Upon Request
- Daily Pricing Available Upon Request
- Presentation/Speaking Pricing Available Upon Request
Contact Info:
- Website: https://growth.yesandprobably.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yesandprobably/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yes.and.conscious.coaching
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-bishop/
- Course: https://growth.yesandprobably.org/rrrh
