shift
is happening
Welcome to Make Shift Happen International ®
After years of helping leaders and organizations navigate complex transitions under various names, we’re thrilled to announce our new identity: Make Shift Happen International. Our founder’s names has also changed, but her mission remains the same—to inspire the courage, capacity and competence leaders need to navigate hard transitions and evoke transformational change.
Why the Shift?
Because growth requires evolution. We’ve streamlined our services to focus on what we do best: empowering mission-driven leaders through transformational speaking, coaching, and facilitation. Whether you’re facing organizational restructuring, leadership turnover, or simply seeking clarity in a sea of change, we’re here to help you make shift happen—personally and professionally.
What’s Next?
While we’re in the process of building our new digital home, here’s what you can do right now:
Book Marissa to Speak:
Invite Marissa Q. Coleman to deliver an unforgettable keynote, workshop, or facilitated conversation for your next event.
Book a Call
Schedule a call to discuss how we can support your leadership journey or organization’s next big shift.
Book Marissa to Speak:
Invite Marissa Q. Coleman to deliver an unforgettable keynote, workshop, or facilitated conversation for your next event.
Visit Our Shop
Explore resources, tools, and merchandise designed to help you lead with clarity and confidence.
Book a Call
Schedule a call to discuss how we can support your leadership journey or organization’s next big shift.
CEO | Speaker | Transformation & Governance Strategist
Marissa Q. Coleman, MSW
is a seasoned executive leader, former CEO, interim executive, and trusted advisor to founders and mission-driven organizations navigating growth, transition, and complexity.
With more than two decades of experience spanning nonprofit leadership, interim executive roles, organizational consulting, and executive advisement, Marissa is known for her ability to name what others sense but struggle to articulate — and to help leaders move forward with clarity, confidence, and capacity.
She has served as CEO, Chief of Staff, Vice President of Operations, and interim executive across organizations at critical inflection points, including executive transitions, rapid growth, cultural strain, and restructuring. Her work often sits at the intersection of leadership, systems, and relational dynamics — particularly in environments where the vision is strong, but execution has become strained or unsustainable.
Marissa’s approach blends deep listening, systems thinking, leadership diagnostics, and practical execution. She regularly partners with boards, founders, and senior leadership teams to assess organizational health, clarify decision-making authority, strengthen leadership capacity, and implement structures that support sustainable change.
She is the founder and principal of Make Shift Happen International, where she provides retained and fractional leadership, interim support, diagnostics, facilitation, and speaking for leaders who are ready to address what’s been holding them back and move forward with intention.
Marissa holds a Master of Social Work degree, with additional certifications in change management, relationship systems coaching, breathwork, and emotional intelligence.