Every person deserves to be seen, valued, and given the opportunity to thrive.

Leadership is the practice of making that possible.

People often tell me they feel both challenged and deeply understood in the spaces I facilitate.

My work blends behavioral science, leadership strategy, communication, emotional intelligence, nervous system awareness, reflection, and practical application in ways that help people connect leadership concepts to real life. I ask honest questions. I challenge assumptions. I help people recognize patterns, build language around what they are experiencing, and develop leadership practices that feel sustainable, grounded, and human.

There is a lot of laughter in my work. There is also accountability, reflection, courage, meaningful conversation, and transformation. Whether I’m facilitating leadership retreats, coaching executives, speaking on stages, or working with organizations, my goal is always the same: helping people lead with more awareness, clarity, courage, and care.

For years, I watched brilliant, capable people slowly disconnect from themselves inside environments that prioritized performance while overlooking humanity. I watched leaders carry impossible expectations without meaningful support. I watched women question their instincts, silence themselves in rooms that did not feel safe, and struggle to find language for what they were experiencing.

My research has given structure and language to patterns I had already witnessed throughout my career. Leadership impacts far more than productivity and outcomes. It shapes trust, belonging, confidence, emotional well being, communication, creativity, and the overall way people experience work and themselves.

The work I do today is rooted in helping leaders and organizations create healthier, more sustainable, more human ways of leading people.

This work deeply matters to me.

People Leadership &
Human Resources

The Courage to Lead People Well

Dr. Christine Fonner has spent more than 25 years studying, practicing, and teaching what it actually takes to lead people well. Her work was built through lived experience long before it became research. She has led and worked across corporate, nonprofit, startup, and educational environments, helping organizations navigate growth, culture, communication, leadership development, and the realities of people dynamics inside complex systems.

One of the defining experiences in Christine’s career came while helping scale a company from $5 million to $500 million in just two years. That level of growth sharpened her strategic thinking and deepened her understanding of the human impact leadership has on people, teams, relationships, and organizational culture. It also reinforced a belief that continues to shape all of her work today: how leaders treat people matters just as much as the outcomes they achieve.

Christine’s doctoral research focused on the impact of toxic leadership on women at work and the psychological effects leadership has on safety, belonging, esteem, and long-term well-being. Through that work, she developed the foundation for what she now calls Radical Care Leadership, an approach rooted in accountability, communication, emotional intelligence, trust, and courageous people leadership. Her work challenges leaders to move beyond surface-level leadership strategies and build cultures where people can thrive, contribute meaningfully, and experience work in healthier ways.

She holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership, a Master’s degree in Transformational Leadership and Change Management, and a Bachelor’s degree in K–12 Bilingual and ESL Education. She is also the founder of Christine Fonner Coaching, a leadership development and adventure learning institute focused on transformational growth through leadership, experiential learning, and human connection.

Christine is known for her directness, warmth, humor, storytelling, and ability to help people feel both challenged and deeply understood. Whether facilitating leadership retreats, speaking on stages, coaching executives, or working alongside organizations, she creates experiences that blend behavioral science, leadership strategy, emotional intelligence, nervous system awareness, and practical application in ways that create lasting transformation.

A self described nomadic wanderer, Christine splits her time between visiting clients across the country and enjoying time in Colorado, New Mexico, and Ohio with her husband Josh and their dogs Chewey, Reese, and Buddy. Much of her leadership philosophy is grounded in the outdoors, where she continues to integrate adventure, reflection, presence, and joy into both her life and leadership practice.

Most of my best thinking happens outside.

You’ll usually find me mountain biking, skiing, hiking, traveling, or sitting around a fire with people I love. Nature continues to shape how I think about leadership because it reminds me how important presence, courage, perspective, joy, rest, and connection really are.

I believe people lead differently when they feel connected to themselves and nature. Adventure, movement, reflection, and spaciousness are not separate from my leadership philosophy. They are central to it.