We BELIEVE YOU CAN

Realize Your Potential

Without Compromise

Trish Torizzo, CEO Ascentiya

Meet Founder Trish Torizzo

Career Coach + Corporate Advisor

Trish Torizzo is a senior business executive with over 25 years working in Fortune 500 companies on major transformational strategies.  Trish has held Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer positions at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and more recently at Hologic.  Prior to those positions, Trish held various leadership positions at Accenture, National Grid, Charles River Laboratories and Boston Scientific. Throughout her career, she has led large teams spanning the globe to deliver complex and large scale business and system transformations.  She has recently moved into independent consulting where she is helping companies define and successfully execute on their business strategies.  Trish is an ICF (International Coaching Federation) certified career and life coach.  Trish is a mother of two and in their spare time they enjoy skiing, hiking, and traveling to new and interesting places around the world to soak up local culture.

Hello and Welcome to Ascentiya,

It’s hard to believe that my professional career started 25 years ago. It’s been an incredible journey and I feel fortunate that I’ve had the opportunity to learn and grow while doing what I loved.

Without a doubt, the best part about my career was having the opportunity to create hundreds of positions, from individual contributor to senior executive, and then recruiting women into those positions. Providing those opportunities, and inspiring women to rise and stretch into those roles with confidence is what I loved most about my work.  I’ve now decided to focus on doing what I loved most…..working with women to stretch and get exactly what they want from their careers.  

Collectively as women we have come a long way in the workforce.   For equal pay and representation in all fields and levels, we still have a ways to go.  And when we as individuals, strategically manage our careers, we individually and collectively begin to close the gender pay parity gap, and we together will drive to a place in time where women are equally represented in the highest paying fields and equally represented across all levels.   It’s up to us as individuals to move that needle, and in doing so we will change our experience as well as pave the way for all those women who will follow.

As a young woman who grew up in a place where ‘college’ was not discussed, I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would not only attend college, but that I would go on to become a corporate executive. And when I reflect back and think about the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of that story,  two things come to mind.  First; I made a goal-driven career plan and Second; I surrounded myself with people to cheer me on, encourage me to keep going, hold me accountable, and to give me feedback that was sometimes hard to hear but critical to accept.   Those people, all of them along the way, were essentially my coaches, and having them in my life made it all possible.

Let’s do this! Let’s rise together! Let’s break the ‘wildest dreams’ frame together!

Trish

Our Coaches

ELLEN ARCHER CAREER COACH + CORPORATE ADVISOR

Ellen Archer

CAREER COACH + CORPORATE ADVISOR

Ellen Archer is business executive with over 25 years experience leading corporate transformations. She has led publishing divisions at The Walt Disney Company, Penguin Random House, and Simon & Schuster. Most recently, Ellen was the President of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books & Media, leading a team of 180 publishing professionals across a portfolio of children’s and adult book publishing, audio, and video production. She is the Board Chair of Girls Write Now, a NYC based nonprofit and an ICF (International Coaching Federation) certified career and life coach. She is the mother of two adult sons and lives in NYC with her husband of 31 years.

Carol Digan

CAREER COACH + CORPORATE ADVISOR

Carol is a senior HR Executive with over 25 years experience in developing talent strategies and coaching leaders in complex, high growth technology and healthcare companies. Her experience coaching and advising leaders spans all functions and career levels, amidst a wide range of business conditions, organizational complexities and individual considerations.

Carol holds certifications in Marshall Goldsmith’s Stakeholder Centered Coaching (ICF accredited), multi-rater feedback assessments, Organization Development and is a Qualified Administrator of the KSA Talent Suite.

Carol lives in Massachusetts and enjoys spending time with her husband and their blended family of five adult children, as well as cycling, walking, traveling, reading, exploring nature and cooking.

Carol Digan
Monica Videla

Monica Videla

CAREER COACH + CORPORATE ADVISOR

Monica Videla has over 20 years experience working in several  leadership and executive positions in Information Technology. Her experience spans large companies such as Boston Scientific, Bose, Charles River Laboratories and National Grid. Monica is currently an SVP at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.  She has enjoyed promoting, coaching and mentoring women at all of her positions. Monica is a ICF (International Coaching Federation) certified career and life coach.  She is the mom of two kids who keep her busy with basketball, soccer and volleyball.  She is an avid cyclist and hiker.

Advisory Board Members

Joy Thompson-Ball

Joy Thompson-Ball

Board Advisor

Joy has over 20 years of experience in sales, marketing and training. She has held leadership positions in everything from Fortune 500 companies like Johnson & Johnson and startups like Alkermes.  She is currently in a sales leadership role at Lundbeck.

Benita Flucker - Ascentiya Advisory Board Member

Benita Flucker

Board Advisor

Benita brings more than 25 years of progressive EdTech leadership experience in all markets. She has held strategic leadership roles at Thomson, Cengage and most recently as SVP at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Benita’s passion centers on improving academic outcomes for students of color and increasing leadership representation for women of color in business and across the education ecosystem.
Dr. Jane Downing

Dr. Jane Downing

Board Advisor

Dr. Jane Downing is the owner of Home Instead Senior Care in Connecticut.  She holds a PhD in Sociology with focus on social inequalities, and trained as a qualitative sociologist using the perspectives and stories of individuals as a way to explore and expand relevant knowledge.

Jennifer Ayers

Jennifer Ayers

Board Advisor

Jennifer is Founder & Managing Partner of Concinnity, a consulting company focused on organizational transformation. Previously an executive at Accenture and North Highland, Jennifer has over 20 years of consulting experience working with Fortune 500 executives. 

What Sets Us Apart

Real World Experiences

Our strategic career coaches have real business experience. We all started at the first rung of the ladder and strategically managed our careers that resulted in executive leadership positions. Regardless of where you are, we’ve been there and will share with you practical and proven tactics to get exactly what you want from your career.

Customized Partnership

We recognize that your path is unique to you. Each of our packages are designed with purpose, and each are completely customized for you to get exactly what you need achieve your immediate and longer term career objectives.

Results Driven Accountability

You will have a well-managed, Goal Driven, Career Plan: We will work with you to map your goals, and create milestones and tasks that will ensure you stay on track to achieve your goals.

EXPANSIVE NETWORK

Our Network becomes YOUR network. Your Network will expand significantly when you work with us. Because we’ve been in cross functional, cross industry business, we have vast business networks, and by working with us, your network, which is critical, will significantly expand. Your network will be what contributes to your success in the short and long term.

Inspiration

When you partner with us you will be getting a Career and Motivational coach rolled into one. Our coaches bring a level of energy, enthusiasm, and inspiration that is simply contagious. …. And that sets of a spark that will ignite you….and will give you’re the energy, confidence and courage to successfully manage your career.

Who works with us

PROFESSIONAL WOMEN

Our talented team of coaches partner with corporate, professional women to provide strategic career management. We are fiercely dedicated to helping you develop and achieve a path you are passionate about.

Whether you are: 

  • An early entry graduate looking to land your first job
  • An individual contributor working to advance to the manager level
  • A manager striving to advance to the executive level
  • ..or are at a crossroads preparing for a pivot, big leap, or overcoming an obstacle
We can help you get what you want and realize your full potential.

CORPORATE TEAMS

We are a proud ally of mid-size and Fortune 500 corporate teams working to drive, nurture, and maintain inclusive workplace environments. We partner with organizations in tech and other fields where women are less represented.

Whether you are: 

  • A leader trying to retain women in a male-dominated team structure
  • An organization trying to achieve diversity numbers
  • A human resource department working to educate on what inclusivity is and isn’t
  • A recruiter trying to meet the demands being placed on you to place diverse candidates
We can help you realize an inclusive culture that achieves critical diversity objectives.

How we can work together