MEET OUR ANTI-FRAGILE Coaching Team

Ana is the founder of The Anti-Fragile Female MD. She stumbled upon physician life coaching at the rock bottom of her career: burned out, depressed, and suicidal. Coaching helped Ana recover and find her love of medicine (and life) again, but it had an unintended consequence. This rural family doctor, mother, wife, outdoor enthusiast, and obstacle course racer quickly found herself compelled to do something she’d never done before: start a business as a life coach. Ana couldn’t sit back and know this incredible evidence-based intervention existed and not be part of the movement to make coaching accessible to every physician. Ana is fully aware that the existence of this business is a testament to how powerful coaching is. This formerly shy, quiet, reserved, and perfectionistic family doctor is now overcoming all her fears and self-doubt, readily making public appearances on social media, and coaching her heart out both 1:1 and in group settings. Ana’s true passion lies in doing everything she can to reduce the stigma around burnout, mental health disorders in physicians, and the number of physicians dying by suicide. She fights fiercely for female physicians to be able to love the lives they have worked hard for. Ana feels grateful for every woman who has reached out to her and shared her personal struggle, and believes that recovery is possible for everyone.

Jill is a Family Physician in Orangeville, Ontario, a small town 1 hour north of Toronto. She has been in practice for 13 years and currently works in hospital, group family practice, and she provides GP psychotherapy online. She has 4 lovely active boys and a very supportive stay-at-home husband. She loves biking, hiking, camping with her family and snuggling their 2-year-old Barbet, Molly. Jill discovered coaching in 2019 when she finally decided she couldn’t continue to live constantly feeling overwhelmed, inadequate and exhausted. Looking back, it was like a tape was playing on repeat in her mind saying: “You’re not good enough, you have too much work to do, you’ll never figure it out…” Being coached by caring female physicians has helped her regain her power. It has opened her eyes to the destructive thoughts she was believing by default. She has finally come to believe that she is worthy of the same compassion she was extending to everyone else, but refusing to give herself. Living intentionally is not easy or always fun, but now she has a richer perspective on her life, and she can truly savour the meaningful moments with patients and her family now. Her Christian faith is also important to her and she would be honoured to incorporate faith and spirituality in coaching with any client who requests it.

Payal is an Integrative Pediatrician and Parent & Life Coach for moms. She helps Women Physicians who feel overwhelmed and exhausted to find balance and be intentional in their parenting journey through mindfulness and coaching. She loves to coach Doctor moms with young kids who are drowning in all the responsibilities and feeling overwhelmed. She helps them find a sense of balance and self-love through mindfulness and coaching. Payal specializes in parenting related struggles. That could span from personal parenting struggles to shared responsibilities with a co-parent. She has done a lot of work on creating a sustainable routine for kids, which includes sleep and boundaries. She also loves coaching moms on lack of self-care and self-love. This may range from exercise, and eating healthy, to reducing people pleasing and dependence on external validation.

 Carol is a Family Physician in Orangeville, Ontario. She has been in practice for 11 years. She is a wife, a mom, a friend, and a Life Coach. She helps women physicians take back their sense of control over their lives. Carol likes to work with women physicians who are struggling to manage “it all”; feeling “pulled” in all directions; striving to find the “perfect balance” of work and home life and constantly feeling like there is just not enough time. After ten years of practicing family medicine, Life Coaching has helped her re-align her values and priorities with how she actually wants to live her life. She no longer feel like she is running a marathon day after day. She continues to love practicing medicine but also loves all the other parts of her life!  Life Coaching has transformed the way she thinks, shows up and lives her life and all for the better! Carol is privileged to offer Life Coaching to other physicians and see their lives transform! 

Dr Schofer is a board-certified pediatrician and lifestyle medicine physician, who is clinically active in pediatric urgent care. After working in the military health system (from active to reserves to GS and contract), locums and private children’s hospital system, she has found a voice to speak up about her professional boundaries and value. Her mojo clinically is working with individuals and families in openhearted conversations that help them discover the power of daily lifestyle choices — and that translates well to coaching. She has a special place in her heart for coaching families living on the ADHD spectrum, as well as parents navigating all the conflicting messages about how to raise a healthy, vibrant family. As a recovering perfectionist and scatterbrain (yes, the two can co-exist), she has found the power of coaching to clarify the conflicting messages and break down limiting beliefs.