Meet The ESEL Career Coaches

Michele Lewis & Cyndi Po

This is our Story

Michele Lewis and Cyndi Po grew up as "military brats." Both of their fathers retired at Ft Bragg, NC, where they met and became friends in middle school. Later, both became military spouses. Their lives took unique turns, with one family opting to stay in the service for the next 30 years and the other family opting to join the civilian corporate world. Both embraced their life choices, became successful in their established fields, and were allowed to travel and live worldwide. 

The ultimate testament to networking, Cyndi and Michele continued to be reunited in projects and life experiences throughout the years.

After years of working together on a program designed to assist military service members with transitioning to the civilian job market, Cyndi and Michele realized a gap in the information shared with senior service members.  They felt the executive leader classes were too vague, and though there are many transition resources, many senior service members were "drowning in a sea of life savers."  

Using their personal experiences in both the military and civilian career cultures, professional experiences as coaches, resume writers, and military transition specialists, Cyndi and Michele created a course specifically designed for senior-level military leaders as they transition into their next career.  

Cyndi and Michele have coached over 5,000 service members throughout their careers as transition specialists. 

Why We Do What We Do...

Using my experience as a "professional job transitioner" - otherwise known as a military spouse trying to find a job at every duty station- I love sharing lessons learned both from a personal and professional aspect, as well as data and best practices regarding job search processes.

About 15 years ago, I found my professional passion- working with veterans transitioning from the service and entering the civilian workforce.  I absolutely LOVE working with veterans and their family members during their professional transition. 

With every veteran I counsel through professional transition, either in a classroom setting or on an individual basis, my goal is to provide three things: 

1. To increase their confidence and know they are valued and sought after by employers. 
2. To relieve their level of anxiety as they enter the civilian job market.
3. Lastly, most importantly, to provide the tools for a successful search for their next career that will provide them with professional balance—the balance of utilizing their skills, balance in being offered a fair salary, and balance in landing a position that evokes passion and purpose.

Entrepreneur and Author Gary Keller of Keller-Williams Real Estate once said, Work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls – family, health, friends, integrity – are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered." 

"Because of the requirements of the military, veterans often sacrifice this balance.  My job is to remind them it is now their choice."  - Michele Lewis, Executive Career Coach

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"It's never too late to be"who you could have been." - George Eliot

George Eliot's quote is one of my favorites because it reminds us that we are forever evolving and reinventing ourselves. A clear vision of the desired result is the key to successful evolution in any aspect of life. Once you have that vision, creating the plan is more manageable, fun, and exciting. I want this for every service member's transition into the civilian world.

The main goal of TAP is to guide the service member from point "A" to point "DD214," meeting all of the mandatory requirements. I am here to provide the details to individualize the transition process for the service member and ensure the service member has the most up-to-date information about the job search process. 

I want every service member to realize their value to the civilian job market. You have the skills the hiring agent wants and the leadership, integrity, and work ethic that every company wants on its team. The challenge is translating your brand message to the hiring agents. I can help you meet that challenge. I aim to take the worry of "Will I get a job?" and turn it into the excitement of "Which job will I choose?" 

"Professional development is a team sport. Build a winning team with ESEL."  -Cyndi Po, Executive Career Coach