Rich Raffals 1 (415) 295-7267
rich a.t AwakenTheMagic d.o.t com
Professional Goal
To promote personal development, healing, consciousness and transformation via life coaching, training, group facilitation, mentoring, emotional counseling, healing touch and, especially, the creation of live music and sound!
What I Can Do for Your Staff, Clients, Partners or Students
q Help groups/individuals sculpt their highest visions; then facilitate live music/sound experiences that produce altered states and deep relaxation in which clients align vibrationally with their visions (including physical healing)
q Support further realization of visions via coaching, training/mentoring, emotional counseling, healing touch, etc.
q Provide stimulating or relaxing live music for dancing, yoga/meditation, ceremonies/rituals, spiritual events, etc.
q Design/lead/facilitate fun, innovative and transformational training experiences or presentations
q Generate consistent participant satisfaction and results (testimonials available by request)
q Provide relationship/spiritual/life coaching and/or emotional counseling to families or individuals
q Bring visionary ideas and innovation, synergizing knowledge/skills from diverse fields
q Optimize energy/resource usage of any environment or process, maximizing efficiency and minimizing cost
Qualifications Summary
q Confident and effective in an exceptionally diverse mix of corporate, cultural, and interpersonal environments
(experience in start-ups, non-profits, for-profits, 24 countries, and living with natives in the Amazon, India, Spain)
q Proven record coaching, tutoring and mentoring success, growth, efficiency, fulfillment, balance (10+ yrs)
q Passion/ability to rapidly master/utilize complex concepts/technologies, develop interactive training courses, and teach to diverse audiences (9+ yrs as education specialist, consistently receiving the highest student evaluations)
q 10+ yrs performing musician/percussionist; 2+ yrs leading sound/vibrational healings/meditations
q 9+ yrs leading/facilitating teams/groups of 3 to 500+ -- in English and Spanish
q 9+ yrs helping clients shape/realize their business vision, including an engaging and secure web presence
q 7+ yrs emotional counseling and several healing modalities (RC, Reiki, Shamanic, Jin Shin; sound/music)
q 12 yrs running all aspects of a business q Extremely well-traveled/culturally educated q Seasoned writer/editor
q Exceptional skills: all modes of communication q Environmentally educated/active q Spanish fluency/degree
q Tech: Mac/Windows/Unix/Linux, Web Development: HTML/CSS, PHP, JavaScript/jQuery, Perl, Java, MySQL
Own Business and Consulting Experience
2012-pres Life Coach / Facilitator / Sound Healer, Awaken the Magic Coaching & Consulting – Palo Alto, CA
q Co-create clients’ personal and group visions
q Create customized group and individual vibrational templates of visions via live music/sound
q Leverage latest research in quantum physics, parallel realities, law of attraction and sound healing
q Utilize African/Latin drums, Australian didgeridoos, Ecuadorian rattles, Tibetan chimes, voice
1999-2013 Web Developer/Trainer, Altera; Yahoo!; Finding Favorites; Village Heartbeat; LR Realty; et al
q Designed web applications and sites that empower non-tech owners to manage/streamline business,
generate passive income, create new web pages, control and edit static/dynamic content, menus, etc.
q Integrated custom-designed, private/secure web applications, and user/developer documentation
q Trained, coached and mentored non-tech team members, new developers, and junior developers
q Employed database interactivity, registration/payment systems, audio programs/podcasts, spam-proof emails, embedded videos, sort/search/merge/download docs & mp3s, etc. as per client needs
2007-2010 Trainer / Coach / Mentor, Springboard Forward (non-profit) – Belmont, CA
q Teach/Coach/Mentor Career and Life Advancement Skills in English/Spanish to low-wage earners
2000-2010 Leadership, Technology and Transition/Life Coach, Awaken the Magic Coaching – Palo Alto, CA
q Co-authored book on a new model for leadership, personal evolution and social change with
Laura Whitworth (co-founder of Coaches Training Institute and co-author of Co-Active Coaching)
q Co-designed and lead 10-week True Work Coaching Seminar for career/life transition and renewal
q Coached hundreds of adults and teens to create, prioritize and realize visions/goals (in business,
school, relationships and career) with unprecedented levels of productivity, satisfaction and growth
q Coached, co-developed and assisted training of new coaches and leaders in state-of-the-art methods
to create sustainable leadership, and balanced lives/careers aligned with values and passions
q Tutored/coached clients to use technology to its full potential in their business and personal lives
Rich Raffals, 1 (415) 295-7267 (page 2 of 2)
Own Business and Consulting Experience (continued)
2000-2006 Instructor and Group Facilitator, Youth Horizons (non-profit) – San Francisco, CA
q Lead yoga/meditation classes and co-facilitated experiential leadership, communication and group
problem solving with thousands of at-risk teens in the San Mateo County Juvenile Hall system
q Designed transition program (job skills, coaching, peer emotional support group, yoga/meditation)
1999-2006 Senior Technical Trainer, Computer Magic Training; Mentor Training; Anderson Software Group
q Taught/Coached/Mentored in Object Oriented Design, Visual Basic, JavaScript, Java programming
q Taught Linux, Unix and Windows usage and programming; Taught HTML and web design
1998-1999 Technical Consultant / Education Specialist, Electronic Power Research Institute (EPRI) – Palo Alto
q Developed interactive, web-based training while acting as technical liaison to engineering team
q Trained personnel and built world-wide community that enabled thousands of utility engineers
to work together to reach Y2K compliance (keeping the lights and power on for us all)
Other Management, Leadership/Facilitation, Community Building and Teaching Experience
q Lead Men’s Support Group directed toward emotional healing and building community (4+ years)
q Co-lead interactive “What the Bleep!?” seminar in Italy; Coached participants to apply WtB paradigm in their lives
q Facilitated technology integration with grade school teachers as part of Clinton’s $2 Million education initiative
q Directed talent and studio crew of 8 in real time (live) to create “Common Ground” cable TV program
q Co-founded/Lead Silicon Valley True Work Circle (95% transitioned to new career and/or living environment)
q Founded/Lead/Facilitate Wisdom Circle for Personal Growth and Community (met for 7 years)
q Managed/Facilitated Spanish Group for The World Affairs Council (Grew paper list of 35 and a human phone-
tree to 500+ members, with shared leadership, a website, self-maintaining member database, and email invites)
q Facilitated middle/high-school Challenge Day experiences that empowered teen leaders to transform school culture
q Taught Nature/Natural Science to 1st-8th graders in purely experiential contexts (as an Environmental Volunteer)
q Taught English/ESL to Spaniards in Spain, and English literacy/GED to adults of Sunnyvale community
Full Time Employment Experience
1996-1998 Education Specialist for Customer Training, SGI - Mountain View, CA
q Developed courseware and taught 3D graphics and web technology to corporate customers
q Performed CGI scripting, intra-net web design and management for Customer Education dept.
1993-1996 Senior Project Manager / Technical Lead, Silicon Graphics, Inc./MIPS - Mountain View, CA
q Managed development team while acting as a contributing technical lead for “MDK” project
(a state-of-the-art design verification system for the QA of 64-bit, MIPS microprocessors)
o Wrote user-friendly tools in multiple languages and ported them to several hardware platforms
o Managed parallel development and support of MDK for 6 separate SGI microprocessor projects
q Developed/implemented a 30% more efficient and error-proof project design methodology
Education (listed in order of completion)
Bachelor of Science: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (High Honors)
Major: Computer Engineering Minor: Interpersonal Communications
Associate of Arts: Spanish: DeAnza College, Cupertino, CA (Magna Cum Laude)
Full Curriculum: Co-Active Coaching: The Coaches Training Institute (CTI), San Rafael, CA
Relevant Training and Affiliations
q Re-evaluation Counseling (RC): Training to facilitate discharge of emotional blocks to clear thinking and action
q Coaching Training: CTI, Coach Univ, New Ventures West, NLP Inst of CA, Thomas Leonard, Laura Whitworth
q Outward Bound Leadership and Wilderness Therapy Practicum (leading nature-based, transformational education)
q Challenge Day Next Step and Leadership Empowerment Trainings on leading experiential workshops
q Decker Method Effective Communicating; Langevin Instructional Techniques; ATLAS Instructor/Mentor Training
q Will Shutz’ intensive Human Element Seminar on interpersonal relationships and teamwork
q Transition Silicon Valley (implements local systems to make communities resilient to peak oil/climate change/etc)
Personal Interests
Live music/drumming, writing, nature, meditation/yoga, travel, music festivals, paranormal, medicinal/
edible plants, natural healing, Spanish/Italian cultures, snowboarding, shamanism, didgeridoo, flamenco, kindness