A six-week transition program for humanitarians asking, what now?
The funding dried up.
The contract ended.
What now?
A six-week program for humanitarians who are leaving the sector, staying in it differently, or just done pretending they know which one it is.
What Now? is the only program of it's kind combining applied transition psychology from an expert researcher on identity and transitions, with the lived experience of a UN officer who has done this work and survived the transition.
In short, it is a six-week, small-group transition program grounded in science, built specifically for humanitarian workers navigating exactly this moment.
Founding cohort: 12 spots on a first-come, first-served basis
90 minute bi-weekly group coaching dates: 10 Oct, 24 Oct & 7 Nov
60 minute bi-weekly individual coaching dates: Scheduled at your convenience every other week
Early-bird pricing available through 30 September 2026
How the program works
A rhythm that gives change somewhere to land.
This course is a deliberate sequence of interactive science of identity and transitions followed by private coaching, designed to make space for what becomes clear between sessions.
01 · Group sessions
Every other week, 90 minutes with peers who get it.
Talk through transition, not just theory, with a small group that understands the context without you having to explain it.
02 · One-to-one sessions
60 minutes, just you and your coach.
Untangle your own situation with someone who knows the sector and can help you hear what matters underneath the noise.
03 · Alternating pace
Group, then private, then group again.
There is space to apply what you are discovering between group sessions instead of forcing immediate conclusions.
04 · Built-in checkpoints
Each session builds on the last.
You leave with a clear transition plan, not loose ends, before turning that clarity into CVs, applications, or interview preparation.
Do this before you start rewriting the CV.
Clarity about identity, transferable strengths, and the next honest step makes every later application and interview more coherent.
The difference: two lenses. One conversation.
Built specifically at the intersection of humanitarian work and transition psychology, What Now? combines research on identity, adaptation, and loss with coaching and the lived experience of a former UN officer. This is the work to do before practical job-search support, so the next step is grounded in more than an AI polished CV.
Led by a researcher in life transitions and a former humanitarian officer turned executive coach.
One of them can tell you why it feels this way. The other has felt it, navigated it, and now coaches others in the same position.
Keith Gissubel, PhD Candidate
PhD Candidate, Applied Psychology · Researcher, teacher, facilitator · www.keithmichaelg.com
Keith is a researcher, speaker, and educator focused on identity, self-regulation, and adaptation during major life transitions. With more than 30 years in teaching and performance, he brings a rigorous, research-grounded lens to what happens in the brain and the self when a defining role ends.
Felicia Byrne, CPCC
Former UN Officer · Executive coach · www.feliciabyrne.com
Felicia spent nearly 16 years inside humanitarian operations, leading multinational teams, coordinating emergency response, and managing stakeholders under pressure. She now coaches humanitarian professionals navigating funding cuts, restructuring, and career uncertainty. as a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) .
A structured space for what comes next
Six weeks.
Three shared conversations.
Three individual sessions.
What Now? is the only coaching program that combines applied transition psychology, narrative approaches, guided peer reflection, and individual coaching for humanitarians who have spent years or even decades putting the mission, organization, or role before themselves.
This program exists to help you work through three questions that most transition advice skips straight past:
Who am I beyond my role?
Separate your sense of self from the role, title, and mission you served. Ground your identity in something other than the sector that doesn't always love you back.
What am I carrying forward?
Name the judgment, skills, and hard-won capacity that transfer beyond this context. These are the parts of you that transfer, even when the context doesn't.
What comes next?
Turn reflection into a real, practical sense of direction. Not a five-year plan, but an honest next step.
Three 90-minute interactive group sessions, every other week
Three 60-minute one-to-one coaching sessions to further the learning and action
still have questions before you decide?
First cohort
A small group of people who understand exactly what you have lost. Individualized support to structure your path toward what comes next.
Enrollment investment
$450*
Early-bird discount for enrollment through 30 September 2026
$600
Enrollment open until 9 October 2026 or until cohort is full
12 participants mximum · Runs with 5
Place only confirmed after receipt of payment.
A transparent first cohort
This is the first time we are running the program together, so there are no testimonials to borrow nor will we make them up. Instead, there is a room small enough to be honest in, and two facilitators who will know your name and your story by the end of week one.