Close Up Radio

Close Up Radio


Part 5: Close Up Radio Welcomes Back Coach and Consultant Catherine Oleksiw of Measured Transitions

August 07, 2025

Plano, TX - Catherine Oleksiw, PhD is the founder of Measured Transitions, a coaching and consulting practice. Now when you really examine it, that name helps people understand just what she does, develops tools and systems that help organizations evaluate their goals and outcomes and then take steps to change the trajectory of success in this era of economic turmoil. Her business card says it all: Focus. Measure. Change. Her Ph.D. is in Educational Psychology: Measurement & Evaluation and is from Columbia University in New York City, but make no mistake, the analysis involved in what she does relates to organizational and program needs (not mental health)!


Catherine is a skilled educator, speaker, coach, and trainer with expertise in research, assessment, and evaluation and in building the capacity of clients to adapt and survive in any business climate. Sometimes it is a matter of documenting the success of a program funded by a state grant or reaching a competency goal of a federally funded program. The client might be a nonprofit, a government entity, or a school or university, among other scenarios.


As Catherine began training clients in the implementation and ongoing use of their programs and systems, she realized that she was coaching her clients, too, in cultivating an accountability mindset. To further develop her coaching skills, she studied at a coaching school accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF). She has now held the ICF Professional Coach Certification for over ten years. In the next two installments of this series, she is going to concentrate on her coaching strategies.


“My work is always layered. With the same client, I might have  one-on-one sessions with senior management, do group coaching with the work team, and engage top-level directors or the C-suite in leadership coaching.  I support everyone in the organization in getting more comfortable with new systems and the related processes and procedures. I provide time and space for my client to acclimate to change and get comfortable with the inevitable speed bumps along the way to successful implementation.”


Catherine stresses that while she does a lot of assessment and measurements, she does not just hand over a report and leave. She stays very alive in the space and keeps the process going. She applies a mix of methods when measuring success including surveys, statistical analyses, and qualitative tools like focus groups and interviews.


Whatever the assignment is, Catherine is always disciplined, thorough, and professional. Her first major activity is typically a needs assessment to confirm the perspective of the client on the key issues to be addressed--and, in addition, to expose underlying issues that may be critical factors to consider.


This is an excellent opportunity to listen to, and learn from, a subject matter expert in measurement and systems thinking that embraces the power of numbers within the context of the hopes and dreams of real people doing their best for the organization and themselves in the process. Catherine is that definitive authority and she has been published and appeared in media, such as Who’s Who with whom she received a Lifetime Achievement Award.


 In her series of radio interviews, she will discuss the ways that she is an invaluable resource—in her coaching and consulting business, in program design and evaluation, and in her work in the unique spaces of government, education, and nonprofits.


As external influences continue to make an impact on companies, their resources, and their ability to thrive it is comforting to know such a resource exists. Dr. O, as she is popularly known, addresses topics like how to build your success story when you no longer have the same resources, and how coaching impacts the company culture-- in times of upheaval as well as every single day.



For more Information about Catherine please visit www.measuredtransitions.com