Kimberly Eastman Zirkle, MA, PCC, NBC-HWC, CIC, is an Executive Coach and Co-founder of Building a Coaching Culture at UNC Health. Credentialed through the International Coaching Federation (ICF) as a Professional Certified Coach (PCC), she is passionate about building trusting, thought-provoking partnerships which enable self-awareness, discovery, and actions that lead to increased personal and professional fulfillment.
Having developed the original Executive Transition Onboarding program, she frequently coaches executive new hires and those moving into roles of increased responsibility. She understands the challenges and rewards of developing and leading high performing teams, while climbing the corporate ladder, and striving for resilience and balance in one’s personal life.
As co-developer and co-facilitator for the ICF accredited UNC Health Coach Training Academy, Kimberly creates a positive learning environment for leaders to become certified professional coaches who then serve as internal DevelopMe Leadership Coaches. She also contributes to a culture of continuous growth and development by serving as a supervisor and mentor coach, and faculty and facilitator for various leadership academies, team experiences and the professional development & credentialing practicum (PDCP).
Kimberly has dedicated her entire career to the healthcare industry. In her first leadership role, she designed a Corporate Wellness Program that won a NC Governor’s Award for Health & Fitness in Business and Industry. After that, and prior to joining UNC Health, she spent 27 years at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) developing leaders, teams, and programs in the areas of employee health promotion, marketing, training and development and disease management. While at GSK she also served as an internal coach and facilitated an international coaching curriculum which contributed to the organization’s ICF Prism Award.
After receiving her master’s degree, Kimberly completed her professional certified coach training through Duke Integrative Medicine before becoming credentialed by ICF. Additionally, she is a National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC), a Certified Inclusion Coach (CIC) and holds a leadership certificate from the Wharton School of Business.