Lisa Gordon
Founder & CEO, Association of Professional Coaches
Helping professional coaches protect the work they’ve built.
Lisa Gordon founded the Association of Professional Coaches (APC) after decades of working with professional communities whose work did not always fit neatly into traditional insurance categories.
Today, she leads APC in developing specialized liability insurance, professional resources, and support built around how coaches actually work.
The Problem APC Set Out to Solve
Coaches Shouldn’t Have to Become Insurance Experts to Protect Their Practice
Building a coaching practice takes time, expertise, and trust. Protecting that practice shouldn’t require learning complicated insurance language or trying to determine whether a policy created for a completely different type of business fits the way you work.
Throughout her work with professionals in coaching, wellness, personal growth, and transformational fields, Lisa saw the same problem repeatedly: people doing specialized work were often left trying to make sense of insurance programs and professional resources that were not designed with their services in mind.
A better approach starts by understanding how professionals work, then building protection and support around their real-world needs.
That principle shaped Lisa’s work with Healing Touch practitioners, the development of specialized professional associations and insurance programs, and ultimately the creation of the Association of Professional Coaches.
The Story Behind APC
Why Lisa Founded the Association of Professional Coaches
APC grew from decades of working alongside professionals whose work did not always fit neatly into traditional insurance categories. Lisa saw firsthand that meaningful professional protection starts with understanding how people actually work.
Lisa’s understanding of specialized professional communities began long before APC was created. As the daughter of Healing Touch Program founder Janet Mentgen, she grew up around professionals working in healing, wellness, education, and personal transformation.
She began working with Healing Touch Program in 1994 and started her own Healing Touch training in 1996. Her role grew from working within the organization to leading programs that support the professionals doing this work. Today, Lisa serves as CEO of Healing Touch Program.
The Path That Led to APC
1994–1996
Learning the Profession from the Inside
Lisa began working with Healing Touch Program in 1994 and entered Healing Touch training herself in 1996, gaining firsthand experience with the people, practices, and professional needs of this growing field.
2007
Building Professional Support
Lisa helped create the Healing Touch Professional Association (HTPA) to give practitioners stronger professional resources, community support, and services designed around the way they actually practiced.
2009
Creating Specialized Liability Protection
HTPA members needed liability insurance that reflected the realities of working as energy-healing practitioners rather than placing them into a generic professional category. That need led to the development of a specialized liability insurance program.
THE NEXT STEP
Expanding Beyond One Community
As practitioners outside Healing Touch began asking for access to similar protection, Lisa created the Energy Medicine Professional Association (EMPA), expanding the model to a much broader community of energy-healing and holistic professionals.
The Principle Behind Every Expansion
Understand how a professional actually works, identify the risks that come with that work, and build support around those real-world needs.
What Lisa Was Seeing
Coaching Was Changing Too
More professionals within these communities were also working as coaches. They were building online practices, working one-on-one with clients, leading groups and workshops, and combining coaching with other professional approaches. Yet many traditional insurance programs did not reflect the way these businesses actually operated.
Why APC Was Created
Bringing That Specialized Approach to Coaches
The Association of Professional Coaches grew from that experience. APC extends the same specialized approach to professional support, risk management, and liability protection to coaches whose work deserves to be understood on its own terms.
APC did not begin as an abstract insurance idea. It grew from a specialized insurance program first developed in 2009 and from decades of working directly with the professional communities these programs were created to serve.
Experience & Leadership
Experience That Shapes Lisa’s Work Today
Lisa brings more than three decades of experience working with professional communities in healing, wellness, personal growth, and coaching. That background continues to shape how she leads APC today: by listening closely to how professionals actually work and building programs around their real-world needs.
Professional association leadership — building and leading organizations that support practitioners and coaches through education, resources, and professional services.
Specialized insurance program development — helping create and expand liability insurance programs designed for professionals whose work may not fit traditional business categories.
Practitioner-centered program design — understanding how different professionals work in practice, then shaping support around those realities.
Risk-management education — helping make insurance concepts clearer and more practical for coaches and other service professionals.
Leadership across evolving professions — supporting communities as new specialties, online services, groups, workshops, and hybrid ways of working emerge.
APC strategy and growth — guiding the association’s direction, resources, partnerships, and programs so they continue to meet the changing needs of professional coaches.
Resources & Publications
Resources, Publications & Media
Lisa contributes to educational resources designed to help professionals better understand their work, their risks, and the insurance and professional support available to them.
APC Resources Reviewed by Lisa
Lisa reviews and contributes to APC educational content focused on professional coaching, liability protection, and risk management, including:
- The Complete Guide to Liability Insurance for Coaches
- Professional vs. General Liability Insurance for Coaches
- Coach Insurance by Specialty
- Coverage & Risk-Management Resources
Book
Lisa is also an author of Healing Touch: Restoring Balance Within, a new book exploring Healing Touch and its role in supporting balance and well-being.
The paperback edition is scheduled for release on September 15, 2026.
Videos, Interviews & Media
Lisa’s educational work also includes videos, webinars, podcast conversations, interviews, and other media focused on professional coaching, specialized insurance, professional practice, and the evolving needs of service-based professionals.
A Little About Lisa
Outside of her professional work, Lisa lives in San Antonio, Texas with her husband, their three children, and several very opinionated rescue cats.
Her connection to healing, wellness, and personal growth has been part of her life for decades, and that perspective continues to influence the way she approaches leadership, community, and the work of supporting professionals who help others create meaningful change.
Explore APC
Explore Resources from the Association of Professional Coaches
Learn more about liability insurance, professional resources, and educational guidance created to support today’s coaching professionals.