Jessica Nowaski is a leadership coach, facilitator, and retired law enforcement executive with 26 years of experience with the Mountain View Police Department, culminating in her role as Deputy Police Chief. During her career, she served more than a decade on the department’s command staff and held leadership responsibility across operational and administrative functions, including organizational development, strategic planning, incident and crisis management, personnel development, and organizational change.
Jessica brings a unique combination of executive law enforcement experience, leadership coaching expertise, and applied research to her work with public safety organizations. She specializes in leadership and managerial coaching, team development, communication, organizational culture, and facilitated workshops designed to strengthen individual and team effectiveness. Her approach is practical, highly interactive, and grounded in both research and an understanding of the complex environments in which law enforcement leaders operate.
In 2018, Jessica founded Athena Leadership Coaching, LLC, through which she provides executive and leadership coaching, team building, and customized leadership development programs for law enforcement and public safety professionals. She has designed and facilitated workshops for supervisors, managers, command staff, executive teams, and public safety professionals on topics including communication, trust, collaboration, resilience, succession planning, professional growth, and organizational culture.
Jessica is also an instructor for the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), where she facilitates Team Building Workshops and teaches Personal and Professional Growth and The Role of the Lieutenant in the POST Management Course. Her research on managerial coaching has been presented at the Columbia University Coaching Conference and the International Leadership Association. She has also presented at professional conferences including the California Police Chiefs Association Training Symposium and the Women Leaders in Law Enforcement Symposium.
Jessica holds a B.A. in Criminal Justice Administration from Sonoma State University and an M.A. in Leadership with an emphasis in coaching and facilitation from Saint Mary’s College of California. She is a professionally trained coach through the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC) and a member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF). She is certified in TypeCoach, a personality and communication framework that helps leaders understand and adapt to differing communication styles, and the Energy Leadership Index (ELI), an assessment designed to increase leadership self-awareness, resilience, and effectiveness.
