Client Spotlight—Ruth Calabrese
Executive Leadership Coach
Ruth Calabrese is an executive coach and consultant based in Houston. With a passion for unlocking potential and driving meaningful change, Ruth has built a career dedicated to developing talent in executives, emerging leaders, and teams. As a Fortune 50 senior executive, she led high-performing teams and discovered her true calling in leadership coaching and talent development. Now, as a professionally certified coach and consultant, she helps clients navigate career transitions, strengthen leadership skills, and foster emotional and cultural intelligence in their organizations.
Her expertise spans leadership coaching, talent selection, negotiation skills, and communication—backed by credentials from the International Coaching Federation, Gallup, Birkman, and EQi 2.0. A sought-after speaker known for her engaging and insightful approach, Ruth partners with organizations and individuals to drive professional growth and create lasting impact.
Ruth’s Trusty Oak Story
Ruth came to Trusty Oak looking for support as her business experienced rapid growth. After years of handling every aspect of her business alone—client management, content creation, financial tracking, and more—she found herself stretched too thin. In her words, “Just because I CAN do all of the back end tasks, doesn’t mean I SHOULD.” With an incredible year behind her and another shaping up the same way, she knew it was time to delegate.
She needed a VA who could help with process documentation, data analysis, research, content development, and PowerPoint presentations, all while aligning with her evolving business needs. Having recently invested in rebranding, she wanted to ensure consistency across her materials and streamline operations to better serve her clients. Trust and responsiveness were key concerns, as was finding someone who could grow with her business and potentially take on a more client-facing role.
Ruth envisioned a future where she could focus more on coaching and facilitation, knowing that the back-end operations were running smoothly. She wanted better financial insights, a standardized pricing structure, and the ability to dedicate her energy to what she does best—helping her clients succeed.
During her almost 2 year tenure with Trusty Oak, Ruth has worked with three great VAs. Her current VA, Alisha Soukaseume, has been working with her for the last year and has become an integral part of Ruth’s business. Alisha supports Ruth by managing her project management system, client tracking, CRM, and website updates, ensuring everything is organized for efficient business operations. She also assists with administrative tasks like scheduling, client reminders, research on new tools, and preparing reports. Additionally, Alisha serves as a strategic thought partner, offering input on business strategies and processes to help Ruth maximize her time and capacity.
Having experienced firsthand the power of delegation in unlocking her potential, Ruth is dedicated to helping others discover the possibilities of their next chapter—whether through strategic career moves or navigating new roles in life and business.
💡If you are a Director-level or higher female professional with 15+ years of professional experience and wonder what your next chapter could bring (Promotion? New Role? Career Pivot? Post-Retirement Passion Project?), then Ruth’s What’s My NEXT? Masterclass workshop is a gift of time and space to consider what you want and how to get there. Visit her website for more information and to complete the interest form.
“ One of the biggest reasons I didn’t get a VA sooner was because I didn’t have time to get a VA! Trusty Oak made that process so much easier over the past 20 months that I have been their client. HUGE shout out to my VA Alisha, who has been a game changer for my business–she is just as conscientious and thoughtful about my business as I am, and that makes a world of difference in my professional and personal life.” ~ Ruth Calabrese
Ready to start your own Trusty Oak story? Visit our website to learn how to get started.
Bex has a passion for helping others and thrives in fostering relationships with business owners, entrepreneurs and virtual assistants. As a former VA with Trusty Oak, Bex has a unique perspective that allows her to hone in on the challenges business leaders face and offer solutions based in real world experience.
Bex is originally from New Zealand, and now resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her husband. She loves to travel - everywhere- experience new culture & places, architecture & people. Adventure is always around the corner!