What is a Rebel Leader?

You don't need a title to be a leader. You don't need permission to be a rebel.

Rebel Leaders is a leadership coaching framework that works for individuals or organizations through three unique pillars:

Systems Awareness - We explicitly name systems of oppression that affect people differently and how they show up in workplace dynamics
Embodied Integration - We help clients listen to their bodies' wisdom and regulate their nervous systems to make better decisions
Values-Based Leadership - We help people lead from their authentic strengths rather than trying to fit into traditional molds

Most leadership coaching treats individual challenges (like "imposter syndrome" or "lack of confidence") as personal failings to fix. But Rebel Leaders recognize these are actually predictable responses to navigating systems built around domination, hierarchy, and exclusion.

So we say: You're not broken—the system is. Our clients don't just get promoted or feel more confident—they become leaders who can create change within and against broken systems while staying true to who they are. They stop asking for permission to lead and start leading like the rebels they already were.

Meet Susie Fishleder

She began coaching women and mothers on systems awareness and taking charge of their own life. In 2023 she joined the board of the International Association for Maternal Action and Scholarship (IAMAS). Susie has worked with dozens of women, men, scholars, activists, and leaders committed to dismantling these structures and building something better.

And as a longtime yoga teacher and Gestalt coach, she knows that true leadership comes from embracing our WHOLE selves—our bodies, our values, our intuition—not just our minds, because we can't create sustainable change by disconnecting from our embodied wisdom.

Rebel Leaders pulls it all together by creating a collaborative and supportive community of like-minded people who want to shift the culture.

On the surface, Susie probably doesn’t look like what you'd picture when you think "rebel leader.” She's a 40-something suburban mom of three kids, shuttling between soccer practice and grocery runs. But that’s exactly the point - rebel leaders show up in the everyday moments.

Like so many others, Susie spent years chasing success the way the world told her to: working hard, proving her worth, and pushing through exhaustion. She led high-stakes projects in commercial interior design and executive sales roles, working hard to prove her worth and constantly trying to become the version of herself that the world seemed to want.

But all that striving came at a cost, and eventually burnout hit. When she finally stepped away from the noise of it all, she could hear the rebel voice inside that said, “Why are you playing a game you'll never be allowed to win?”

So she decided to stop playing by those rules entirely. Fueled by countless iced coffees, she earned her MA in Women, Gender, Spirituality, and Social Justice to study how patriarchy, white supremacy, and capitalism created the very systems we're told to succeed within.

The Rebel Leaders Manifesto

We are managers and mothers, artists and activists, healers and disruptors. We lead from our kitchens and our communities, our lived experiences and our fierce love for a better world.

We are Rebel Leaders. And we're just getting started.

We believe leadership isn't about titles, corner offices, or climbing ladders built by systems that were never designed for us.

We believe the old rules are rigged.

For too long, leadership has been defined by domination, hierarchy, and power over others. These systems prioritize profit over people, competition over collaboration, and maintaining the status quo over creating real change.

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We believe in power WITH, not power OVER.

Individual success means nothing if our communities aren't thriving. We lead in ways that lift others up.

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We believe in thoughtful action over performative noise.

We don't feel compelled to have the perfect take on every news cycle, especially when we're not experts. Sometimes the most respectful thing we can do is listen, learn, and support others who are leading. We don't shame others for their silence or imperfect advocacy—we know everyone is on their own journey toward justice.

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We believe in challenging systems, not canceling people.

We know the difference between holding people accountable and tearing them down. Our rebellion targets harmful structures, not individuals who are also navigating broken systems.

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We believe in leading with our whole selves.

We trust our bodies, our intuition, and our lived experience as sources of wisdom, not obstacles to overcome.

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We believe you're already leading.

Whether you're teaching your kids to question injustice, advocating for fair wages, organizing mutual aid, or simply refusing to stay silent—you're changing the world from where you are.

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Our Offerings

One-on-one support to help you lead authentically from your values, break through what’s holding you back, and create the impact you’re meant to make.