Empowerment Institute

What Empowerment Institute does

Empowerment Institute is a U.S.-based nonprofit founded in 1981 by David Gershon and Gail Straub, headquartered near the Ashokan Reservoir in the Catskill Mountains of New York. It delivers consulting, professional training, and coaching services through a codified behavior-change methodology that the founders describe as the "Empowerment Model," supported by the Social Change 2.0 community-organization framework. Its core technology is methodological rather than software-based — structured workshop curricula, workbook-driven action plans (e.g., 24-action Low Carbon Diet, 81-action Green Living), and a peer-support "EcoTeam" model of 5–8 households that produce validated outcomes such as 25% household carbon-footprint reduction.

The product portfolio is organized across five tiers: personal development workshops (Empowerment Workshop, Returning to My Mother's House, Rhythm of Compassion, The Open Road, Solace and Sanctuary); a six-track professional certification program (Life Coach, Workshop Trainer, Design & Facilitation, Organizational Practice, Community Practice, Climate Change Practice); organizational engagement offerings including the Cool Corporate Citizen program and customized Changing the Game leadership training; community behavior-change programs deployed through local governments and channel partners (Low Carbon Diet, Green Living, Resilient Community/All Together Now, Livable Neighborhood, Water Stewardship, Journey for the Planet); and a societal-empowerment portfolio (Cool Block, Cool City Challenge, IMAGINE, Peace on Earth by 2030).

Revenue is generated through multiple streams with disclosed pricing limited to specific items ($35 hardcover book, coach-set fees for 12-session coaching, workbook retail); workshops, certifications, and custom corporate programs are quote-based. Go-to-market mixes direct-to-consumer workshop sales, enterprise field sales to corporate clients (historically including Honeywell, American Express, Whole Foods, Nike, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Deloitte), and channel partnerships with local governments, faith networks (Interfaith Power and Light's 5,000 congregations), educational institutions, conference centers (Omega Institute), and several thousand certified practitioners who deliver programs independently.

Name

Empowerment Institute

Legal name

Empowerment Institute

Website

https://empowermentinstitute.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Training and Behavior Change Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Civic and Social Organizations (8134)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Growth Mindset, Motivation & Goal-Setting Programs (EDAMAIAE)

Keywords

• Behavior change consulting
• Professional training services
• Life coaching programs
• Organizational development
• Sustainability workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

Woodstock

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Professional Certification Programs: Multi-part professional training programs leading to certification in one of six tracks (Empowerment Life Coach, Workshop Trainer, Design and Facilitation, Organizations, Community, Climate Change). Programs include in-person training intensives, coaching, and project work.
2. Workshop Registrations: Personal empowerment workshops (Empowerment Workshop, Rhythm of Compassion, Returning to My Mother's House, The Open Road) offered to individuals, often as part of certification curriculum or standalone.
3. Books and Workbooks: Sale of books including 'Empowerment: The Art of Creating Your Life As You Want It', 'Social Change 2.0', 'The Rhythm of Compassion', 'Returning to My Mother's House', and workbook programs (Low Carbon Diet, Green Living, Livable Neighborhood, Water Stewardship, Resilient Community).
4. Book Sales - Solace and Sanctuary: Sale of Solace and Sanctuary book ($35.00) co-authored with Kate McGloughlin, a 54-page hardcover with 24 color paintings.
5. Life Coaching Services: Twelve-session coaching program using Empowerment methodology applied to seven life areas (emotions, relationships, sexuality, body, money, work, spirituality). Coaches deliver the program to clients.
6. Corporate Training - Cool Corporate Citizen: Employee engagement program for companies to reduce carbon footprint through EcoTeams and community outreach. Includes in-house 'Global Warming Cafe' workshops and program implementation.
7. Custom Organizational Training: Customized training programs for organizations, conference centers, professional associations. Changing the Game program is specifically customized to group or organization needs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Empowerment Institute is a nonprofit training and certification organization that develops and delivers empowerment-based personal development workshops, professional certification programs for coaches and trainers, organizational behavior change consulting, and community-level sustainability and resilience programs. Its portfolio spans personal empowerment workshops (e.g., Empowerment Workshop, Rhythm of Compassion, The Open Road), a six-track Certification Program, corporate and government behavior change campaigns (Low Carbon Diet, Green Living, Cool Corporate Citizen), and neighborhood-level programs (Resilient Community, Livable Neighborhood, Water Stewardship). All offerings are anchored in the proprietary Empowerment Methodology and Social Change 2.0 framework developed over 40+ years by founders David Gershon and Gail Straub.

Product overview

Empowerment Institute is a global training and certification organization founded in 1981 by David Gershon and Gail Straub, offering a comprehensive suite of behavior change and empowerment programs across personal, professional, organizational, community, and societal levels. The portfolio consists of core workshop products (Empowerment Workshop, Returning to My Mother's House, Rhythm of Compassion, The Open Road, Solace and Sanctuary), a Certification Program with six professional tracks (Life Coaching, Workshop Training, Design & Facilitation, Organizational Practice, Community Practice, Climate Change Practice), and community behavior change programs including Low Carbon Diet, Green Living, Resilient Community (All Together Now), Livable Neighborhood, Water Stewardship, and Children's Sustainable Lifestyle (Journey for the Planet) programs. The organization also provides specialized campaigns (Cool Community, Cool Corporate Citizen, Cool Community Corps, Sustainable Lifestyle Campaign) and leadership training (Changing the Game, Practice of Empowerment). These offerings integrate through the Social Change 2.0 framework, enabling behavior change at individual, community, and societal scales.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Empowerment Workshop Flagship multi-day training program for individuals seeking to create their life as they want it; based on the premise that thoughts and beliefs create the conditions of life and helps participants transform limiting beliefs while crafting new ones aligned with desired outcomes.
• Returning to My Mother's House

Quantifiable outcome

• 25% carbon footprint reduction achieved by EcoTeam participants
• +9 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Clinton Global InitiativeflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmpowerment Institute made a commitment through Clinton Global Initiative to apply their empowerment methodology to transformative social change challenges. This partnership provides high-profile recognition and access to global change-makers.
• Al Gore's Climate Project / The Climate ProjectcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerLow Carbon Diet book provided to 1,000 people trained by Al Gore to give 'An Inconvenient Truth' presentations. This significantly amplified distribution and credibility for the climate change program.
• Interfaith Power and LightcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFaith-based organization representing 5,000 congregations that uses Low Carbon Diet to engage congregants in climate action. Major channel for reaching faith communities.
• Johns Hopkins UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJohns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health conducted evaluation of the IMAGINE-Kenya Initiative, validating the methodology for delivering agency in developing world contexts.
• DeloitteminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCase study partner demonstrating application of empowerment methodology to talent development and leadership. Included in organizational empowerment resources.
• Omega InstitutecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorConference center partner hosting 'Women & Power' programs with Gail Straub. Provides venue and marketing access to wellness-oriented audience for empowerment workshops.
• Local Governments (300+ communities)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorImplementation partners for Cool Community, Sustainable Lifestyle, Resilient Community, and other campaigns. Local governments deploy programs with Empowerment Institute framework and certification.
• NikeminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorImplemented Cool Corporate Citizen program with 125 employees forming 15 EcoTeams. Nike's Corporate Responsibility team led by Sarah Severn championed the climate action initiative.
• Green Mountain Coffee RoastersminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorImplemented Cool Corporate Citizen program, integrating employee engagement with community outreach on climate action.
• Whole Foods MarketminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFounder John Mackey participated in Changing the Game transformative leadership training. Program impact continued affecting the company.
• U.S. EPA Office of Urban and Economic DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided funding to develop the Citizen Sustainability Assessment tool enabling municipal decision-makers and citizens to evaluate natural resource stewardship.
• Portland, Oregon (City)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEarly implementation site for Low Carbon Diet program. Featured in case study 'Changing the World One Household at a Time' as model for residential climate change.
• New York City (Office of Emergency Management)flagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFormer Senator Hillary Clinton secured Department of Justice financing for implementing All Together Now (Resilient Community Program) in NYC. Program customized for city-specific emergency preparedness.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Center for Creative Leadership: CCL is a globally established leadership development provider with programs for executives and organizations. It overlaps with Empowerment Institute's Changing the Game and Practice of Empowerment in Organizations offerings in the corporate leadership development market.
• Dale Carnegie & Associates: Dale Carnegie is an established global training organization offering courses in leadership, sales, and interpersonal effectiveness with a licensee/certified-trainer distribution model. Its mix of personal development and certified-trainer network directly mirrors Empowerment Institute's workshop-plus-practitioner-network distribution approach.
• FranklinCovey: FranklinCovey is a large, publicly traded leadership and behavior change training company whose methodologies (e.g., 7 Habits, 4 Disciplines of Execution) sell into the same enterprise HR/L&D buyers that purchase Empowerment Institute's organizational track. It is a much larger incumbent operating in adjacent organizational behavior change space.

Direct peers

• Hoffman Institute Foundation: Hoffman offers a week-long residential personal transformation program and an accredited coach certification built around its proprietary methodology. It competes with Empowerment Institute for self-development customers and with the Empowerment Life Coach certification track for coach trainees.
• Landmark Worldwide: Landmark is a global personal transformation and leadership training organization offering large-format workshops and a curriculum of personal development programs. It directly overlaps with Empowerment Institute's flagship Empowerment Workshop model and methodology-driven approach to personal change.
• Newfield Network: Newfield Network offers ICF-accredited coach certification programs and a somatic/coaching methodology grounded in transformative learning. It overlaps with Empowerment Institute's Practice of Empowerment and Design and Facilitation tracks in methodology-driven coach training.
• iPEC Coaching: iPEC is an ICF-accredited coach training and certification organization offering multi-tier programs (Certified Professional Coach, Energy Leadership Index, COR.E Dynamics). It is a direct comparable in the coach certification space, competing for the same aspiring life and executive coaches.
• Robbins Research International: Tony Robbins / Robbins Research International operates large-scale personal empowerment seminars, business mastery programs, and corporate performance trainings. It is a direct comparable in mass-market personal empowerment and serves an overlapping enterprise and consumer customer base.
• Co-Active Training Institute (CTI): CTI is one of the largest ICF-accredited coach training providers globally, offering multi-tier certification programs and a Co-Active coaching model. Its certified coach network and curriculum directly compete with Empowerment Institute's six-track Certification Program in the professional coach training market.

Others

• Climate Reality Project: Climate Reality is an Al Gore-affiliated nonprofit training and deploying climate advocates — it is a documented Empowerment Institute partner (Low Carbon Diet distributed to 1,000 Climate Reality trainees). It operates as an adjacent enabling organization in the same citizen climate engagement category rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/EmpowermentInst
• Xx.com/EmpowermentIn

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Empowerment Institute