Meet Irene Salter, the founder of Inquiring Minds. She has an unparalleled mind with a PhD in neuroscience, Master’s in psychology, and 20+ years of leadership experience, but it’s her heart and soul that people fall in love with. Irene’s ability to weave science and magic through storytelling makes her a sought-after coach who cultivates leadership circles and retreats for executives driven by passion, purpose, and people. If your goals’ work is your soul’s work, then you’ve found your guide through the wilderness.

Irene Salter’s award-winning career has taken her from premier neuroscientist to middle school teacher, from school superintendent to nonprofit board president, from ropes course leader to Exploratorium exhibit designer, from published author to university chairwoman. Today, as an executive coach and storyteller, Irene leads transformative leadership circles and retreats. There, she uses science to help overwhelmed leaders thrive, not just survive. Her clients are leaders at Disney, Verizon, Google, Chicago Public Schools, the University of Texas, the California Department of Health, Oakland Public Library, and many other nonprofits and government agencies nationwide. Through her guidance, they shed the burdens of perfectionism, performance, and people-pleasing, and enter a realm of wonder where they can become the leaders they are destined to be.

Oh, and she writes! Blogs, columns, curricula, articles, research publications, and books. This Hidden Compass article is an early chapter from the book she’s writing that explores the hard-core science behind why we love to travel and teaches us to thrive without ever needing to leave home.

When not coaching or writing, Irene’s adventuring with family. You will often find her paddle boarding, jetting off to some exotic destination (most recently Norway and Hawaii), or crawling through a Dungeons and Dragons dungeon.