
I help my clients discover the unique ways they need to preserve and restore their energy so they can learn how to hack their brains to get stuff done.
All services are offered in English only. Coaching services are only done online.
JOY GANDELL • Coach, Speaker and Advocate
About Me
I am a warm, curious, empathetic self-proclaimed nerd as I LOVE reading & learning. I love to know why things happen and why people are motivated to do what they do. I have tapped into my love of reading, my curious nature, and my resourcefulness to answer these questions. I have relied on these traits as the cornerstones of my personal and professional growth and resilience. I feel deeply for suffering people who need help and be there for others. I am community-minded and believe I have to give back to society.
My career has evolved from psychology to HR, and now a certified life coach with a niche in self-regulation and executive function skills. I have been on a mission to understand why some people succeed effortlessly and why some people struggle.
I was not always this self-proclaimed nerd who loved learning. As a child, I struggled in school and with many executive function skills. Through time and willpower, I learned how to implement the tools I needed to succeed. My love of learning developed as I discovered personally intriguing subjects. My desire to help people led me to the Human Resource profession and kept me there for nearly 20 years. Things changed when my daughter was diagnosed with Cancer, and I realized I wanted to have a more profound impact on how I was helping people. When she was later diagnosed with ADHD and three learning disabilities and my son became a typical teenage boy, I watched my children learn and function differently, which triggered my curiosity to understand what I was witnessing. That was when I started to learn about developing executive function skills, Self-Regulation as well as some neuroscience to help me uncover the mysteries of what was happening in their brains.
I decided to apply all the knowledge I acquired through my years of learning about Pediatric Cancer side effects, researching ADHD, Learning Disabilities, Executive Function Skills, Self-Regulation, the science behind learning, and advocating for my daughter by becoming a certified life coach with the International Coaching Federation (ICF). I finally found a way to have a profound impact on the lives of others by empowering my clients to find solutions to meet their unique blend of needs. I see my clients as resourceful, whole, and capable of change, and I approach each coaching relationship primarily through my empathy, calm, respect, and kindness.
My Official Bio
Joy Gandell received her Bachelor of Arts Degree with a major in Psychology from McGill University and her Master’s of Science in Administration with a major in Management from the John Molson School of Business. For almost 20 years, she worked in Human Resources. Joy discovered a passion for executive function skills and coaching after her daughter was diagnosed with ADHD, Predominantly Inattentive Presentation. She shifted her career focus and delved into coaching and executive function skill development. She received intensive training, obtaining certificates in the Art of Inspiring Students to Study Strategically, Empowering Students Through Coaching, Self-Reg Foundations Certificate Program, and the Self-Reg Learning Facilitator’s Program. Joy has also obtained her Associate Certified Coach level through the International Coaching Federation.
Today, Joy coaches individuals (15 years +) on learning and succeeding in school, self-regulating, and achieving their critical life skills goals. She is particularly passionate about training, mentoring, and coaching people on Self-Regulation skills because she believes that success in school and life largely depends on the ability to self-regulate, a cornerstone to building executive function skills and personal growth.
Joy believes her clients are all resourceful, resilient, and capable of achieving the goals they set for themselves through coaching and learning how to hold themselves accountable. By establishing a trusting relationship and keeping a safe space for her clients, she can help them achieve the self-awareness they need to develop the strategies and action plans for success.
Joy is a member of the International Coaching Federation and the ADHD Coaches Organization. She actively participates in professional development by participating in various training courses.
My Podcast
Being With Joy: A Quest To Crack The Parenting Code

Being With Joy: Parenting & Emotional Literacy S1E11
This week I talk about how important it is for us as parents to be more emotionally literate and how it will impact ourselves and our parenting.
Being With Joy: Self-Reg S1E10
In this episode, I talk about Shanker Self-Reg and how it has helped me for myself and as a parent. Listen in to hear all about this amazing lifelong process that changes the way we see behaviour.
Being With Joy: All Roads Lead To The Limbic System S1E9
This episode is the lead up to the Self-Reg episode. It is important to talk about the Limbic System when we talk about wanting to understand our and our children’s behaviour. I’ve heard so many people talking about the Limbic System influencing our behaviours that it became necessary to address here.
Being With Joy: Holding Two Competing Ideas At One Time S1E8
In this episode, I talk about how we as parents struggle to hold two competing ideas at one time when it comes to the ideas/truths being about our children.
My Services
1-1 Coaching
When you choose one-on-one coaching, you and I meet at the interval of your choice for 30 or 50-minute sessions where I support you as you hold yourself accountable for achieving your goals.
Speaking Engagements
If your audience is looking to hear from someone who has parented through a child’s physical and/or mental disabilities, advocated for their child, learned how to teach Shanker Self-Reg and overcome life’s devastating obstacles, Then Joy is the speaker for your next event.
Free Stuff
Please check out the following freebies Joy has available so that you can work with her on your own time and benefit from what she has learned.
Media
Please check out the following articles where Joy Gandell has been featured or quoted.

Have you ever wondered how to self-regulate with more ease but struggled to know where to start? With my Self-Regulation Framework, I break it down into two parts and present the Qs you should be asking yourself so that you can start your self-regulation journey right away. Sign up below to access your Framework.
Resources
MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
The following resources have been curated to assist you on your journey. I do not make any commission from sharing them with you.
Websites:
Parenting:
Education:
Neurodiversity:
ADHD:
ASD:
Trauma:
Mental Health:
- EFT Universe
- Canada Suicide Prevention Service
- Kids Help Phone (Canada)
- The Science of Well-Being
- Shanker Self-Reg
- Lynn Lyons
Coaching:
Books:
Self-Regulation:
- Self-Reg by Dr. Stuart Shanker
- Breath by James Nestor
- Spark by Dr. John Ratey
- Anxious Parents Anxious Kids by Lynn Lyons:
Executive Functioning:
- Smart But Scattered Series by Dr. Peg Dawson & Dr. Richard Guare
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
- The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
ADHD:
Trauma:
- The Body Keeps The Score by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk
- What Happened to You by Oprah Winfrey & Dr. Bruce Perry
Coaching:
Podcasts:
YouTube Videos:
Go to my YouTube Channel for playlists created just for you (Self-Regulation, ADHD, among many others)
Testimonials
I have been coached by Joy, and she is an outstanding coach. Joy has a perfect balance of professional experience and coaching practice to keep me on track and directed. Coaching with Joy has brought much order, focus, and improved, efficient performance to my professional and personal life.
Joy has coached me since September 2019. She has helped me in my time management during my college studies. She is very organized, structured, and reliable. She knows how to help someone become more accountable to oneself and others; is also a warm communicator, very patient, and asks the right questions to prompt autonomous responses. Indeed, she is a great life coach that can answer many needs because of her wide variety of knowledge and expertise in executive functioning. I recommend her!
Working with Joy was life-changing. She was able to help me identify barriers and create action plans that fit my lifestyle. She listened with a compassionate ear and asked questions that fostered clarity, perspective, accountability, and acceptance in all areas of my life. My relationships at work and at home improved tremendously while working with Joy. Her knowledge and expertise as a Life Coach are world-class.
The benefits of Joy’s coaching have changed the way I see myself. I really did not know what to expect from a coach but am so happy I made the decision. Her advice is based on her strong knowledge base and I have learned so much from her. She continues to challenge and hold me accountable but does so in such a genuine way, that I look forward to every session. Joy ensures that the goals are my own which is incredibly important. Her consistent encouragement makes me feel that I am not alone. Her empathy has taught me to be empathetic towards myself. I am privileged to have Joy as my coach as she has helped me understand how to take care of myself and get better at that every day.
Get Social