Bio
Terese Cooke Bottner
Youth Advocate | Life Coach | Thought Leader
Founder of LifeWorkTCB, LLC
Hello! Here’s a little bit about me…
I’ve been coaching since 2009 to help empower individuals and teams to develop a more creative, spiritual and performative perspective of their personal and professional lives. For the first 10 years my primary business was helping lots of professionals in Chicago and elsewhere communicate more effectively. That was great and I think I did a pretty good job, but my heart wanted to help struggling teens get on track and prepare them for a successful future. So, when I moved back to Northwest Indiana in 2018, I started writing a curriculum for youth. By October 2019, with the help of some very cool people in Lake County Indiana and some divine intervention, I started the LifeWork program for youth.
I’ve had the pleasure of coaching a lot of teens who come to me for all sorts of reasons, but all of them are working through difficult life challenges and need a fresh perspective. My approach as a life coach is getting the kids to practice identifying themselves from the inside out, rather than from external factors.
My focus is three-fold:
- First we work on developing awareness… emotional, physical, and spiritual.
- Secondly, we work on mindful communication for conflict resolution, building relationships, and setting healthy boundaries.
- And last, we work on vocational direction and develop visualization and performance exercises to solidify these practices.
In July 2025, my company TCB Communications merged with a larger provider group to expand family services in five counties in Northwest Indiana. I created LifeWorkTCB, LLC, at this time to ensure my youth services are available to all youth in need, either privately or within the Department of Child Services and Juvenile Probation.
I provide individual and group coaching for teens (ages 13–18) privately, in foster care, and justice-involved youth. I teach practices of meditation, journaling, visualization and connection to nature as the bedrock for self-awareness, healing, and peace. Goal setting, planning, identifying strengths and values, and service to others is also emphasized. I strongly believe that a practice of spirituality and mindful communication develop strong roots for healthy relationships, a sustainable positive mindset, and a meaningful life.
Recently, I’ve been fortunate to be involved with the art community in Gary, Indiana, and was honored to serve for two years as a member of the Transitional Services Workgroup for Indiana’s Youth Justice Oversight Committee to create state planning and policy ensuring youth transitioning out of restrictive care facilities are provided the services they need to succeed.
I’m a Certified Life Coach, a Certified Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE), and a Specialized Service Provider for Indiana’s Department of Child Services. Farther back in my career, while building my coaching business and raising my two sons, I was lucky to get to volunteer with Future Founders to encourage entrepreneurial innovation in Chicago’s middle and high schools. I was a long-time business partner and volunteer with The All-Stars Project of Chicago’s Development School for Youth (DSY) teaching the performance of business to teens from the city’s most economically challenged neighborhoods.
I grew up in Gary, Indiana, and earned a B.A. degree in Communications from Purdue University. Prior to coaching, I worked as a public relations specialist and trained as an actor. I’m proud and blessed to be the mom of two kind and creative sons and to have mentored many at-risk teens who are now doing great things with their lives.
