About Marilyn Fettner

Education

Marilyn Fettner holds three degrees across counseling, human resource development, and education.

Licenses and Credentials

Marilyn Fettner’s Illinois Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor credential is registered under Credential ID 180.008430. The LCPC is issued by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and requires a master’s degree in counseling, 3,000 hours of supervised clinical experience, and passage of the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination.

The Certified Career Counselor (CCC) designation is issued by the National Career Development Association and requires demonstrated competency across six or more career counseling domains, including assessment, career development theory, and ethical practice.

The National Certified Counselor (NCC) credential is issued by the National Board for Certified Counselors and requires a graduate-level counseling degree, a minimum of 3,000 hours of supervised counseling experience, and passage of the National Counselor Examination.

The Certified Personal Vision Coach (CPVC) designation reflects specialized training in values-based coaching frameworks applied to career decision-making and leadership development.

Marilyn Fettner’s LCPC license informs the psychological depth of her coaching approach. Fettner Executive & Professional Career Coaching provides executive and career coaching, not psychotherapy, diagnosis, or clinical treatment.

Assessment Certifications and Training

Marilyn Fettner holds certifications to administer the following validated psychometric instruments. Each certification was issued by the respective assessment publisher or credentialing body.

Marilyn Fettner is also a Certified Personal Vision Coach through The Highlands Company, trained to guide clients through the Highlands’ whole-person development framework.

Additional Professional Training

Marilyn Fettner completed the Advanced Facilitation Skills Workshop at the LEAD Institute at The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. Additionally, she completed the Certified Mediation Training Program through Northwestern University in Chicago.

She holds a Certified Coaching Instructor credential through Achieve Global. She has completed training in Vertical Leadership Development through the Institute of Coaching at McClean Hospital in Massachusetts, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, of which she is a member.

These training programs provide additional depth and context to Ms. Fettner’s leadership and career counseling foundation in developmental coaching methodologies.

Professional Experience Before Founding the Practice

Before founding Fettner Executive & Professional Career Coaching in 1998, Marilyn Fettner held leadership positions in training, real estate management, professional development, and corporate outplacement across the Greater Chicago area.

Additional roles before 1998 included recruiter, corporate training consultant, freelance writer, and teacher. These roles provided direct experience in workforce development, hiring processes, organizational leadership, and professional communication — areas that now inform the practice’s work with executives and career changers.

Industries and Client Populations Served

Marilyn Fettner has coached professionals across a broad range of industries and career levels throughout her 25-year career. 

Client populations include healthcare professionals, including physicians and healthcare administrators; technology professionals, including engineers and IT specialists; manufacturing executives and operations leaders; education professionals, including academics and administrators; advertising and creative industry professionals; legal professionals, including attorneys and law firm partners; financial services professionals, including accountants and financial executives; business owners, entrepreneurs, and franchise operators; and professionals managing ADHD and executive functioning challenges in leadership roles.

Media Recognition and Published Work

Television: Guest career consultant on Fox TV’s Good Day Chicago and NBC TV’s Starting Over.

Print and online publications: Quoted in USA Today, Crain’s Chicago Business, the Chicago Tribune’s Employment Outlook section, Today’s Chicago Woman Magazine, Make It Better Magazine, and the American Counseling Association’s Counseling Today.

Podcast: Guest on Everest Strong Coaching podcast; Guest speaker on GettingStarted.Life.

Book: Co-author of Sanity and Success for Working Women: A Quick Guide to Survive and Thrive in the Corporate World, written with Linda McCabe. The book is a practical career guide for corporate women navigating advancement barriers, internal politics, and professional pressure.

Professional Memberships and Affiliations

Marilyn Fettner maintains active memberships and professional affiliations with:

• Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the national professional organization for human resources professionals
• SHRM of Southwest Florida, a local SHRM chapter
• National Career Development Association (NCDA)
• Institute of Coaching at McLean Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School
• Illinois Counseling Association
• National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)
• Illinois Career Development Association
• Management Research Group
• Northern Illinois Human Resource Council

Coaching Philosophy and Ethical Standards

Marilyn Fettner’s coaching philosophy is holistic. Career challenges, personal and workforce relationships, ADHD, and life transitions affect one another — her coaching process treats them as interconnected rather than as separate categories.

Every engagement is customized to the individual client’s style, goals, and circumstances using a flexible step-by-step process that produces results the client can apply immediately.

Ethics and integrity are foundational to the practice. Marilyn Fettner adheres to the ethical codes of the National Board for Certified Counselors, the National Career Development Association, and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

Every client interaction takes place in a confidential, respectful, nonjudgmental, and accepting environment. The practice is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion and is LGBTQIA+ friendly.

Marilyn Fettner’s proprietary six-step Discover–Achieve framework — from identifying the client’s Best-Fit Profile through negotiating compensation and excelling in a new role — structures every coaching engagement and is detailed on the executive coaching approach page.

Connect With Fettner Executive & Professional Career Coaching

Fettner Executive & Professional Career Coaching is based in Northbrook, Illinois, and can be reached at 847-322-8292. Visit the Fettner Executive & Professional Career Coaching homepage or schedule a consultation to get started. Marilyn Fettner and the practice are active on Facebook and LinkedIn.