Iris Ayala-Swindell

LatinaVIDA Coach and Facilitator

Iris Ayala-Swindell, M.S.Ed. is a seasoned executive with more than 20 years of experience driving leadership development, career advancement, and organizational growth. As Director of Coaching Services at LatinaVIDA, she leads individual and group coaching programs, supports a team of professional coaches and facilitators, and organizes the Circles of Belonging to nurture authentic connections and collective success.

Known for her balanced leadership style—combining empathy with a results-driven focus—Iris creates environments where individuals and teams thrive. She brings structure, care, and accountability that empower people to realize their potential while cultivating cultures of trust and high performance.

Beyond LatinaVIDA, Iris serves as a Career Counselor at MiraCosta College, where she teaches Career and Life Planning and provides individualized career counseling. Through an equity-centered, asset-based lens, she helps students recognize and leverage their strengths and cultural capital toward meaningful academic and career pathways.

Iris’s leadership journey is anchored in her decade of service in the U.S. Navy, including six years as a Career Counselor, where she discovered her calling to positively shape lives and careers. During her military service, she led her unit’s Career Development Program, guiding service members through pivotal professional decisions. She continues to bring that same sense of purpose, discipline, and commitment to excellence to every role she takes on.

Iris holds certifications as a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach, STRONG Interest Inventory Practitioner, Certified Career Services Professional, and Career Launch Certified Professional. She earned her M.S.Ed. in Workforce Education & Development from Southern Illinois University and a B.S. in Fashion Merchandising from the University of Delaware. She has presented her research, “Serving Student Veterans at UC San Diego,” at both regional and national conferences including MPACE and ACPA.

KEY AREAS OF INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP COACHING (PARTIAL LISTING):