About Debra

Founder of Access Coaching

What I’ve learned about people?
Most of us already know what’s not working.
We just haven’t had the space—or the structure—to change it.

I’m not here to impress you.
I’m here to tell the truth.

I’ve been the one who held it all together.
The reliable one. The steady one.
The one with the answers, the schedule, the smile.
And underneath it?
Exhaustion. Quiet resentment. Survival dressed up as success.

It came from years of holding what no one else would.
Of being the one people leaned on—while quietly unraveling inside.
Of building a life that looked solid, but left me shrinking behind it.

The turning point wasn’t dramatic. It was honest.
I stopped pretending strength meant never being tired.
I let my strength take its place beside the rest of me—
not carry all of me.

Because nobody knows strength like someone who’s had to hold it all.
And it was never meant to be the whole story.

I’ve spent decades doing the real work—my own and with others.
Not surface-level improvement.
But the kind of work that changes how you show up in every room, every conversation, every moment.

Because real change takes more than insight.
It takes rigor. It takes consistency.
And it takes someone trained to hear what most people miss.

There are plenty of smart voices out there.
Some offer powerful tools. Others bring needed truth.
But in a world where everyone calls themselves a guide, it’s hard to know who’s actually done the work.
That’s where I stand apart.
The work is anything but trendy.
This isn’t a performance or catchy brand.
It’s a way of being that changes how you live—permanently.

I don’t coach for appearance.
I coach to make space for what’s real.
I coach to pay forward what changed my life.

Because I’ve lived it. I’ve walked through it.
And now, I hold space for others to do the same—
with structure, stillness, and a standard that doesn’t waver. The Access is that space You bring what’s real.
I’ll meet you there.

If you’ve read this far, something in you is ready.
And if you’re willing—I’ll walk with you.
That’s what The Access is for.

—Debra Peñate
Founder, Coach, Human First