our founders.
Shari Simon
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former Senior Vice President Oracle Corp
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business strategist, board leader, social entrepreneur
Shari spent the early years of her career at Oracle, where she rose from an entry-level sales position to Senior Vice President, with global responsibility across sales, marketing, partnerships, and consulting. At the height of her career, Shari’s sister was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer, followed soon after by the death of both of Shari’s parents. These events caused Shari to pause and reflect deeply on what mattered most. In 2006, she chose to leave Oracle to care for her sister (who passed away in 2007) and to launch a new phase of her career.
Over the next decade, Shari served on the boards of public, nonprofit, and educational organizations, where she frequently found herself coaching executive team members. Observing their high levels of overwhelm and low-grade anxiety brought Shari back to her own childhood—a time of chaos and uncertainty. She reflected on what helped her navigate those moments and what propelled her forward. The answer was simple: clarity, small steps forward, and a willingness to access support. Struck by this simplicity, Shari set out with her co-founder to design a scalable, repeatable process—one that is accessible, easy to apply, and capable of helping others develop the same skills she was fortunate to learn early, use regularly, and continues to hone throughout the course of her life.
Maura Wolf
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coach, author and educator
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program developer at Do Something, City Year, AmeriCorps, Points of Light, Saint Mary’s College
In her 20’s, Maura became fascinated with how people make decisions, shift habits and support each other to reach goals. Burnt-out from the sixty plus hour workweeks, at 27 she left a non-profit Executive Directorship, knowing she needed less stress in her life. She set out to write a book, based upon a year-long journey, interviewing women about their choices. After the book was completed, she continued her work as a social entrepreneur and consultant as she worked with dozens of nonprofits and colleges to design programs to help people expand their capacities both in their work and their life. Becoming a coach, and a teacher at Saint Mary’s College of California, she began to wonder how she could bring the practices of coaching and learning to more people. In 2014, she authored What Matters Most: Everyday Leadership at Home, at Work and in the World, a book that brings the complexities of managing work and care to life and links people to resources that can support the process.
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In 2018, Shari and Maura brought together their complementary skills and experiences—and Next Move was born. Since its inception, they have consistently used the Next Move Method in their own lives. Each time, they learn something new about themselves, and their sense of overall life satisfaction and well-being deepens. This lived experience—combined with the positive feedback Next Move has received—allows them to say with conviction: Next Move works.
our advisors.
Kia Afcari
Jessica Burgos
Amber Childress
Leah Hendrix-Smith
Gary Hill
Anthony Jones
Liz Kline
Rodrigo Loera-Garcia
Isabel Lopez
