Emily Drake

Owner and Lead Facilitator, The Collective Academy

Chicago

Emily Drake is the owner and lead facilitator of The Collective Academy, a career and leadership development business that goes to market with a variety of high-impact programs and resources that increase individual and organizational fulfillment and engagement.

Emily is a licensed therapist, a lifelong facilitator and a champion for others. She is also a four-time career changer, transitioning from leadership roles in public relations into youth development as a director of partnerships and then onto building a first-ever college-to-career program in the world of higher education. Most recently, Emily led coaching and programming at the Career Transitions Center of Chicago.

Emily’s transition to entrepreneurship in 2016 was made successful by two key components: 1) the "board of advisors" she surrounded herself and 2) her commitment to creating a structure and working within an accountability framework for growth, both personally and professionally. These two "lived lessons" are the cornerstone of the work she does with clients.

As a therapist and in her leadership role at The Collective Academy, Emily works with high performing individuals and organizations to apply the psychology of career fulfillment as a way to find meaning in work. She believes that without trust, self-awareness, community, a deep connection to the value we bring and a clear way forward to make changes, it’s impossible to grow. Emily delights in helping others find fulfillment in unexpected places.

Emily holds a BA in English from Augustana College and an MA in Mental Health Counseling from Northeastern Illinois University.