Hey, I'm Sean.
When I was a San Diego teenager growing up in the 90's, my #1 life dream was to one day be a dad. A father. A husband. To have a great, healthy family. To create a loving home. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.
But no one, unfortunately, taught me the tools that I needed to know to make this happen. And that put me at a tough disadvantage when I became a dad in 2005. I had very few tools. I was a mess. I was NOT the man you see portrayed in my social media videos today.
Angry outbursts one day and I avoided problems the next. Made excuses. Blamed.
I failed at staying calm and connected calm in stressful moments.
Emotional, harsh discipline that didn't work, and didn't get my kids to behave. Then guilt. Then confusion.
Painful co-parenting arguments with my wife, Danielle.
It was like a dark fog of pain and uncertainty I couldn't see out of; family life was hard.
(If you’re feeling this, you are not alone.) With no one to turn to, I drowned in a sea of confusion.
But I knew. I knew there was a better way to parent. An easier way. A way to create a loving, peaceful home.
I just had to find it.
And so I did.
I read. I studied parent psychology. Healthy family dynamics. Read stats. Looked at science-based studies. I listened. I dove into "Positive Parenting" practices. I talked to emotional, hurting kids. Screen-addicted tweens. Defiant teenagers. I talked to happy, healthy kids. Successful teens. I studied thriving parents and struggling ones. I asked hard questions. Like a fly on the wall, I was invited into people’s homes and closely observed parent's and kid’s interactions. In the messiness of everyday life. The craziness.
I learned. A lot.
I discovered parenting tools. How some tools were better than others. Some parents were better than others. I discovered the secrets to how parents can be close and connected with their kids. I developed a large parenting toolbox. I learned that all parents need good tools, and how good tools help us connect, solve painful problems, create loving homes and raise amazing kids.
For years, I soaked up every parenting tool I could get my hands on. I invented a few of my own. Tools that we need in our modern, plugged-in world. I was obsessed. And when I put my new tools into practice with my own family, with my kids, our home transformed into something beautiful and harmonious.
At first, it was weird how amazing (and easy) parenting became for me. It was fun. Beautiful. We were connected. I just had to say certain words and I could create quickly connect, solve problems and build instant cooperation.
Time passed. I knew there were other parents out there who were exactly like I used to be; struggling and desperately needing help in their lives. I wanted to help.
I dreamed. I dreamed that one day I could help parents. Help families. It was a big dream.
I was a man in a female-dominated family space. A manly man; Who likes football, basketball, the outdoors and BBQ; Who isn’t always gentle or sweet; Who doesn't have a PhD at the end of my name.
I wondered, 'Will anyone care what I have to say?'
Fast forward to today...the dream has come true.
Today, I’ve helped tens of millions of people through social media videos. My podcast is in over 130 countries.
I've helped thousands of parent clients create love and harmony in their homes, solve painful problems and behavioral patterns...create amazing families.
Some dreams do come true.
And I couldn’t have done it without you... so thank you.
But...I understand there are still many struggling parents out there who can relate to my painful story (maybe you).
That’s why I put everything I learned from 25+ years of coaching and counseling into creating life-changing experiences...
...to finally eliminate the pain within their family.
If you are ready for positive change...
I'd love to speak with you.
Sean Donohue
Founder, Family Coach, Speaker, Steph Curry Fan, BBQ Master
Back in 2004, Sean saw the TV show The SuperNanny and was inspired!
He said to his wife Danielle, "I would love to do that...help parents and kids...I should become a Dude SuperNanny! I could really help people."
Today, Sean has helped millions of parents and has coached young people who went on to become CEOS, Worldwide leaders, amazing mothers, Hollywood TV and film stars, YouTube stars, TV and news personalities, reality television stars, business entrepreneurs, and college athletes.
Most importantly, Sean has helped thousands of parents become the leaders they were meant to be...
and helped countless young people to become mature, kind, responsible, successful adults; many of whom have now become happy, healthy parents themselves.
Sean Donohue graduated from UC San Diego and has a Masters degree from Golden Gate.
Sean enjoys sports, fishing, backpacking, concerts and livin' it up on his pontoon.
"The Family Coach" on Social Media
Some of the Shows and Podcasts Sean Has Been Featured On
Sean's interview on the TV show Take 5.
Keynotes, Masterminds, Retreats and Parent Ed
Sean speaks LIVE to many thousands of parents every year...and tens of millions via social media.
Parents Say
"Sean's energy, humor and connection with the audience - 10 out of 10!"-Mom
"Amazing intro, great use of humor, tech and role-playing."-Mom
"Sean role playing and acting like both the parent and the child was incredible."-Mom
-Sean taught me to tune into my own emotions"-Mom
Inspirational. Educational. Transformational.
Sean uses a unique mix of excellent relatable humor, audience interaction, powerful story-telling, EQ skills, and modern research to educate and inspire parents worldwide.
Contact Us About Speaking and Keynotes
Parents Say...
Frequently Asked Questions
Sean's rate varies from $0-10,000 per event day.
Sean speaks at Masterminds, Men's Retreats, Business Executive Events, Couples Retreats, Parenting Conferences, Overnight Family Camps, Communication Summits, and Mindfulness Retreats
Sean does pro-bono speaking for various good causes and also at public schools, non-profits and churches who may have limited budgets.
Alhambra High School, Martinez
Berean Christian High School, Walnut Creek
Bishop’s Ranch, Healdsburg
Boys Team Charity, Alamo/Danville
Bret Harte Middle School, San Jose
Cal High School, San Ramon
Castillero Middle School, San Jose
Chevron World Headquarters, San Ramon
Clayton Valley High School, Clayton
Community Presbyterian Church, Danville
College Park High School, Pleasant Hill
Carondelet High School, Concord
Charlotte Wood Middle School, Danville
Community Presbyterian Church, Danville
Creekside Community Church, Alamo
Creekside Elementary School, Danville
Crestwood Healing Center, Pleasant Hill
De La Salle High School, Concord
Diablo Vista Middle School, Danville
Dougherty Valley High School, San Ramon
Dublin High School, Dublin
East Bay Meditation Center, Oakland piscopal Church of the Resurrection, Pleasant HillHearst Elementary School, Pleasanton
Hope Center, Pleasant Hill
Fallon Middle School, Dublin
First Presbyterian Church of Alameda - Alameda, CAale Ranch Middle School, San Ramon
First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley - Berkeley, CAHope Center, Pleasant Hill
John Baldwin Elementary School, Danville
Los Cerros Middle School, Danville
Montair Elementary, Danville
Monte Vista High School, Danville
Mount Diablo Unified School District, Concord
Mothers Together, Various locations
MOPS, Various locations
Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church, Walnut Creek
National Charity League, Davis
National Charity League, Danville
Pleasant Hill Middle School, Pleasant Hill
Pleasanton Library, Pleasanton
Rancho Romero Elementary School, Danville
Restore, Concord
Saint Agnes Catholic School, Concord
Saint Isidore's Catholic School Danville
Saint James Episcopal Church, Fremont aint Joan of Arc Church, San Ramon
Saint Matthew's Lutheran Church, Walnut Creek
Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church, Walnut Creek Saint Philip Neri Catholic School, Alameda
Saint Raymond Catholic School, San Ramon
San Ramon Valley Unified School District, Danville
San Ramon Valley Christian Academy, Danville
San Ramon Valley High School, Danville
Stone Valley Middle School, Danville
Tabernacle Christian School, Concord
Valley Bible Church, Dublin
Vista Grande Elementary School, Danville
Walnut Creek Christian Academy, Walnut Creek
Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church, Walnut Creek
Wells Middle School, Dublin
WorkDay, Dublin
Click on the "Contact Us About Speaking" button. We will contact you and discuss your need, answer your questions, and make a plan together.
Our speaking rates vary depending on speaker, venue, audience and location.
Sean is Very Different...
...and not your typical speaker.
1. In a "family space" saturated with mostly women and female speakers, Sean is a man/father that both men and women can relate with. A dad who likes sports, the outdoors, business and thinks and talks like a man.
2. More than educate parents, Sean inspires. he speaks in a way that touches emotions.
Audiences laugh and cry. They walk away feeling empowered. Inspired. Changed.
(Listen to his podcast to hear this!)
3. Sean understands modern parents. he is one. He knows they are exhausted, overwhelmed, and want more than boring speakers, boring charts, boring PP slides, scary stories and overwhelming statistics when they see a speaker.
4. Sean can speak to a group full of Stay-At-Home mom or at Tech Week to a room of Tech Bros. Sean can lead a mastermind toi figure out work life balance and to a room of parents trying to figure out how to get their kids off screens. Sean can connect with anyone and everyone.
5. Sean uses story-telling and role-playing to offer people a unique, one-of-kind experience.
A Custom Experience
Sean creates custom experiences that best support the parents in attendance and the goals of the event organizers.
Evaluation: One of the reasons Sean is so sought after as a speaker is that he provides post-talk surveys to the audience.
Sean plans on, and expects, 10/10 feedback! (and normally gets it.)
Speaking Catalog and Ideas
Parent Experiences
How to Help Your Child/Teen Build Grit, Confidence and Emotional Intelligence
Schools Won't Teach This: How
How to Talk So They Listen and Listen So They Talk
How to Be Close To Your Children and Guide Them Into Maturity
How to Emotion Coach Your Children
How to Respond to Vaping, Drugs, Alcohol, Screen Addition and Defiance
What Kids Wish Their Parents Knew
How to Teach Your Children High-Level EQ-Skills
How To Emotion Coach Your Child Through Anger And Anxiety
8 Life Skills All Kids Need
Being a Power Couple
Being Partners and CoParenting Masters
Leading Your Family Into Screen Life Balance
Let’s Talk: An Interactive WORKSHOP for Parents and Teens/Tweens To Communicate With Each Other
Let's Talk: An Interactive Experience for Parents and Teens/Tweens To Discuss... (Pick: Screens, Vaping, Family, etc...)
Family Retreats and Experiences
(Talks for Parents, Kids or Combined)
Being the Family You Were Meant to Be
Becoming a Family of Love and Wisdom
The Family That Talks Together, Stays Together
How Kids and Parents Can Team Up To Be an Amazing Family
Parenting the Child You Have Not The Child You Want...or Were
Mastering the Emotions of Parenting..and Leading
Masterminds, Busniess and Leadership
(Private, Corporate, or Exclusive Communities)
Thriving in the Emotions and Relationships of Business, Family and Enormous Success
Balancing Career Ambitions and Family Joy
How Leaders Can Use Communication to Lead Their Businesses and Family Into Healthy and Prosperity
Being a Man, Husband and Father Of Intense Impact
How To Master Any Conflict With EQ Communication and Incredible Leadership
Parents Say...
More Stories Of Lives Changed
Camille
Sean is a really good listener and is compassionate about understanding what teenagers are going through. He is very relational and has shown me how to communicate with my peers in a healthy way. I have benefited from his guidance and leadership.
Mark
Sean has been a significant factor in my son’s emergence into adulthood with a high degree of capacity and maturity. I’m forever grateful for Sean’s “holding” of Mathew during his middle and high school years; of all the many events, including fireside talks and weekend outings. As a co-parent of boys, I feel Sean has given Mathew an older brother/wise uncle perspective that I never could have individually. And the on-going friendship/mentorship that my son continues with Sean during college breaks and summers is priceless.
Alan
Sean began to coach me during my freshman year of high school. I was on a very bad path. I had my insecurities and didn’t follow any rules from my teachers or parents. With regular help and guidance from Sean all through high school, he helped me turn my life around. I am proud to say that today I am a United States Navy Corpsman stationed with the Marines at Camp Pendleton.
Kathy
When I was a single mother struggling to raise a teenage daughter, Sean provided an essential positive male role model in our lives. I always breathed a sigh of relief when my daughter was on an activity with Sean, because I knew that she was safe emotionally and physically. I was confident that Sean was guiding her down a path towards healthy life choices and away from destructive influences. Today my daughter is a college educated, happily married, mother of two, and Sean and his family remain a part of our family. Thank you, Sean!
More Stories Of Lives Changed
Bob
Sean has been a beacon of light for my whole family, and especially our children in their teenage years. Every teen needs someone outside of their family who can give them extra insight in lives that are sometimes awkward and have difficult challenges. Sean has been that light to my sons, and I truly cannot imagine our lives without Sean’s support.
Sabrina
Throughout high school Sean has helped me navigate many tough situations such as drinking, friends, guys, self-esteem, and my studies. Like many teenagers, I have struggled with my relationship with my father. Sean helped by talking to us individually and gave us both great tools for communication that made it much easier for us to get along with each other. I am so thankful for all of the wisdom he has shared with me.
Mat
Throughout my high school years, Sean was, and still is, a constant friend and mentor, steering me away from murky waters and leading me in the way of honor, wisdom and maturity. As I continue to grow into a man, I will never forget his wisdom and never stop trying to emulate the example he has set for me.
Faith
I am so thankful to Sean for all the time, support, wisdom, and influence that he has shown my son, Gabe, throughout his teenage years. His mentoring made a difference in his life and I know that Gabe will be “paying it forward” in the years to come. Today, Gabe is a United States Marine, and I am so proud of the man that my son has become!
More Stories Of Lives Changed
Emile
Sean began mentoring me when I was a freshmen in high school. To young people, Sean is extremely relatable, knowledgeable and understanding of the current challenges and struggles in the variety of teen and school ‘worlds.’ He is always reaching out to help, provide resources, and give advice in ways that are so needed to many teens and their families.
Nick
I was 15 and going into my freshman year of high school when I first met Sean. I quickly began to see Sean as a mentor. Through the years, he has played a major role in my growth into the man I am today. Sean has always been there to give me sound advice and offer guidance when I get off track. He has a gift for a type of honesty that is straightforward yet kind; this has impacted me and has changed the way I interact in my relationships. I still count Sean as a close friend.
Curtis
Sean was always the one who kept me on track with my decisions through my high school years and today we are still good friends. I knew that I could always count on Sean to be there for me when I needed advice or an honest opinion about a situation that I was dealing with. I’m very grateful for the compassion and honesty that Sean showed me, as well as how he challenges me to be the best I can be.
Danielle
Meeting Sean when I was 14 changed the trajectory of my life. Without Sean’s influence I would have continued down a dangerous path, but instead learned tools for navigating through tough circumstances. Looking back I credit Sean with so many of my successes. I simply cannot imagine what life would look like if Sean had not been a part of mine. Now I am married to my high school sweetheart, Jordan Higley (who was also helped by Sean), and the mother of twins.
Meet Us...And Some Happy Clients
Our unique, one-of-a-kind approach combines elements from traditional talk therapy, positive mentoring, D.B.T., life coaching, executive functioning counseling, life skills, mindset, attachment theory, interventionists, drug counseling, addiction counseling, trauma therapy, positive parenting, and of course, our own secret sauce.
Because every family is different, our clients receive personalized attention and a custom coaching experience.
Meet Our Coaches
Get to know us.
Sean Potts
Teen Coach, Speaker, Ultimate Frisbee Fanatic
Sean Donohue jokes that Sean Potts' youth work actually began when Sean Potts was Student Body President of his Danville,CA high school in 1995.
Over the last 20 years, Sean Potts has worked with teens in many capacities throughout Northern California.
Sean loves to help teens and adults build close emotional bonds, practice mindfulness of body and mind and find some peace of mind in a go-go-go world.
“The teen years are difficult for so many of us. I was blessed to have adult mentors and a group of peers who loved me for who I was. Today, I am committed to offering the kind of support that I received as a youth growing up.”
Sean Potts graduated from the University of Oregon with Summa Cum Laude honors and a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology.
Sean plays as much Ultimate Frisbee as a family coaching schedule allows and loves connecting with friends and family.
"Sean Potts has been instrumental in keeping our family united...Some of my skills learned were learning to listen and love despite disagreement...Working with Sean Potts is a priceless investment in your family's future."
Nancy
Mom Of Two
Sean P's Coaching Profile
Community events.
Helpful articles.
Meet Sean P's family.
Where is Sean P speaking next?
Colleen - Mom
I loved the one-on-one sessions that Sean Potts spent with my son geared towards an activity that my son could relate to. The two formed a lovely bond together.
Patsy Conner
Teen Coach, Speaker, Dog mom
Patsy Conner has chnaging teen lives for over 15 years. She has a passion for coming alongside teenagers and families, helping them restore broken down communication, and empowering them to make healthy individual choices.
Having worked with fifth graders all the way up to college students, she is skilled at creating connections, building trust, and coaching through difficult situations all throughout the teenage and young adult years.
Her experience includes various non-profit work and various youth organizations
Patsy likes long beach days, beautiful hikes, karaoke, finding good vegan food (even though she isn’t vegan), and snuggling with her Great Dane, Coconut.
