Allison Yost, PhD
Allison Yost is a leadership researcher, product strategist, and executive coach working at the intersection of psychology, technology, and human development. She is Senior Vice President of Product Strategy at BetterUp and the founder of Coppermine Studio, a leadership and life design studio for people designing what comes next.
At BetterUp, Allison shapes the company’s long-term product direction at the intersection of behavioral science, experience design, market needs, and emerging technologies including AI. Over the course of her tenure, she has held leadership roles spanning research, consulting, product, and strategy, and has advised founders and senior executives on leadership, organizational development, and the future of work.
Her career has been dedicated to understanding what makes leaders effective and how people can thrive inside and outside of work. She holds a PhD in Industrial–Organizational Psychology from George Washington University and a Master’s degree in Quantitative Psychology from James Madison University. Early in her career, she worked in talent analytics and leadership research across government and private-sector organizations before rising through the ranks at BetterUp, serving on the executive leadership team and leading multiple functions along the way.
This combination of scientific training, executive experience, and coaching practice shapes how Allison thinks about leadership today. She has found that the most effective leaders are not those who rely on authority or certainty, but those who can navigate paradox—holding high standards while leading with compassion, remaining decisive while staying curious, and acting from purpose rather than fear or optics.
In addition to her executive role, Allison coaches and advises leaders navigating moments of growth and transition. She particularly enjoys working with working moms seeking a more sustainable and authentic way to lead, rising leaders finding their voice, professionals designing career pivots, and senior executives committed to their own continued development. She believes that when leaders are grounded and self-aware, the positive ripple effects extend far beyond the individual to the teams and systems they influence.
Through Coppermine Studio, she creates space—via writing, coaching, and community—for thoughtful people to step back from constant striving and reconnect with meaning, clarity, and authorship in their own lives.
She lives in Arlington, Virginia with her husband Kevin, their three children, and two dogs. Outside of work and family life, Allison enjoys reading, writing, sketching, painting, and building creative projects with her kids—including experimenting with new tools and technologies to make games and apps together.
Some of those experiments live at CoppermineKids.com, a small creative studio run by her kids.
