Damon Poole

"Damon’s passion is fostering learning through play. He’s the brainchild behind several popular Agile games, including User Story Games, Agile Coaching Games, and Heroes of Agility.

While Damon began his career as a programmer, he’s been coaching and training Agile for more than 20 years, working with thousands of people at EMC, Capital One, Oanda, Ford, and Fidelity.

He also created Eliassen’s Agile Transformation approach and the training content across all aspects of Agile, leading an effort to provide coaches with opportunities to advance in their careers.

“Teaching has always been in my DNA. My mom and sister are both teachers. What I love about teaching is when people light up and understand how a concept can help them or others. It’s sharing something and knowing they get something out of it.”

Damon helps students become top-notch coaches by making coaching a natural extension of their identity. He’s an instructor that goes beyond the classroom to elevate students’ leadership capabilities and expand their career opportunities.

When he’s not helping people master coaching skills, Damon enjoys snowboarding, pinball, and working on a virtual reality game he’s creating for Quest.

“If you’re looking to learn more about coaching or to improve your teaching, coaching, and facilitation skills, I highly recommend Damon’s class! He provided interactive learning (even in a remote setting) and I got to practice real-time coaching with some very sharp people” –ScrumMaster at Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard

Specialty Industries

• Banking
• Automotive
• Tech
• Entrepreneurship

Education

Bachelor of Science, Computer Science, Vermont University

Certifications

• ICAgile, Agile Coaching (ICP-ACC)
• ICAgile, Agile Team Facilitation (ICP-ATF)
• International Coaching Federation