About the Founder
Dominic Longo
Flourishing Gays is Dominic’s passion and purpose at this stage of his life. Still on his own journey as a gay man into greater wholeness and thriving, he is now devoted to catalyzing and cultivating the transformational journeys of other LGBTQ+ leaders.
An executive coach, facilitator of transformation, and leadership development expert based in New York City, Dominic’s special expertise is cross-cultural leadership. He helps clients create greater meaning and purpose in their work and unlock their full potential for flourishing.
A former Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company in both the Middle East and the United States, Dominic focused on organizational transformations where developing new leadership capability was mission-critical. He served clients in tech, financial services, agriculture, education, non-profits, and national governments. Earlier, Dominic was Middle East business development manager for Valmont Irrigation.
As a faculty member in the Women’s Studies and Theology departments at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, Dominic directed the Muslim-Christian Dialogue Center, teaching courses on sex and gender, and leadership and diversity & inclusion in undergraduate and MBA programs. He completed a Ph.D. in Arabic and Islamic Studies (Harvard University), B.A. in French and German and M.A. in theology (Boston College).
He holds a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential with the International Coach Federation, having trained at the Coaches Training Institute. A citizen of the United States and Italy, Dominic grew up in Nebraska and is fluent in Arabic, French, and German, with some proficiency in Italian and Spanish.
My Community
Cultivating Leadership
This global leadership development firm has been my primary community of practice since I joined as a practitioner in 2021. We learn and grow together, and serve clients in their learning and growing. As we do the work of cultivating leaders in the world, my collegiality and collaboration with CL has led to some wonderfully developmental friendships and even more learning.
McKinsey Alumni
My almost 5 years as a management consultant at McKinsey, first based in Dubai and then in NYC, turbo-charged my professional development. From my very first client engagement, serving a bank looking to increase the effectiveness of their retail branches, I gravitated towards projects where mindsets, behaviors, and capabilities needed to shift. Serving private sector, public sector, and social sector organizations in the USA and Middle East, I flourished in the challenging yet supportive environment that focused on growing consultants’ abilities in problem solving and team leadership.
Equal at McKinsey (formerly GLAM)
When I started at McKinsey, the Employee Resource Group for LGBTQ consultants —then called GLAM, and now Equal — had just ~200 members globally, though the Firm had 10,000 consultants. With support from a network of colleagues I recruited in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and North America, I founded GLAM Allies, for straight colleagues to come out as allies to LGBTQ people at the Firm and to deepen their knowledge and skills for effective allyship.
The Leadership Circle
The Leadership Circle Profile (LCP) is the single most valuable assessment that I use with clients. Using this 360º feedback tool, my work with clients leads to extremely valuable insights for them about their unique developmental options and pathways. Filtering feedback through the research on leadership and adult development, the LCP lays deep and solid foundations and for my clients to use as a platform for their growth for a year or more of ongoing experimentation and reflection.
Gay Coaches Alliance
Gay men who are coaches have something special to offer clients and one another. This community of coaches support each other through solidarity and learning. We also published a book in 2022, called Coaching Wisdom: Voices of the Gay Coaches Alliance, to which I contributed a chapter.
OutPro
This nonprofit networking organization brings LGBTQ+ professionals together for community, learning, and mutual support. I regularly take part in OutPro mixers because they’re a wonderful watering hole for refreshment and making new connections.
Adeption
Looking for an adult development assessment tool to use with my clients led me in 2019 to Jan Rybeck, one of the experts behind the Vertical Mindset Indicator (VMI), which I now routinely use with my clients. The Adeption community is committed to making adult development theory useful on as large a scale as possible through the VMI. Jan’s friendship and mentorship continue to help me grow as a coach steeped in the research on adult development.
NGLCC
NGLCC connects LGBTQ-owned businesses with corporations that are committed to supplier diversity. It’s also a vibrant community of solidarity and learning for LGBTQ small business founders and owners in our quests to grow our businesses and have a greater impact on the world. I’ve become a regular participant in the annual NGLCC conference and an active member of the New York chapter of NGLCC.
CTI
CTI is the coach training organization where my journey as a coach began in 2014. From the very first Fundamentals workshop with Art Shirk, who became my first coach and a dear friend and mentor, CTI bowled me over with how rich a learning experience they created. Besides the CTI coaching curriculum, I also took part in their year-long Leadership Program, first as a participant (with the Magpies!) and then as an assistant (for the Mandrills!). CTI has been an extremely deep well of learning for me to draw from as a coach, a facilitator, and a leader – as well as a community of practice to which I remain gratefully connected.
Out in Tech
Having served clients at small start-ups as well as large tech firms such as Google, Workday, LinkedIn, I know how much I enjoy coaching tech professionals and helping them grow as human beings and as leaders. Through participating in Out in Tech networking events and this year’s Leadership Institute, I find new connections with LGBTQ+ professionals across the tech space.
IOC – Institute of Coaching at Harvard
The IOC disseminates the latest research on coaching and supports coaches in their ongoing development to serve clients ever more effectively. I regularly take part in seminars to keep up my learning.
ORSC – Organizational & Relationship Systems Coaching
The ORSC approach to coaching systems aligns very well with the co-active approach to coaching individuals. I have begun the ORSC training and also provided some training to the ORSC coaching community in attending to clients’ diverse gender identities and sexual orientations.