Lindy Lelij

Founder of Mpowerme Coaching

Born in Aotearoa New Zealand and raised in the Netherlands, Lindy Lelij has lived her life between cultures. With Māori and European heritage, she left New Zealand as a baby and spent the next 42 years immersed in Dutch life. The Netherlands shaped her language, humour, worldview, and career — yet her connection to her New Zealand roots never faded.

In the early 1980s, Lindy expanded her horizons further by living and working in Italy, an experience that deepened her appreciation for cultural diversity and adaptability.

In the 1990s, Lindy began building trade links between the Netherlands and New Zealand, travelling back regularly until she made the life-changing decision to return “home” in 2003.

What she discovered was that returning was far from simple. Her Dutch identity suddenly felt out of place, and her New Zealand self had yet to take form. It was a quiet grief shared by many migrants and returnees: the feeling of being between worlds.

Over time, Lindy rebuilt her sense of belonging — not by trying to fit in, but by embracing the richness of her own culture and story. That realisation — that culture is both inherited and consciously chosen — now lies at the heart of her work.

Today, as a Personal Performance Coach and founder of Mpowerme Coaching, Lindy helps people navigate the emotional terrain of migration, cultural transition, and identity. Her approach blends positive psychology with practices such as deep journaling, energetic tuning, and narrative reframing. She works with:· Migrants and returnees who feel unseen, lost, or disconnected· Individuals navigating culture shock, reverse culture shock, or career transitions· People seeking to reclaim their power and rediscover identity.

Behind her coaching is more than empathy: it is grounded in three decades of leadership, management, and governance experience. Lindy has worked across health management, business development, and government agencies, while also running her own businesses in New Zealand and Europe. She has served in governance roles locally and nationally, mentored professionals in leadership, and navigated the realities of raising a family while starting over in a new country. 

These experiences give her coaching a rare depth — a blend of professional expertise, lived wisdom, and cultural insight. Above all, Lindy empowers others to transform change into possibility, helping them flourish in the spaces between cultures and identities.