Erin Whalen

Erin Whalen is the founder and CEO of Compassionate Coaching, a communication training and Playback Theatre company based in the DC area. A storyteller, actor, facilitator, professional role player, trainer, and educator, Erin has spent nearly 20 years helping people communicate, connect, and navigate conversations that matter. A Playback Theatre practitioner since 2010, Erin brings together her creativity, deep listening, and her belief in the power of being seen and heard. Through Playback, she and her team of actors and musicians create spontaneous reflections of people’s real-life stories using music, movement, and improvisation, often revealing connections and perspectives that otherwise go unnoticed.

Erin has brought this work to organizations including Inova, Goodwin Hospice, and the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, as well as community groups and conferences throughout the DC area and beyond.

The Compassionate Coaching Playback Team consists of facilitators, actors, and musicians. Using the 50-year-old improvisational art form of Playback Theatre, they invite people to share stories from their lived experiences which are then spontaneously recreated with movement, music, and drama. The result? People with different perspectives that are not always in the same conversation are brought together, providing a shared opportunity for listening, understanding, and deeper connections.