I am so glad you are here.
Hi! I’m Allyson. I help people figure out what they want, like what they really want, but when I graduated from college, I had no absolutely what I wanted. So, similar many of the individuals I now work with, I experimented until something began to make sense. I started at a nonprofit, then unexpectedly fell in love with the restaurant industry in Manhattan, spending two formative years at Eleven Madison Park. I learned a great deal about discipline, excellence, and service (also about vintage champagne, pate de fruits and swans—ask me later!) but eventually realized that hospitality wasn’t the right expression of my values.
That realization led me to pursue a Master’s in Clinical Social Work and, somewhat by happenstance, into higher education and career advising. Over the next decade, I worked at Dartmouth College, the University of Southern California, and NYU Stern, supporting students through moments of transition. In those settings, my work was never just about next steps or job titles—it was about helping people grapple with bigger questions of identity, meaning, and how they defined success.
When I discovered positive psychology, though, everything clicked. Literally everything!
To me, positive psychology wasn’t just a social science, but a way of life. My graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania culminated in the creation of Circle—a structured, group-based program designed to create space for honest conversations about ambition, pressure, and possibility.
I welcome you to click “play” below so you can learn about the first iteration of Circle.
play
Allyson Dhindsa, Circle founder
Today, through worklifecircle, I work 1:1 and in groups with thoughtful, capable people navigating transitions — including many parents and caregivers who are recalibrating identity and ambition in real time.
Allyson, thank you so much for putting together this initiative and pushing through with the challenging conversations every week. Our sessions forced me to be vulnerable, which I am deeply uncomfortable with. But because of that, I feel that I have unlocked a greater store of empathy for others, and am becoming more honest with myself about my wants and their trade-offs.
~Mindy Tan, Investment Banking Associate at Barclays
The silver lining of enduring such a challenging job search process, during what many have called one of the toughest markets in recent years, was the opportunity to work with Allyson. We first met during my time at Stern, but she became so much more to me than a career advisor. She asked thoughtful, intentional questions and somehow remembered even the smallest details about my life and family. After countless rejections and feeling unseen in so many conversations, working with Allyson was the first time in a long time that I truly felt seen.
~Riley Angarella, Senior Associate, Financial Planning & Analysis at The Rockefeller Foundation
Circle has provided a safe space for me to listen to other’s life experiences, get a glimpse into their mental models, and find courage to share some of mine too. I have loved getting to know my Circle pod. Beyond the friendships, our many sessions have also prompted me to be more reflective and thorough in examining my own worldview. Hearing that the things that I am upset about or worried about are not manufactured in my own head but a result of a shared collective experience was invaluable.
~Nathan Eckhous, Engagement Manager, Adobe
Allyson’s approach is simple yet powerful. She met me exactly where I was – and helped me move forward. Our conversations created space for both reflection and progress, helping me get closer to understanding what I actually needed in my next chapter. If you find yourself at a crossroads – in life or career – I can’t recommend finding support enough. And I can’t recommend Allyson more highly as a coach.
~Lauren Reid, VP of Strategy & Partnerships at Riptide
In Circle, I made the closest and only friends I have now.
~Angie Siefert, Co-Founder and Treasurer of Bridge to Cure
I felt that your work has been an incredible way to create community and catch those of us that would have otherwise fallen through the cracks.
~ Daniel McKenna, Senior Strategy Manager at BWD Strategic
I was recently able to secure a full time offer, and Circle was the most valuable career related program I participated in at NYU Stern. It helped me develop more focused career goals, and made me think more strategically about moves to make in the next few years.
~Ian Cunningham, Senior Consultant at Publicis Sapient
I’m specifically so grateful to Allyson for two reasons: First, she created a space of community and honesty that was incredibly helpful within the deeply weird environment of business school. Second, she has consistently encouraged me not settle or to trick myself into choosing a career or life that I didn’t actually care about.
~Lee Silverglate, Senior Program Manager at Quilt
Allyson helped me shed preconceived ideas to become a more capacious self…a self that includes more worlds.
~Sharon Dolin, award-winning poet, translator, essayist and memoirist
