Alumni Spotlight: Pilar Childs Dostal '92

Meet Pilar Childs Dostal ’92. Pilar has a bachelor’s from the University of Colorado at Boulder and is currently a Managing Director at Ernst & Young.

 

We recently caught up with Pilar about her professional life, some of her proudest accomplishments, and the profound impact Indian Springs has had on her life:

 

I am based in Colorado, where I have lived for more than thirty years after graduating from Indian Springs and attending the University of Colorado at Boulder. I work as a Managing Director at EY (Ernst & Young), where I lead immersive strategy work with senior executives and leadership teams during moments of significant change. My role today is less about managing transactions and more about helping organizations make clear, bold decisions, break through strategic fog, and align strategy with execution when the stakes are high. After more than twenty years working on enterprise transformations, this work draws on both experience and perspective and creates space for leaders to step back, see what truly matters, and move forward with clarity and conviction.

 

Alongside this work, I am also building an integral executive coaching practice. In that capacity, I work one-on-one and with leadership teams who want to better understand themselves so they can lead with greater authenticity, integrity, and impact. While the contexts differ, both roles are ultimately about the same thing: helping leaders create healthy, effective organizations by first attending to how they lead, especially when the pressure is high and the path forward is unclear.

 

Pay attention not only to what you are learning, but to how you are learning about yourself along the way. Early in your career, it is tempting to focus exclusively on performance, credentials, and external markers of success. Those matter, but they are incomplete.

The leaders who make the most meaningful impact over time are those who develop self-awareness alongside technical skill. Notice how you respond to pressure, uncertainty, conflict, and responsibility. Those inner patterns will shape your leadership just as much as your intellect or work ethic.

Structured thinking, clear communication, and the ability to work collaboratively through complexity have all been essential. But the skill that has grown most important over time is the capacity to truly listen.

 

Listening not just for facts, but for what is underneath what people are saying. What matters to them. What they are afraid of. What they care about protecting or creating. That depth of listening builds trust, and trust is what allows real change to happen.

 

I am proud of the large, complex transformations I have helped lead and deliver, particularly those that required aligning many stakeholders around a shared direction. But I am equally proud of the leaders I have coached, mentored, and developed over the years.

Watching someone expand their perspective, grow into greater confidence, or lead with more humanity and clarity is deeply meaningful to me. Those moments may not always show up on a balance sheet, but their impact lasts.

There is no such thing as a truly typical day, which I enjoy. My days usually include a mix of conversations with executive clients, time spent thinking and writing, and coaching sessions that invite leaders to slow down, reflect, and see themselves and their situations more clearly.

 

Whether I am in a boardroom or a coaching session, my focus is the same: creating space for insight, alignment, and forward movement.

 

Indian Springs is filled with vivid memories for me. I remember writing a poem outside Ms. Diane Stewart’s classroom by a storm drain and later singing with the chamber choir at her funeral after she lost her battle with cancer. That experience left a lasting impression on me about the depth of life, our shared humanity, and the meaning we make together.

 

I also cherish memories of glee club rehearsals and tours, performances at The Hut, playing girls’ soccer, speaking French at the lunch table, and the everyday rhythms of Indian Springs life. Indian Springs was a place where learning happened everywhere, not just in classrooms.

 

Indian Springs shaped how I see the world. “Learning through Living” (Discere Vivendo) was more than a motto; it was a way of being. Indian Springs encouraged curiosity, independence, and self-reflection, and it taught me that learning happens through experience, not just instruction.

That perspective has stayed with me. It informs how I approach leadership, relationships, and work. I believe that how we understand ourselves and the world around us directly shapres how we show up as leaders, and Indian Springs helped me build that awareness early on.

I was involved in glee club and chamber choir, played girls soccer, and loved the intellectual and social life of being a day student and occasional boarder when my parents were out of town. Whether it was rehearsing for one-acts or musicals, competing on the field (especially against Altamont!), or simply watching friends play buc-buc in the dorm circle, those experiences built connection and confidence.

 

I stay connected through the alumni community and enjoy watching how Indian Springs alums continue to support one another across generations. In the age of social media, it is striking how many alums show up for one another. It speaks to the enduring sense of belonging the school creates.

 

Indian Springs is a place that shapes not only what students know, but who they become. Staying engaged is a way to honor that gift. Whether through mentorship, volunteering, monetary contributions, or simply staying connected, alumni involvement helps ensure that future students experience the same depth, care, and possibility that we did.

 

I love spending time with my family. I am happily married to my husband, Jared, and we are both completely enamored with our seventh-grade son, Keenan. I am best friends with my sister Callan ’91 and close with her husband Vaughn ’92 and their daughters. Time with them grounds me and reminds me what truly matters.

I also enjoy reading, reflecting, Pilates, and enjoying the Colorado outdoors whenever possible.

In five years, I see myself continuing to work closely with senior leaders and leadership teams, increasingly through my coaching practice, helping them navigate complexity by integrating clear thinking with emotional and embodied awareness. My focus will be on helping leaders look inward so they can lead outward with clarity, authenticity, and responsibility.

 

I care deeply about the health of organizations, and I believe that healthy organizations begin with self-aware, grounded leaders. This next chapter is about putting people at the center of transformation.

 

Stay curious about the world and about yourself. Take your inner life as seriously as your outer achievements. There is no such thing as non-impact; how you show up affects others whether you intend it or not.

Indian Springs gives you the tools to think deeply and live fully. Trust that foundation and let it guide you as you discover the kind of impact you want to make.