Our Team

Cindra Kamphoff, Ph.D. is a keynote speaker and professional certified coach for leaders, professional athletes, and championship teams around the nation. She is the founder and owner of Mentally Strong Consulting.

Her clients range from Verizon Wireless, Target, Mayo Clinic Health System to the Minnesota Vikings.

She has provided mental training for the Minnesota Vikings for four years working one-on-one with the player to help them train their mind.

Cindra is the author of the Amazon bestseller, Beyond Grit: Ten Powerful Practices to Gain the High Performing Edge and the corresponding workbook. Her work has appeared in New York Times, ESPN the Magazine, The Huffington Post, USA Today, and Runner’s World Magazine.

Crystal Hoogeveen brings 30+ years of experience supporting others in gaining mentally strong tools to become the very best version of themselves. She is a seasoned Mentally Strong coach with a wide array of experience working with entrepreneurs, leaders in fortune 500 companies and school districts across the country. Her love of learning and genuine interest in her clients’ growth and success make her a supportive, engaging and goal-oriented coach.

She has consulted with executive teams and schools across the country providing one-on-one coaching, professional development, and cultural health survey implementation. This work has delivered immediate and lasting results in team dynamics and leadership effectiveness. Crystal focuses on active listening skills, characteristics of great teams, and mastering conflict.

Dr. Rob Elliott Owens, CMPC, CSCS, BCC is a leadership and mindset performance coach trained in the mental and physical aspects of human performance. He currently consults with healthcare and business executives, and with public safety, primarily law enforcement.

He is the former chair of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) Diversity Committee (2017-2020), and co-facilitated AASP’s Diversity in Sport and Culture course from 2017 until 2021. He currently serves on the certification council for the Certified Mental Performance Consultant credential, and co-leads AASP’s Men and Masculinities special interest group.

In addition to his coaching work, Dr. Owens has taught workshops and college-level courses on leadership development; diversity and inclusion; positive coaching; health and wellness; and group, team, and organizational dynamics. He is a board-certified business/leadership/executive coach and a nationally certified counselor.

Char is a seasoned leader with over 30+ years within the healthcare industry. She received her Master of Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas. Those she coaches can benefit from her years of experience and her coaching certification. She is known for leading highly engaged, results driven and solution-oriented teams.

Char helps others move from where they are to where they would like to be. Char’s passion is to help others unlock their full potential.

A seasoned leader turned certified coach, Sara is a leadership development expert and keynote speaker. She inspires leaders to evolve the way they think about leadership, ultimately creating positive change and measurable results.

With 25+ years of experience, Sara has held many executive roles inside large organizations, from NBCUniversal to the Amazon-owned Audible. She creates environments centered around collaboration, mutual respect, encouragement, and employee value. Sara has built new departments from scratch and overhauled poorly functioning teams into highly productive, well-oiled machines. She has built teams that are resilient, loyal, strategic, creative, problem solvers, and they support each other.

Austin O’Brien earned his M.A. in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Minnesota State University, Mankato (2016) where he gained experience working with high school and college athletes. Since then, he has worked in both business and health coaching settings helping adults develop positive work and lifestyle habits. He is currently pursuing CMPC certification.

His interest in the mental side of athletic performance comes from being a lifelong athlete. Austin is actively competing as an elite distance runner in races from 5,000 meters to the marathon. He is coached by Tom “Tinman” Schwartz and recently raced in the 2020 US Olympic Marathon Trials qualifying with a time of 2:18. During his college career, he was a three-time NCAA DIII All-American at Central College and is the current national record holder in the Distance Medley Relay. Like you, he has big athletic dreams and is eager to relentlessly pursue them.

Melissa Hager has a M.A. in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia University – Irvine. She has been in the coaching field for nearly 20 years and has been a varsity head coach for boys and girls, as well as coached at the college level. Melissa was one of two females in the state of Minnesota to be the head coach of a varsity boy’s program. Melissa has also been a Health and Physical Education teacher for 15 years. It was in coaching and education that she found a passion for teaching kids to use their mind to help their attitude, performance, and relationships with those around them. She believes athletics and extracurricular activities are a tool to develop leadership qualities, good habits, and mindset tools to set students up for success. Melissa also enjoys working with teams and organizations to help implement strategies to develop players and leaders.

Kris Goodman earned his M.A. in Sport and Exercise Psychology from Minnesota State University, Mankato in 2020 and went on to receive his Certified Mental Performance Consultant Certification later that year. At MSU Mankato, he gained extensive experience working with high school and college athletes. During the summer of 2019, Kris worked as a Mental Conditioning Coach at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida where he worked with athletes from all over the world in tennis, football, baseball, soccer, basketball, track, and golf.

Kris is currently a Mental Performance Coach for the Tampa Bay Rays. He works with the Rays Minor League players, coaching them to be elite decision makers through the practice of mental skills. In the off-season, he works with various athletes throughout the country.

Britin received her M.A. in Sport and Exercise Psychology (’21) and M.S. in Mental Health Counseling (’22) from Minnesota State University, Mankato. Throughout her graduate training she consulted club, high school, and college athletes individually and delivered team sessions at the high school and collegiate level. Britin also provided individual therapy, group therapy, and psychological testing for ages 6-70+ years old in a private practice setting that served the greater Mankato Area. In addition, Britin served as a volunteer diving coach at the NCAA Division III level while completing her education at MNSU.

Justine received her M.A. in Sport and Exercise Psychology (’21) and M.S. in Mental Health Counseling (’22) from Minnesota State University, Mankato. Throughout her graduate training, she worked with club, high school, and college athletes individually and delivered team sessions to high school and collegiate teams. Justine also worked as a clinical intern providing individual therapy and group therapy and conducted psychoeducational workshops for college students at her university’s counseling center. Additionally, she served as a graduate assistant swim coach at the NCAA Division II level while completing her education at MNSU. She is currently working toward her CMPC certification.

Megan Svir received her M.A. in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Minnesota State University in Mankato. Throughout her graduate program, she gained experience delivering mental training workshops to teams and worked individually with athletes at the high school and collegiate level. She also joined Mentally Strong Consulting with ample experience as a health and nutrition coach and has worked as a high school volleyball and softball coach for over five years. She is currently working towards her CMPC certification.

Craig Frea earned his M.A. in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU) where he accumulated experiences working with high school and college athletes. During his time at MNSU, he interned at the Counseling Center where he gained an appreciation of how mental skills can be used to navigate life’s hardships. He learned that mental skills training can be helpful in both competition and life. Currently, he is working toward his CMPC certification.

Craig’s investment in sport started from an early age and continued through high school where he competed in basketball and tennis. Since then, he has cultivated a deeper understanding of golf and running. His passion for running prompted him to volunteer at the YMCA as a running coach. He is an avid runner who has completed several long-distance events, including a marathon.

Justine Schultz earned her M.A. in Sport and Exercise Psychology from Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU) where she gained extensive experience delivering workshops with club, high school, college, and semiprofessional athletes and teams. Aside from Justine’s experience as a mental performance coach, she joins Mentally Strong Consulting with experience as a Wellness Education Coordinator and Collegiate Assistant Softball Coach at Gustavus Adolphus College. She is currently working towards her CMPC certification.

Justine’s journey into the world of mental performance coaching began with a deep fascination for the psychology of success when she was a three-sport high school athlete and a collegiate softball player. The experiences she had as an athlete, and now coach, have largely contributed to her passion for mental skills.