Meet the Professionals
Friday, October 25
Meet the Professionals Lunch
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
Available only to those attending in person.
This event is for students only. You must sign up for the lunch when you register for the meeting. Registrants are assigned to professionals on a first-come, first-served basis.
Student Member: $25
Student Non-Member: $30
This year's professionals are:
Shannon Baird, PhD, CMPC, KBRwyle / 1st Special Forces Group
Dr. Shannon Baird is the lead Mental Strength Coach for 1st Special Forces Group (1SFG). With this elite fighting force, she strives to arm every warrior with an unassailable arsenal of mental skills that can be deployed to enhance lethality and longevity. To this end, Dr. Baird designs and delivers tailored training to inspire internalization and sustained utilization of mental skills across multiple domains. In 2020, she was promoted to 1SFG(A) Cognitive Enhancement Practitioner. As the CEP she continues to embed mental skills education while simultaneously influencing the direction of Special Operations’ Cognitive Domain. Dr. Baird earned her Ph.D.at the University of Iowa in Sport Psychology. She completed her M.Ed. in Developmental Kinesiology and B.S. in Kinesiology from Bowling Green State University in Ohio where she also competed as a DI athlete. Her professional career began at Iowa as a lecturer and applied practitioner where she worked with various sport teams and individual performers. Subsequently, she worked as a contractor in support of a Department of the Army program. In that role, she worked at both the strategic and at the tactical levels. Dr. Baird has 20 years of applied experiences, a decade of which has focused entirely on the Military. In addition to her applied experiences, Dr. Baird is an invited lecturer, keynote presenter, and published author. She currently lives in Washington State with her wife and two dogs where she actively pursues her dream of running the Big Foot 200.
Megan Byrd, PhD, CMPC, Georgia Southern University
Dr. Megan Byrd, CMPC, is an Associate Professor of Sport and Exercise Psychology and a member of the athletic department Mental Performance Team at Georgia Southern University. Dr. Byrd is also the Co-Director of Mental Performance for South Georgia Tormenta FC. In addition to consulting, she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in sport and exercise psychology and supervises graduate students during their sport psychology practicum and internships. She is the Chair of the Web Presence Committee and is a member of the Community Outreach Committee for the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. She is also on the Executive Board of the American Psychological Association, Division 47. She has numerous publications, book chapters, and national and international presentations in the field. Her research interests include perfectionism, anger, aggression, emotional and behavioral responses during concussion recovery, and professional issues in sport, exercise, and performance psychology. Dr. Byrd has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Eastern Kentucky University, a master’s degree in sport studies from Miami University, a master’s degree in counseling and a Ph.D. in sport and exercise psychology from West Virginia University.
Sarah Castillo, PhD, CMPC, University of Western States
Sarah Castillo is the Sport and Performance Psychology programs director at University of Western States. She completed her BA in Psychology at UCLA, her MA in Kinesiology at California State University, Long Beach, and her PhD in Education at the University of Idaho, where she was honored to work with the most important mentor in her professional career, Dr. Damon Burton. Within AASP, Sarah's professional service has centered on the development and promotion of certification and the CMPC credential, with additional roles on the executive board and graduate program directors committee. Her applied experience began at the United States Military Academy, West Point where she consulted with athletes and future leaders representing 17 different NCAA DI sports, club and intramural athletes, and military Servicemembers. During her nearly 25 years of practice, Sarah has consulted with youth, collegiate, Olympic, Paralympic, and professional athletes, as well as performers from tactical, performing arts, and high-risk occupations. She is a published author and invited speaker, and lives in southern California with her husband, Jim and two beautiful Dalmatians, Dodger and Brady.
Breigh Jones-Coplin, PSYD, University of Denver
Dr. Breigh Jones-Coplin, PsyD, is a clinical sport psychologist, assistant professor, and entrepreneur. She obtained her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Denver's Graduate School of Professional Psychology, where she now serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor and Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging. With a Master's degree in Sport and Performance Psychology from the same institution, Dr. Jones-Coplin possesses extensive expertise in working with performers of diverse ages, sports, and skill levels. In addition to her academic roles, Dr. Jones-Coplin serves as a Sport Psychologist for USA Track and Field and the Denver Broncos, supporting athletes in their mental well-being and performance. Dr. Jones-Coplin's entrepreneurial spirit shines through her ownership and founder status of Black + Blossomed, LLC—a floral design company. Through this venture, she endeavors to showcase Black art, foster community thriving, and create meaningful connections between floral design and mental health. Her innovative approach involves developing curriculum that bridges the transformative power of flowers with mental health, revolutionizing the field. A sought-after facilitator, Dr. Jones-Coplin conducts workshops on healing and wellness for a wide range of businesses, teams, and organizations. Dr. Jones-Coplin's multifaceted expertise and commitment to empowering others through psychology, sport, entrepreneurship, and floral design set her apart as an innovator in the mental health field.
Mustafa Sarkar, PhD, Nottingham Trent University
Dr Mustafa Sarkar is an Associate Professor of Sport and Performance Psychology at Nottingham Trent University in the UK. His teaching, research, and consultancy focuses on the psychology of performance excellence in sport and other high performance domains (e.g., business, law enforcement). His work addresses how high achievers thrive on pressure and deliver sustained success and well-being, with a particular focus on resilience (individual, team, and organisational), psychological safety, and mental health. In addition to presenting his research at over 50 conferences worldwide (including numerous invited keynote talks), he has published extensively in these areas including 45 peer-reviewed journal articles (many of which are highly cited and downloaded) and 9 book chapters. Dr Sarkar sits on the editorial board of six international peer-reviewed journals, and he has won multiple awards for his research and professional practice from organisations such as AASP, BASES, and BPS. As well as publishing research, as a Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol) with the BPS, Dr Sarkar works closely with teams and organizations on creating environments and cultures to develop resilience and psychological safety, including Google, the English Premier League, the English Football Association, and various international Olympic committees.
Jamie Shapiro, PhD, CMPC, University of Denver
Dr. Jamie Shapiro is a Professor and the Co-Director of the Master's in Sport and Performance Psychology program at the University of Denver. She earned a Ph.D. in Sport and Exercise Psychology from West Virginia University (2009), an M.A. in Community Counseling from WVU (2008), and an M.S. in Athletic Counseling from Springfield College (2005). She earned a B.S. in Psychology from Brown University, where she was on the gymnastics team for 4 years. Dr. Shapiro is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC), listed on the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee's Mental Performance Registry, and a National Certified Counselor (NCC) by the National Board of Certified Counselors. Dr. Shapiro is a consultant for Sport & Performance Excellence Consultants based in Denver, CO. She has consulted with youth, collegiate, elite, and Paralympic athletes from a variety of sports. She has also coached gymnastics at the recreational, club, and collegiate (Division III) levels. Dr. Shapiro’s specific interests include psychology of sport injury, learning life skills through sport, psychological skills training, mental training for athletes who have disabilities, psychology of performing arts, exercise psychology, and ethics and training in sport and performance psychology.
Angie Winter, PhD, CMPC, HigherEchelon
Dr. Angie Winter is the Director of Leadership Development at HigherEchelon where she manages programs, delivers trainings as a subject matter expert, and leads team members. Dr. Winter also provides high performance and executive coaching for government and private sector organizations. Dr. Winter is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), is an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) through the International Coaching Federation (ICF), and is Change Management certified through Prosci. Dr. Winter has worked on multiple government contracts providing leadership development and cognitive enhancement training, as well as multiple university athletic departments. Dr. Winter earned her bachelor’s degrees in Kinesiology and Psychology from Penn State University, her master’s degree in Sport and Exercise Psychology from California State University at Fullerton, and a Ph.D. in Sport and Exercise Psychology from Michigan State University.
