The Official Bio

Dr. Suzie Carmack is the Department Chair of Yoga Therapy and Ayurveda (YTA) for the Maryland University of Integrative Health (MUIH) where she directs MUIH's yoga therapy and Ayurveda programs and teaches graduate courses in yoga philosophy and yoga therapy. She also serves as a Senior Scholar with the Center for the Advancement of Well-Being at George Mason University and as CEO and Founder of YogaMedCo.

Recognized as a global pioneer and thought leader in the promotion of well-being in the workplace, Dr. Carmack is the author of two #1 best-sellers that translate yoga philosophy and practices for the public - Well-Being Ultimatum (2015) and Genius Breaks (2017). Her next book, Yoga for One: How to Co-Create an Inclusive and Evidence-Inforned Practice On and Off of the Mat will be published by Singing Dragon/Jessica Kingsley, London in 2024. She has also published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and book volumes, including a chapter in Embracing Complexity in Health published by Springer (2019).

Since 2002, Dr. Carmack has been globally recognized for her advocacy efforts to destigmatize the practices of yoga and mindful movement in office and school settings, and for her advancement of compassionate leadership and well-being in the military, law, healthcare and education fields. From 2013- 2015, she was personally commissioned by the Pan American / World Health Organization to design three annual well-being promotion campaigns for their own teams in North, Central and South America. In 2016, she engineered the social media campaign that launched the ParkRx campaign - a national effort sponsored by the U.S. Parks Service encouraging physicians to prescribe time outdoors to their patients. In 2018, she was commissioned by the USAF Air Combat Command to design and deliver the first-ever resilience training for USAF senior leaders, training 2-, 3-, and 4-star generals in ways they can develop their resilience and compassionate leadership skills.

In 2019, she led the stakeholder engagement and story-telling efforts for the U.S. Surgeon General's Report, bringing together leaders from community development, business and public health to promote health and economic prosperity. In 2020, the U.S. Treasury Department commissioned Dr. Carmack to train senior leaders from all 45 U.S. government agencies in the practice of compassionate leadership and remote worker well-being during the onset of the pandemic. In 2021, the U.S. Department of Education commissioned her to train their national team in mindful leadership and compassionate communication practices, to support their burnout recovery efforts. In 2022, she began an 18-month effort to train airmen, civilians and spouses of the USAF in ways that the yoga philosophy of the koshas can help them to get more strategic about their leadership efficacy, well-being and mission effectiveness, through her Well-Being Ultimatum intervention. And in 2023, she became a Co-Investigator and Subject Matter Expert on a national program produced by George Mason University and funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which aims to reduce public health and safety worker burnout across the United States.

With 32 years of experience teaching in higher education and 22 years of concurrent experience training professionals, she has trained 1000's of yoga teachers, yoga therapists, fitness professionals, public health practitioners and coaches on 5 continents. She holds a PhD in Health Communication from George Mason University (2014); an MEd in Kinesiology from the University of Texas at Tyler (2009); an MFA in Theatre from the University of Alabama and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival (1991) and a BA in Communication Arts/Theatre from Allegheny College (1989). She holds professional credentials in yoga therapy (C-IAYT); yoga teaching (ERYT 500); and coaching (ICF PCC and NBC-HWC), and she has served on the faculties of George Mason University, St. Louis University, the American University and the College of Charleston.

Dr. Carmack is based in Summerville, South Carolina, a suburb of Charleston, SC. When she isn't supporting individuals and teams with well-being solutions, she enjoys taking care of her own well-being and spending quality time with her husband Bob Shircliff and visiting their five adult children and grandchildren.