Meet Suzie Carmack
PhD, MEd, MFA, PCC, NBC-HWC, C-IAYT, E-RYT 500
Dr. Carmack is a best-selling author, award-winning coach, Senior Scholar with the Center for the Advancement of Well-Being at George Mason University and Founder of YogaMedCo, LLC. She has shared her pioneering work (which tailors education and practices in yoga, lifestyle medicine, and coaching) through her four best-selling books, online courses, peer-reviewed journal articles, conference presentations, and mobile app (iOS and Android). She is based in Fairfax, VA (near Washington, DC) and supports one-on-one coaching clients, teams, organizations, and government agencies worldwide.
As the founder of YogaMedCo and lifestyle medicine advocate, she educates the public about the benefits of yoga, lifestyle medicine and coaching. She and her team offer tailored leadership development trainings, team-building workshops and continuing education (certification) courses for professionals as well as group-based yoga coaching programs for teams, organizations, and hospital systems.
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Dr. Suzie Carmack
Vita Highlights
Career Highlights:
- She has trained 600+ coaches globally in her yoga coaching method, through her company YogaMedCo.
- She was the lead researcher and story-teller for the U.S. Surgeon General's Report, which focused on the intersection of public health, community development and small business promotion (2018-2019).
- She led the team that designed and delivered the award-winning stakeholder engagement and communication strategies that enabled the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s to launch its use of the Cloud and Shared Services in 2016 and to modernize the mortality data ecosystem in 2017. These advancements improved the speed of data collection to response rates for major public health events, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
- She served as the Lead Researcher (Thought Leader) and Author of multiple strategy papers for the Departement of Defense in 2016 - which ultimately convinced Pentagon leadership to prioritize warfighter resilience as a matter of national security.
- She is widely recognized for her pioneering work raising global awareness of sitting disease, and promoting daily yoga and mindfulness practices at work as an intervention to combat it, through her 3-year commission with the Pan American / World Health Organization.
Author - Best-Selling Books:
- Well-Being Ultimatum: A Self-Care Guide for Strategic Healers (2015)
- Genius Breaks: Optimize Your Workday Performance and Well-Being (2017)
- Yoga for One: How to Co-create an Inclusive and Evidence-Informed Practice On and Off the Mat 2024)
- Chakras of Business: The Energetics of Co-Creating Prosperity for a Brighter World (2025)
- Coming Soon: Life Story Medicine (2026)
Science Contributor - Peer-Reviewed Book Chapters:
- Carmack, S. (2022) Stress Management. In Cheskin, L., et. al. (2022). Weight Loss for Life. Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Carmack, S. (2018). U.S. Physicians’ Burnout: A Systems-level problem in need of a socio-ecological solution. In Sturmberg, J., ed. (2018) Embracing Complexity in Health: the Transformation of science, practice and policy. Springer.
Author, Peer-reviewed Journal Articles (Highlights):
- Smith, K., Carmack, S., Wolever, R. Q., Schultz, C., Papalii, M. A., Williams, A. M., ... & Cline, T. R. (2026). Enhancing Group Coaching Competencies in the National Diabetes Prevention Program: Evaluation of the Group Coaching Certificate Program. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 15598276261434170.
- Kennedy, S., Carmack, S., Li, L., Lin, F. C., Hatch, J. E., Chan, K., ... & Noah, T. L. (2024). Coaching Pediatricians for Wellbeing: A Pilot Feasibility and Acceptability Study. Journal of Academic Pediatrics.
- Wolever, R. Q., Cline, T. R., Weiss, J. M., Carmack, S., Schultz, C., Arloski, M., & Lawson, K. (2024). Group Health & Wellness Coaching: development and validation of the required competencies. BMC Health Services Research, 24(1), 392.
- Ahmadian, M., Carmack, S., Samah, A. A., Kreps, G., & Saidu, M. B. (2016). Psychosocial predictors of breast self-examination among female students in Malaysia: A study to assess the roles of body image, self-efficacy and perceived barriers. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention, 17(3), 1277-1284.
- Carmack, S. (2014). Making Sense of Well-being: A mixed-methods study applying sense-making theory to explore the role of interpersonal communication competence and social support in physical, mental, emotional and comprehensive well-being. Doctoral dissertation. (George Mason University).
Academic Appointments:
- George Mason University - Dr. Carmack has been a Senior Scholar with the Center for the Advancement of Well-Being since 2019.
- She holds the academic rank of Full Professor (Emerita), and has taught both undergraduate and graduate courses for:
- The Maryland University of Integrative Health (2022-2024)
- George Mason University (2011-2021)
- The American University (2015-2018)
- Northern Virginia Community College (2008-2012)
- St. Louis University (1996-1999)
- The College of Charleston (1992-1995)
Academic Degrees:
- PhD in Health Communication from George Mason University (2014)
- MEd, Health and Kinesiology Education, University of Texas at Tyler (2009)
- MFA, Theatre, University of Alabama and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival (1991)
- BA, Communication Arts, Allegheny College (1989)
Professional Certifications:
- Executive Leadership Coach (PCC), International Coaching Federation (since 2022)
- Board-Certified Health Coach (NBC-HWC), National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching (since 2018)
- Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT), International Association of Yoga Therapists (since 2022)
- Yoga Teacher and Trainer of Yoga Teachers (ERYT 500), Yoga Alliance (since 2006)
- Certified Facilitator, Leadership Training Systems:
- Myers-Briggs MBTI Type 2
- Emotional Intelligence (EQ 2.0)
- The Decision Style Profile and
- The MyHardwired Behavioral Profile System.
Scholarship and Coaching Practice Highlights:
- Her evidence-based approach to coaching was shown to improve well-being in a pilot study by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- She co-authored a paper establishing the group health coaching competencies for the field of health and wellness coaching.
- She co-authored a paper evaluating the effectiveness of coach training for coaches serving in the National Diabetes Prevention Program - establishing the utility of using group health coaching competencies for train-the-trainer program evaluation.
- As a leadership and business coach, she has personally mentored 100's of coaches and servant leaders, with a focus on serving the military, healthcare and intelligence communities.
- She has personally delivered over 100 customized keynote speeches, leadership development workshops, strategic planning meetings, convenings, and offsite retreats for the public and private sectors.
Thought Leadership in Leader Well-Being Promotion:
- As a trusted advisor and program developer, she is often personally commissioned to support senior leaders of federal and global government agencies, including:
- U.S. Army Coaching Program (2025-Present)
- U.S. National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (2025)
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (2024-2026)
- U.S. Air Force (2018; 2019; 2020; 2022; 2025)
- Health Resources and Services Administration (2022-2024)
- U.S. Department of Education (2021-2022):
- U.S. Treasury Executive Institute (2020-2021)
- U.S. Surgeon General's Report (2018-2020)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2016-2018)
- U.S. Parks Service (2016)
- U.S. Department of Defense (War) (2015)
- Pan American / World Health Organization (2013-2015)
Book Dr. Carmack for your next event
Looking for a keynote or graduation speaker who bridges science and soul? Learn more about how you can bring Dr. Carmack to your next event as a keynote speaker or leadership workshop facilitator.
