Dr. Suzie Carmack, PhD, MFA, MEd, ERYT 500, NBC-HWC, C-IAYT is an award-winning yoga therapist, #1 best-selling author (twice), public health scholar, trainer, and trusted c-suite coach to senior leaders in the private and public sectors.
As the Creator of the YogaMedCo Method, Dr. Carmack has trained 100’s of coaches and yoga teachers on 5 continents in her signature and evidence-based approach to supporting clients in bringing the practices of yoga, lifestyle medicine and coaching together. She currently serves as the Department Chair of Yoga Therapy and Ayurveda at the Maryland University of Integrative Health, where she guides the training of tomorrow’s Yoga Therapists and Ayurveda specialists in the only accredited M.S. and C-IAYT program in yoga therapy in the world. She has also trained 1000’s of yoga teachers at the 200- and 500-hour levels globally since 2006.
As a pioneer in the office and school yoga movements of the early 2000’s, Dr. Carmack has been demystifying yoga for providers and patients for over two decades. Her two #1 best sellers (Well-Being Ultimatum, 2015 and Genius Breaks, 2017) help the world’s busiest people to bring more yoga into their daily lives (on and off of the mat). She was the leading science contributor and stress management chapter author for Weight Loss for Life (2021) by Johns Hopkins Press, and she has authored multiple book chapters, journal articles, and adjudicated conference presentations focusing on the mind-body connection and the science of compassion. Her mindful movement vitamin intervention (2007; 2012) helped to raise awareness about the importance of bringing more movement into the day to counteract the 28 adverse health outcomes associated with sitting disease.
Dr. Carmack is regularly commissioned to co-create yoga, mindfulness, resilience, and well-being training programs, interventions, workshops and keynotes for federal and global health organizations such as the Pan American / World Health Organization (2013-2015); the Department of Defense (2015); the U.S. Air Force (2018; 2019; 2021; 2022); the U.S. Treasury Department (2020); and the U.S. Department of Education (2021-2022). She was also personally invited by then Gen. James Michael Holmes, USAF (now retired) to develop and deliver the first-ever resilience training for senior leaders (2-, 3- and 4-star generals) for the U.S.A.F. (2019). She is currently collaborating with the USAF’s 37th Training Wing on the delivery of her Well-Being CONOPS intervention, inspired by her book Well-Being Ultimatum.
As a change agent and advocate, Dr. Carmack dedicates a portion of her time to promoting systems change in healthcare and public health. She currently serves on the Education Advisory Board of MedFit; as an Advisor to the Health Coaches Australia and New Zealand Association (NCANZA); and as a Senior Scholar with the Center for the Advancement of Well-Being with George Mason University. She also serves on the Group Coaching Committee of the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching, co-authoring the forthcoming group coaching competencies. Previously, she was the lead researcher and story-teller (conceptual designer) for the 2020 U.S. Surgeon’s General Report, guiding a team of scientists in exploring the intersections of public health, community development and business to advance the social determinants of health and health equity. She has conceptualized, designed, delivered and evaluated award-winning large-scale health communication campaigns, including the change management campaign that brought the Cloud to the CDC in 2016.
Concurrent to her work in the practice field, Dr. Carmack has 30 years of experience teaching in higher education as a multi-disciplinary scholar, educator and practitioner. Before joining MUIH, she most recently served as an Assistant Professor of Global and Community Health at George Mason University (a Research 1 institution), where she trained MPH students in community-based participatory research, leadership, advocacy and ethics. She is the recipient of the 2018 Alumnae of the Year Award from George Mason University’s Department of Communication, where she earned her PhD in health communication in 2014. As a multi-disciplinary scholar, she also holds an MFA in Theatre (1991) and an MEd in Kinesiology (2009) — giving her a unique and transdisciplinary vantage point at the intersections of the social sciences, natural sciences and humanities. As a mind-body fitness instructor since 1997, she has earned multiple credentials, including national board-certified health coach; third-generation Pilates teacher; ERYT 500 with the Yoga Alliance; and C-IAYT with the International Association of Yoga Therapy.
Learn more about Dr. Carmack at www.DrSuzieCarmack.com.