Michael A. Neel, Ph.D.
I have invested the last 25 years of my life in various roles including coach, husband, father, teacher, scholar, and university administrator. Fundamental to all of these activities has been partnership with people that I care about. I love to connect with people, to learn what matters most to them, and to help them recognize new possibilities, reframe old problems, and create something new.
I have spent the last 13 years working primarily as a researcher, professor, and academic advisor at Vanderbilt University and the University of Maryland, working with organizational leaders on challenges of learning, development, and human flourishing. My coaching practice is built on this expertise and experience and grounded in a commitment to evidence and inquiry. Before my academic career, I was a teacher and football coach. Whether on a football field, in a doctoral seminar, or individual coaching session, I always find myself returning to our fundamental desires as human beings: we want to be seen, encouraged, and challenged.
My coaching practice is strongly influenced by transformational work in my own life, ongoing work founded on meaningful relationships with family, friends, counselors, mentors, and coaches. My home is the primary lab for that work. I have three amazing daughters and I relish being a girl dad. The girl power of my house is rounded out by my partner, Mary Lauren, a hope-filled person, loving mom, pediatrician, and neonatal researcher.
Every person can lead courageous, flourishing lives that transform the world. I am delighted by the prospect of learning more about you and I look forward to connecting.
-Michael
