Carl has over 20 years’ experience as a recognized expert in the field of applied sport psychology, performance psychology, peak performance, educational psychology, critical thinking, and individual development in both the military and academia, with extensive knowledge and experience in leadership, leader development, peak performance education, training and coaching.
Dr. Carl Ohlson recently retired from the United States Army as a Lieutenant Colonel, as well as an Associate Professor and the Director of the Center for Enhanced Performance (CEP) at the United States Military Academy. A prior enlisted soldier, Dr. Ohlson began his officer career as a Platoon Leader and then Long Range Surveillance Detachment Executive Officer at Fort Drum, NY. Subsequent assignments included Battalion Assistant Operations Officer and Company Commander at Fort Benning, Executive Officer and Deputy Director for the CEP at West Point and Chief of Community Affairs for Allied Forces Northern Europe (AFNORTH). While at AFNORTH, Dr. Ohlson led logistics operations in Poland, Turkey, Kosovo, and Macedonia, and coordinated logistical support in Afghanistan. Dr. Ohlson returned to Afghanistan in the fall of 2009 to assist the National Military Academy of Afghanistan in developing their strategic plan.
A frequent guest speaker on applying sport psychology and student development strategies to a variety of contexts, Dr. Ohlson serves as an advisor to several think tanks and committees pursuing strategies for leveraging mental strength to enhance performance. He also now teaches at Penn State in the College of Education and is a Senior Associate with Peirson-Sanders, LLC. Dr. Ohlson’s research interests include Psychological Hardiness and Self-Regulated Learning, and he incorporates this research throughout his teaching. He is a past member of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), holds a membership in the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), and is an AASP-certified Sport Psychology Consultant. He also served for three years as a member of the AASP Certification Committee. His scholarly work has been published in the Journal of Sport Behavior, the Journal of Instructional Psychology, Military Medicine, and Military Psychology.
Dr. Ohlson holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy, a Master of Education degree in Sport Psychology from the University of Virginia, a Master of Science degree in Military Operational Art and Science from Air University, and a doctorate in Higher Education with a minor in Educational Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University.
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