RISE Community
HSEI at Michigan Medicine
Learn about our Health Science Education Innovation (HSEI) community and how you can join.
Education Innovation Community
Our community supports collaboration through shared ideas, resources and goals. This inclusive community represents learners, staff and faculty innovators across the Michigan Medicine continuum from different disciplines, organizations and expertise. This community implements ideas to address important educational problems, shares best practices, fosters professional development and ultimately drives innovation throughout all of health sciences education.
For additional questions, please contact [email protected].
RISE Team
Rajesh Mangrulkar, MD, Executive Director
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Dr. Mangrulkar’s work lies in organizational leadership and innovative technologies, and their interface with transforming medical education at scale. In addition to serving as the Executive Director of RISE, Dr. Mangrulkar is the Director of the Center for Interprofessional Education. He previously served as associate dean, where he led the curriculum, student affairs, evaluation and assessment, educational research, learning community and admissions units for medical student education at the University of Michigan.
Paula Thompson, PhD, MA, Program Director
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Dr. Paula Thompson is the Michigan Medicine Research. Innovation. Scholarship. Education (RISE) program director. She oversees the RISE unit operations and innovation project development. Prior to this role, Dr. Thompson served as director, Advancing Scholarship at the University of Michigan Medical School where she led efforts to develop and disseminate the school’s education research and promote an infrastructure to produce high-quality scholarship.
Nikki Bibler Zaidi, MEd, PhD, Evaluation and Assessment Director
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Dr. Nikki Bibler Zaidi is the evaluation and assessment director for Michigan Medicine Research. Innovation. Scholarship. Education (RISE). She oversees the RISE unit evaluation and assessment. Prior to this role, Dr. Zaidi served as associate director, Advancing Scholarship at the University of Michigan Medical School where she worked with Dr. Thompson to advance and disseminate the school’s education research and promote an infrastructure to produce high-quality scholarship.
Meg Wolff, MD, MHPE, Curriculum Director
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Dr. Meg Wolff is the curriculum director of the Research. Innovation. Scholarship. Education (RISE) unit at Michigan Medicine. In this role, she provides oversight to the development and progress of our RISE innovators. Dr. Wolff also currently serves as the director of the medical student coaching program at University of Michigan Medical School. She has previously served in medical education leadership roles spanning UME and GME including as the emergency medicine medical education fellowship director and the associate program director of pediatrics residency. Prior to this, she served in medical education leadership roles spanning UME and GME including as the emergency medicine medical education fellowship director.
Johnny McGraw, MA, Marketing and Communications Specialist
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Johnny McGraw manages communication strategy for RISE, including storytelling, social media, newsletter, and website content. He also serves in this role for the University of Michigan's Center for Interprofessional Education (C-IPE). Johnny previously worked for WKAR Public Media at Michigan State University, where he partnered with PBS and NPR to advance educational outreach and community-focused projects. Johnny also led communications for MSU’s Department of Communication and served as the curator of TEDxMSU. He holds an M.A. in Communication from Michigan State University.
Mary Smith, MS, Administrative Specialist
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Mary Smith is the administrative specialist for RISE, supporting operations, events, and initiatives that advance health science education innovation. She brings over a decade of experience at Michigan Medicine, most recently in the Division of General Medicine, where she managed major events, faculty support, and recruitment and evaluation processes. Mary holds an M.S. in Healthcare Management from Colorado Technical University.
Innovation Takes a Team
RISE Innovators
Learn more about the Innovator Development Program.
Alejandra Arango, PhD, Department of Psychiatry
Dr. Alejandra Arango is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry. As a RISE Innovator, Arango will develop a research-informed training curriculum to better equip clinicians in managing youth suicide risk. Her intervention incorporates experiential learning, competency evaluation, and guidance for engaging youth and caregivers during suicidal crises.
Michelle Kees, PhD, Department of Psychiatry
Dr. Michelle Kees is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry. As a RISE Innovator, she will construct a curriculum-based series of microlearning videos designed to build mental health literacy and resilience among medical students and trainees. Her intervention integrates reflection prompts and self-assessments to foster engaged learning and support student well-being.
Mary Haas, MD, MHPE, Department of Emergency Medicine
Dr. Mary Haas is the Assistant Director of Clinical Faculty Development, Director of Medical Education Fellowship and Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine. She will be designing a professional identity formation curriculum for early medical students, co-facilitated by senior peers in small group settings. Her intervention utilizes case scenarios and guided discussion to promote psychological safety and strengthen the learning community for future physicians.
Tonya Kneff-Chang, PhD, Center for History, Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences in Medicine
Dr. Tonya Kneff-Chang is a Lecturer in the Center for History, Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences in Medicine. As a RISE Innovator she will integrate a historical tour of Michigan Medicine with an ArcGIS digital story map to transform campus spaces into active learning environments. Her intervention combines experiential exploration and structured discourse to enhance critical consciousness and reflective practice among healthcare practitioners.
Catherine McDermott, MD, Departments of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics
Dr. Catherine McDermott is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Departments of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. She will be developing educational tools and patient resources to improve the care of hospitalized young adults with childhood-onset chronic illness. Her intervention provides practical guidance for providers and patients to promote equity, enhance outcomes, and improve the inpatient experience across care settings.
Joseph Stern, MD, Department of Neurosurgery
Dr. Joseph Stern is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery. He will be creating a training program for neurosurgeons, integrating Palliative Care communication skills found in Vital/M Talk, into Neurosurgery. These efforts seek to increase empathy and compassion in the care we provide patients and each other, increasing quality and engagement, while decreasing burnout.
Alexandra Vinson PhD, Department of Learning Health Sciences and Psychiatry
Dr. Alexandra Vinson is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Learning Health Sciences and Psychiatry. As a RISE Innovator, Vinson will create a seminar series to support multi-stakeholder teams in developing Learning Health System initiatives. Her intervention brings together researchers, clinicians, staff, and community members to strengthen institutional capacity for advancing care delivery and health outcomes.
Justin Yates, PhD, Department of Emergency Medicine
Dr. Justin Yates is a Research Area Specialist Senior in the Department of Emergency Medicine. Yates will develop an interactive workshop for emergency medicine providers to enhance understanding of how patients’ social factors influence care delivery and outcomes. His intervention focuses on assessing and improving current approaches to integrating social determinants into emergency care.
Darin Zahuranec, MD, Department of Neurology
Dr. Darin Zahuranec is a Professor in the Department of Neurology. He is creating a series of didactic and hands-on communication workshops tailored for neurology trainees. His intervention aims to improve knowledge and skills in serious illness communication, supported by scalable training materials for broad dissemination.
Previous Cohorts
Emily Balczewski, BA, MD/PhD Student
Emily Balczewski is an MD/PhD student at the University of Michigan Medical School and Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics. To stay on top of the vast and growing amount of medical knowledge they are required to understand, health professions students increasingly rely on electronic flashcards as a study tool. As a RISE Innovator, Balczewski built educational and software tools to empower educators to understand this new learning strategy and shape its future role in health professions education.
David Belmonte, MD, MS, Department of Psychiatry
Dr. David Belmonte is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Michigan Medicine. Belmonte’s project involved the use of artificial intelligence to assess medical student communication skills. As a RISE Innovator, he developed a machine learning model with Large Language Model architecture, fine-tuned with Standardized Patient Encounters and the University of Michigan Communication Skills Checklist.
Emily Bilek, PhD, ABPP, Department of Psychiatry
Dr. Emily Bilek is a clinical associate professor and child psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry at Michigan Medicine. Exposure therapy is the most effective psychotherapy skill for treating youth anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD), yet it remains the least commonly delivered due in part to clinician hesitancy. As a RISE Innovator, Bilek developed and piloted an experiential training curriculum for exposure to improve provider comfort with and delivery of exposure to youth with anxiety or OCD.
Ibtissam Gad, MD, Division of Rheumatology
Dr. Ibtissam Gad is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine in the Division of Rheumatology at Michigan Medicine. As a RISE Innovator, Gad developed the first simulation model of its kind to help learners detect small joint swelling in the hand, which can be seen in diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus. Her and her team’s vision was that this model could serve as an excellent learning tool for trainees to improve their physical exam skills and apply those skills with patients.
Jenny LaCross, PT, DPT, PhD, WCS, ATC, CLT, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Dr. Jenny LaCross is a research fellow in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Michigan Medicine and the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan. LaCross developed a Michigan Online Teach-Out covering pelvic floor anatomy and biomechanics to address disparities and inaccuracies in pelvic health anatomy education. The project incorporated interviews and insights from U-M’s internationally recognized pelvic floor research group and included anatomically accurate 3D-printed pelvic floor models demonstrating, for the first time, common childbirth injuries as well as the effects of aging and disease on the pelvic floor.
Emile Muallem, MD, Department of Pediatrics
Dr. Emile Muallem is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Michigan Medicine. As a RISE Innovator, Muallem designed and implemented a Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) curriculum for the Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine to improve patient care delivery at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. To achieve this, he utilized a multi-pronged approach including educational modules, hands-on sessions, and dedicated image review.
Julie Piazza, CCLS, MS, Office of Patient Experience
Julie Piazza is a senior project manager in the Office of Patient Experience at Michigan Medicine. Piazza developed and implemented a Patient & Family Life Specialty (PFLS) education program, establishing the PFLS role as an integral part of the adult interprofessional clinical care team. By addressing issues of anxiety, procedural preparedness, emotional health, psychosocial care, and non-pharmacologic interventions through innovative evidence-based education, Piazza created a positive impact on the patient/family/staff experience and improved care team culture and well-being.
Pat Schloss, PhD, Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Dr. Pat Schloss is a professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Michigan Medicine. As a RISE Innovator, Schloss evaluated the ability to strengthen learners' data science skills using an ensemble learning modality. His team developed and disseminated best practices for being both a member of an ensemble and the conductor of one.
Maxwell Spadafore, MD, Department of Emergency Medicine
Dr. Maxwell Spadafore is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Michigan Medicine. He also serves as the director of educational informatics for the Office of Medical Student Education. As a RISE Innovator, Spadafore developed a real-time AI-powered feedback quality assurance system—a “Grammarly for feedback”—to coach evaluators in producing high-quality feedback for learners.
Candice Stegink, MA, Department of Surgery
Candice Stegink is the associate director of innovation in the Department of Surgery at Michigan Medicine. Stegink’s project addressed the need for tailored innovation programming for residents by expanding the Surgical Trainee Agile Innovation and empoweRment (STAIR) framework from Surgery to other departments, starting with Obstetrics and Gynecology, using a train-the-trainer model. The initiative evaluated the program’s feasibility, scalability, and its impact on resident leadership development, innovation mindset, and interprofessional collaboration.
Courtney Burns, BSE, Medical Student
Courtney Burns is a medical student on a research year in the Department of Anesthesiology in between her third and fourth years at the University of Michigan Medical School. As a RISE Innovator, Ms. Burns developed the use of community-engaged art to promote emotional resilience among anesthesiology trainees and faculty after challenging clinical events (e.g., patient deaths, cardiac or respiratory arrests, etc.).
Malak Elshafei, BA, Medical Student
Malak Elshafei is a second-year medical student at the University of Michigan Medical School. As a RISE Innovator, Ms. Elshafei worked to enhance the M1 curriculum by integrating EPIC training and simulating patient cases during the scientific trunk, fostering early application of medical knowledge and providing students with earlier clinical experience.
Kathrine Giarra, MD, Department of Emergency Medicine & Internal Medicine
Dr. Kathrine Giarra is a second-year critical care fellow in the Department of Emergency Medicine & Internal Medicine at Michigan Medicine. As a RISE Innovator, Dr. Giarra developed a computer-based simulation platform that enables resident and fellow physician learners to hone clinical reasoning skills through deliberate practice on simulated critically ill patient cases.
Rachel Gottlieb-Smith, MD, MHPE, Department of Pediatrics
Dr. Rachel Gottlieb-Smith is a clinical associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Michigan Medicine. As a RISE Innovator, Dr. Gottlieb-Smith developed a system to more accurately and completely describe the clinical experiences and knowledge gaps of child neurology residents in real time, allowing for more timely precision education.
Jenna Greenberg, MD, Department of Family Medicine
Dr. Jenna Greenberg is a clinical assistant professor in family medicine and assistant residency director at Michigan Medicine. As a RISE Innovator, Dr. Greenberg developed a novel feedback process with a focus on equitable assessment and mitigating bias to promote a culture of inclusion.
Katie Grzyb, MHSA, Department of Internal Medicine
Katie Grzyb is the continuous improvement specialist lead in the Department of Internal Medicine at Michigan Medicine. As a RISE Innovator, Ms. Grzyb created resources for residents to make clear connections between Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) and Quality Improvement work.
Kayla Marcotte, MS, MD/PhD Student
Kayla Marcotte is an MD/PhD student in the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Michigan Medical School. As a RISE Innovator, Ms. Marcotte developed and implemented a faculty dashboard that displays quality metrics for narrative feedback given to medical trainees.
Alana Otto, MD, MPH, Division of Adolescent Medicine
Dr. Alana Otto is a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Michigan Medical School. As a RISE Innovator, Dr. Otto evaluated and optimized a novel longitudinal cross-institutional learning collaborative for Adolescent Medicine fellows.
Michael Brenner, MD, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
Dr. Michael Brenner is an associate professor of otolaryngology—head and neck surgery at University of Michigan Medical School, Michigan Medicine. As a RISE innovator, Dr. Brenner addressed fragmented health care by integrating learning and patient care across medical, dental, nursing, social work and pharmacy health professions.
Heather Burrows, MD, Department of Pediatrics
Dr. Heather Burrows is a clinical professor of pediatrics and serves as the associate chair of education in pediatrics as well as the pediatrics residency program director at Michigan Medicine. As a RISE innovator, Dr. Burrows created and implemented a leadership curriculum for the graduate medical education community.
Ivan Co, MD, Departments of Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care
Dr. Ivan Co is a clinical assistant professor in emergency medicine and internal medicine, critical care. He serves as the assistant program director of the Emergency Medicine Critical Care Fellowship at Michigan Medicine. As a RISE innovator, Dr. Co continued creating MI-DIVA (Michigan- Difficult IntraVenous Access Model). This model allows trainees to practice challenging central venous catheter placement in a simulated environment through a deliberate practice model.
Melanie Donahue, MD, Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency Program
Dr. Melanie Donahue is a fourth-year med-peds resident at Michigan Medicine. As a RISE innovator, Dr. Donahue developed a novel curriculum for internal medicine and pediatric physicians to facilitate patients transitioning from pediatric to adult providers.
Chelsea Fisk, BS, Department of Cardiac Surgery
Ms. Chelsea Fisk is a clinical researcher in cardiothoracic surgery at Michigan Medicine. As a RISE innovator, Ms. Fisk developed The Health Equity Literature Archive (HELA), an employee-centered initiative to foster independent, self-paced learning about the social determinants of health through memoirs, literary fiction and other works.
Glenn Fox, PhD, Anatomical Sciences
Dr. Glenn Fox is the director of the Anatomical Donations Program and co-directs the first year (M1) medical anatomy course at Michigan Medicine. As a RISE innovator, he developed and integrated eXtended Reality learning experiences into M1 gross anatomy sessions.
Alton R. Johnson Jr., DPM, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
Dr. Alton R. Johnson Jr. is a clinical assistant professor, podiatrist, podiatric surgeon and wound care specialist in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Michigan Medical School. As a RISE innovator, he developed and implemented scalable utilization of augmented reality to enhance medical training education and patient care experiences.
Elissa Patterson, PhD, Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology
Dr. Elissa Patterson is a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and neurology at Michigan Medicine. As a RISE innovator, Dr. Patterson developed a curriculum focused on interprofessional core competencies of pain management.
Vitaliy Popov, PhD, Department of Learning Health Sciences
Dr. Vitaliy Popov is an assistant professor in the University of Michigan Medical School Department of Learning Health Sciences with a courtesy appointment at the School of Information. As a RISE innovator, Dr. Popov implemented a validated radar graphical tool mapping the four constructs of shared decision-making (SDM) to provide real-time visualization of care provider/team and patient/family perspectives on a given SDM situation.
Andrew Wong, MD, Department of Internal Medicine Residency Program
Dr. Andrew Wong is a third-year internal medicine resident at Michigan Medicine. As a RISE innovator, Dr. Wong developed a novel curriculum (DATA-MD) to teach and empower health care professionals to use and appraise machine learning decision tools in the clinical setting.
Sandra Hearn, MD, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Dr. Sandra Hearn is the interim associate chair of education and professional development in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. As a RISE innovator, Dr. Hearn reshaped the feedback culture using a virtual landscape.
Hyeon Joo, MS, M.H.I., META
Mr. Hyeon Joo is a software engineer at META. As a RISE innovator, Mr. Joo developed an evidence-based machine learning tool to improve the care of heart failure patients by integrating its use with practitioners and learners.
Andrew Krumm, PhD, Department of Learning Health Sciences
Dr. Andrew Krumm is an assistant professor of learning health sciences at the University of Michigan Medical School. As a RISE innovator, Dr. Krumm devised targeted assessment-feedback encounters to improve general surgeons’ operative performance.
Margaret (Meg) Wolff, MD, MHPE, Department of Emergency Medicine
Dr. Meg Wolff is a professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics at the University of Michigan Medical School. As a RISE innovator, Dr. Wolff developed innovators’ master adaptive learner skills through a comprehensive coaching program.
John Burkhardt, MD, PhD, Departments of Emergency Medicine and Learning Health Sciences
Dr. John Burkhardt is an assistant professor in the Departments of Emergency Medicine and Learning Health Sciences. As a RISE innovator, Dr. Burkhardt engaged residents to use their individual clinical practice data to stimulate critical reflection on unconscious bias in health care practices.
Emily Johnson, MD, M.Sc, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Dr. Emily Johnson is a general surgery resident at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. As a RISE innovator, Dr. Johnson worked to address a key health issue in society by developing a curriculum for future health care providers at the intersection of health, clinical practice, sustainability and climate change.
Jenni Lane, MA, Weitzman Institute
Ms. Jenni Lane is the assistant director, training and technical assistance at Weitzman Institute. As a RISE Mini-Grant Recipient, Ms. Lane developed an educational model that translates research intro practice to improve provider practices for delivering confidential risk screening to adolescent patients. Learn more about her project
Marcus Sherman, PhD, The Roux Institute at Northeastern University
Mr. Marcus Sherman is an assistant teaching professor of bioinformatics at Northeastern University. His project aimed to improve scientific knowledge for all biomedical science graduate student instructors (GSIs) through a novel curriculum (POISE), combining traditional classroom education with community outreach.
Shoba Subramanian, PhD, University Partnerships at Amazon
Dr. Shoba Subramanian is the principal program manager, university partnerships at Amazon. As a RISE innovator, Dr. Subramanian developed competencies and a competency-based intervention to facilitate creativity and problem-solving in early biomedical sciences graduate students.
Marty Tam, MD, Department of Internal Medicine, Cardiology
Dr. Tam is the internal medicine program director at Michigan Medicine. As a RISE innovator, he developed a time-variable model of education for late residency and early cardiology fellowship using entrustable professional activities (EPA) in practice.
Michigan Medicine Education Community Steering Committee
Michigan Medicine is committed to making it easier to join, participate in and receive support from our different health science education communities. Thus, Research. Scholarship. Innovation. Education. (RISE) and the Academy of Medical Educators have established the Education Community Steering Committee (ECSC) to lead education excellence, innovation and transformation at our institution.
The Education Community Steering Committee (ECSC) will serve the visions of both the Academy and RISE and individual members will be asked to contribute in following ways:
- Provide input and feedback on the direction and activities of RISE and the Academy of Medical Educators.
- Assist with sessions that RISE and the Academy sponsor (individually and together), proposing topics, speakers and facilitators for these activities.
- Advocate for policies and structures at our institution that will help enable more frequent, creative and impactful education initiatives.
- Connect members of our education community to a broad, diverse network of experts and resources to advance their educational work.
Christine Canman, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology
Laura Denton, MS, Director of Faculty Development
Casey Fealko, MD, Resident, Department of Internal Medicine
Laura Hopson, MD, MEd, Josiah Macy Jr. Distinguished Educator Professor, Associate Chair of Education and Clinical Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine
Kathleen Ignatoski, PhD, Quality Assurance Specialist, Office of Animal Care & Use
LaTeesa James, MLIS, Health Sciences Informationist, Medical Education Team Lead, Taubman Health Sciences Library
Tonya Kneff-Chang, PhD, Instructor at Michigan Medicine and Researcher at the Marsal School of Education
Jenni Lane, MA, Program Director, Michigan Clinical Consultation & Care
Madeleine Lee, University of Michigan Medical School Student
Kamran M. Mirza, MBBS, PhD, Godfrey D. Stobbe Professor of Pathology Education, Assistant Chair, Department of Pathology, Program Director, Pathology, Clinical Professor, Department of Pathology
Suzy McTaggart, MS, Assistant Director of Evaluation and Assessment, Office of Medical Student Education
Vani Patterson, MPH, Administrative Director, Michigan Center for Interprofessional Education
Candice Stegink, MS, MA, Associate Director of Innovation, Center for Surgical Innovation, Healthcare Innovation Path of Excellence
Shubhangi Singh, MD, Assistant Professor, Departments of Anesthesiology and Obstetrics and Gynecology
Paula Thompson, PhD, Program Director, Research. Innovation. Scholarship. Education. (RISE)
Hannah Turbeville, MD, Resident, Department of Otolaryngology
#IAMANINNOVATOR VIDEO SERIES
This video series provides a platform for education innovators to share their innovative ideas and discoveries. It also provides a unique opportunity for our innovation community to learn about education innovations happening within Michigan Medicine. We hope you are inspired by these innovation stories, and we invite you to reach out to these innovators to learn more about their work.
Speakers in the series include:
- Dr. Gurjit Sandhu (Entrustment in Surgical Medical Education – OptTrust)
- Dr. Daniel Cronin (Medical Education Novel Teaching On-Demand Resource)
- Dr. Brian George (Surgical Trainee Competency & Early Career Patient Safety)
- Dr. Sonal Owens (Cardiac Anatomical Virtual Reality (VR) Curriculum)
- Dr. David Zopf (The Impact of High Fidelity, 3D-Printed Surgical Simulated Models on Education and Patient Care)
- Dr. David Marzano (Emergencies in Clinical Obstetrics (ECO) Course)
- Dr. Payton Schmidt (Fundamentals of Vaginal Surgery Curriculum and Simulation Model)
- Dr. Zach London (A Novel Neurology Localization Educational Board Game: The Lesion: Charcot’s Tournament)
- Dr. Margaret (Meg) Wolff (A Learner-Centered Coaching Handbook)
Our video series was highlighted in MHealth Lab.
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