Meet Dr. Karen

Dr. Karen MacNeill PhD, RPsyc, CMPC 

Dr. Karen MacNeill is a mental performance consultant, psychologist, coach and professional speaker. She has the unique experience of having both competed and consulted on the world stage. She represented Team Canada as an athlete for over a decade and has worked with athletes at the last five Olympic Games. Most recently, she was the lead Mental Performance and Mental Health Consultant supporting Team Canada at the 2018 Olympics in Korea, the 2020 Olympics in Japan, and the 2022 Olympics in China.

Her dynamic, dependable approach – combined with her elite sport experience and her understanding of corporate environments – is an unmatched asset to any leader and organization. This knowledge has equipped Dr. Karen to impact multiple Fortune 500 companies, helping leaders and their teams excel and be well in turbulent times.

Dr. Karen is a sought-after professional speaker and has delivered keynotes at CEO forums, industry-leading conferences, corporate events, and retreats. She was also selected as a TEDx speaker before it was postponed due to the pandemic.

Whether she is mentally preparing Olympians for gold medal performances or helping executives leverage their strengths, Dr. Karen believes that cultivating the freedom to perform by developing mental fitness and bolstering resilience is integral to achieving high levels of personal and performance excellence.

Dr. Karen’s career achievements, leadership, and volunteer efforts have been publicly recognized by Avenue Calgary’s Top 40 under 40 award, the 2020 Women of Inspiration Game Changer award, and Canada’s Most Powerful Women Top 100 award.

Her passion and drive to help others be their best also translates into her life as a mother, wife, and outdoor enthusiast. She is a weekend warrior, multi-tasking mom, fun-loving adventurer, and passionate difference-maker.

Contact Dr. Karen

Dr. Karen MacNeill, PhD, RPsyc, CMPC
Mental Performance Consultant, Psychologist, Coach, Speaker

Dr. Karen’s story,
full of adventure

As a kid growing up in Calgary, Canada, sports laid the foundation for who I am today. I participated in multiple sports, all year round. I often jumped on the “superfan” bandwagon with my parents, watching the World Series, the World Cup, or whatever championship was on. And when it was time for the Olympics, you couldn’t tear me away from the TV. That was when I first became curious about what separated the BEST from the REST.

This curiosity drove me to pursue my dream of one day representing my country. After years of work, my dream came true, and I got to compete for Canada. And then, during my very first international match, I blew it! I had trained my technical skill, I had trained my body, but I had not trained my mind. After that experience I had just one thought: never again would I let my mind be the thief of my big moment.

So, I set on a journey to better understand the power of the mind and the mentality needed to unleash one’s full potential. Four degrees later (an undergrad, two Masters, and a Ph.D.), I’ve spent over 20 years in the field – supporting elite performers at multiple Olympic Games, coaching executives and leadership teams, and delivering keynotes to hundreds of audiences! For the past two decades, my passion and life’s work has been helping people cultivate the freedom to perform™  by developing mental fitness and bolstering resilience so they could bring their best when it counted the most.

As a competitor and consultant, I have had the privilege of a front row seat as the world’s best perform in high pressure situations. This incredible learning lab has allowed me to identify the common elements shared by “the best.” In combination with rich science, I have cultivated The High Performance Mentality model that serves as the foundation of my work as a mental performance consultant, psychologist, coach, and speaker.

I have such a cool job, and I love what I do! It’s my utmost pleasure to mentally prepare elite athletes for gold medal performances, coach executives to leverage their strengths and achieve results, and build high performance team cultures. I’m dedicated to unleashing my clients’ highest potential so they can shine in the moments that matter.

HIGHLIGHTS (Aka Humble Brag Bio):

  • Gained a solid theoretical foundation by earning four degrees, including 2 Masters and a Ph.D in applied and performance psychology (yup, that is 15 years of post-secondary education… and many pub nights).
  • Served as Team Canada’s Lead Mental Performance and Mental Health Consultant for the 2018 Olympics in Korea, 2020 Olympics in Japan and 2022 Olympics in China (Love the Olympics learning lab… lessons being summarized in my new book called You Can’t Make This $#!t Up!).
  • Delivered hundreds of keynotes inspiring audiences with stories of peak performance and resilience in both sport and business (delivered with a li’l class and a lot of sass).
  • Served on the Managing Council for Canadian Sport Psychology Associations, as a trustee for Canadian Athletic foundation, as a member of Tourism Calgary’s Calgary Sport and Major Event advisory committee, as an expert on Mind Works Summit’s leadership council chaired by Calgary’s Mayor, chaired the COVID-19 Mental Health and Mental Performance task force providing leadership and support to the High-Performance sport community when the pandemic hit (Phew! lots of giving back, feeling good, caring for my community).
  • Received Avenue Calgary’s Top 40 under 40 award, Universal Women’s Network Women of Inspiration Award, and WXN’s Canada’s Most Powerful Women Top 100 Award (end of humble brag – thank Goodness!).

Values to live by

Care Deeply

Having your back

Caring for people first and the task second. Being honest and dependable, doing right by others, being a good human, and letting them know that they have someone in their corner at all times.

Be real

Being authentic

Staying true to who you are at your core and presenting that to the world on a consistent basis. Having candid conversations, showing vulnerability and building strong, deep relationships.

Embrace fun &
Adventure

Enjoying the journey

Being playful in the approach and making the processes engaging. Seeking experiences that enhance learning and require you to be brave and push out of your comfort zone.

Evolve continously

Having a thirst for growth.

Being passionate about continuous learning and progression. Appreciating that knowledge leads to empowerment and freedom. Aiming for excellence and high performance.

Have impact

Being a difference maker.

Positively contributing to others so they realize their full potential. Supporting and elevating others while witnessing the joy and satisfaction that comes from lasting transformation.

On a mission to unleash your highest potential
so you can shine in the moments that matter.

What
Clients
Say...

“We were delighted to welcome Dr. Karen MacNeill to our conference in 2018. With delegates still impacted by the prolonged downturn, Dr. MacNeill’s topic of High Performance Recovery resonated and was well received. As a speaker, her enthusiasm in her delivery was excellent as was her ability to adapt as she went along due to some onsite logistical challenges out of our control. Bravo! Thank you Dr. Karen!”
Sheila McFayden, CEO, Canadian Association of Petroleum Production Accounting (CAPPA)
“Having Dr. Karen MacNeill as a guest speaker for WXN gave our community an opportunity to learn about resiliency, responding to stress, and how to build the tools we need to excel when facing the most challenging times. Her focus on mental, physical, and emotional well-being is the kind of support we all need – and wow did she deliver! Dr. MacNeill’s presentation was easy to follow, and her insight on performance, mental fitness, and self-discovery was such a valuable tool for all who attended.”
Sherri Stevens, Owner and CEO, Women’s Executive Network
“Dr. Karen was informative, focused and practical. Her virtual presentation helped to reignite belief in our own capabilities and sparked motivation to be at the top of your game.”
Aggie Mikulski, Principle TIPP Consulting
Dr. Karen has been one of the most impactful individuals throughout the course of my career. I would not have achieved the success I have without her knowledge and guidance, and I am truly grateful to have had her on my team as my mental performance coach for the past 11 years.”
Olympic and Professional Athlete, 3x Olympic Medalist
Dr. Karen’s presentation has really opened my eyes to the many considerations of what it takes to be “high performance leader.” That being said, she really humanizes the concepts and inspires confidence in me that being “high performance” is achievable. Her presentation was very engaging and very entertaining!!!”
Michael Baldwin, Senior VP, Corporate Development, Trican Well Service Ltd.
“Dr. Karen is an innovative leader in performance coaching with a great background as both an elite athlete with an impressive, educated mind. Through a vast experience in the field as a sports psychologist working with a varied range of high achievers, she knows how to understand people and circumstances, identify the challenges and provide tools to grow and ultimately become a better version of themselves.”
Head Coach, Professional Football (Soccer), Canadian Premier League
“We were thrilled with Dr. Karen as a speaker for Young Women of Influence. Her talk focused on ‘Top Performance’ and incorporated her own experiences in sport and business to illustrate the pressures everyone faces at times of high pressure. By providing a three step process for success, highlighting personal anecdotes, and engaging the audience in visualization, our audience was able to walk away truly inspired. Dr. Karen’s speech was applicable to both personal and business situations and provides immediate opportunity to improve performance. Some of our regular attendees mentioned she was the best speaker we have ever had!”
Leigh Anne Cooke, Event Coordinator, Women of Influence Inc.
“Dr. Karen MacNeill was a keynote speaker for us at our Business Execution Summit in March of 2019. Her session was engaging, relevant and from the heart. She is obviously passionate and very knowledgeable on her topic, and the feedback we collected from attendees was top rate. Thank you Dr. Karen for your contribution to BEx19!”
Andrea Kenna, Practice Director, Results
“The performance coaching experience with Dr. Karen was one of a kind and very different from previous coaching experiences I have had throughout my career. I really appreciated her insights on psychology and the tailored program that was very specific to my individual needs. Her coaching and support really helped me enhance both my mental fitness and bolster resiliency. It was an enlightening coaching journey!”
Senior Leader, Enbridge Inc.
“Karen was an ultimate pleasure to work with. She is quick in analysis and brilliant in execution. Her sheer wisdom and expertise increased the value of our event and helped to educate and inspire our attendees. I would definitely work with Karen again!”
Kenisha Williams, Event Strategist, Spark Event Collective
“Dr. Karen was the most important addition to my personal “team” in my career. Karen helped me navigate from having performance anxiety and self-doubt, to becoming the most resilient, adaptable athlete that I could be. Through mental health challenges, Dr. Karen helped guide and facilitate my mental training to become one of the best in the world, and to being an integral piece to our teams performances, and an Olympic Champion. But the most important role she played was helping me understand and become more aware of my challenges with mental health, and how I can continue to lead a happy, joyful life off the field.”
Olympic and Professional Athlete, Gold and Bronze Olympic Medalist