Dr. Michael Gerson is an associate professor in the Sport and Performance Psychology graduate program at National University and an adjunct professor at Menlo College. A former All-American shortstop, he earned a scholarship to play college baseball at an NAIA Division school in Nebraska, competed in eight foreign countries, and coached the game at nearly every level from youth to the international ranks. He earned his doctoral and master’s degrees in Clinical and Sport Psychology from Argosy University in Phoenix, Arizona, and holds a master’s degree in Health and Exercise from Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, California. A Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC), Dr. Gerson specializes in elite mindsets, stress and pressure proofing, mindfulness and meditation, curriculum development, and transformative life skills. He is the founder of Transcend Performance, a consulting practice dedicated to helping athletes, executives, and organizations optimize process, performance, and purpose, and also serves as Director of Mental Skills at Mission 6 Zero. His applied work includes serving as a Senior Performance Enhancement Specialist with the U.S. Army and as Mental Skills Director for the Seattle Mariners. Dr. Gerson co-authored the best-selling book Deliberate Discomfort and is a longtime meditation practitioner who has developed mindfulness programs for diverse organizations and currently coordinates the Mindfulness Special Interest Group for the Association for Applied Sport Psychology.
