The Professional Bio:

After spending 14 years in the online education arena of higher education, enjoying the roles of Director of Distance Education, instructional designer, and faculty member, Christine transitioned to a role of helping leaders thrive. She works with individuals and groups of leaders coaching them on how to be authentic and kind leaders who can effectively communicate, build teams, and encourage productivity.

Christine also trains individuals and groups to practice Mindfulness and proactive resilience with the goal of decreasing stress and chaos and increasing focus and resiliency.  

Christine is trained by the International Coaching Academy, Mindfulness Training Institute in San Francisco and the Awake in the Wild Mindfulness program.  In addition, she maintains Outdoor Emergency Care certification as a first responder with the National Ski Patrol.

Education & Credentials:

2025 (January expected) - ICA (International Coaching Academy) ICF certified Advanced Professional coaching training program.

2020 - RBLP-T (Resilience Building Leadership Program) certification at the trainer level.

2018 - An IMTA (International Mindfulness Teachers Association) Certified Mindfulness Teacher at the Professional Level (CMT-P).

2017 - A graduate of Mark Coleman's Awake in the Wild teacher training.  In this work I've learned how to take Mindfulness into nature, using nature as a conduit for awareness and connection.

Whenever possible, Christine prefers to teach outside, allowing nature to be the conduit for connection and awareness. Christine teaches prescheduled half and full day Mindfulness in nature labyrinth retreats.  In addition, she loves to combine nature, Mindfulness, and team building to create unique organization specific team and leadership retreats. 

2015 - A graduate of The Mindfulness Training Institute's mindfulness teacher training, studying under Mark Coleman and Martin Aylward.  MindfulnessTrainingInstitute.com 

2008 - PhD in Education, Leadership in Higher Education – Capella University

2002  - MS in Education, Teaching and Training Online – Capella University

1993 - BS in Agriculture Business Management – University of Wisconsin- Madison

You can find a full professional history on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinelustikphd/

 The heartfelt bio:

I spent the first part of my career in higher education, mostly focused on distance education. I loved fulfilling the educational dreams of people who lived in remote places, had families, or for whatever reason couldn't attend college on-campus. That said, it is hard swimming upstream in a traditional arena and I tired of the stress and the effects it had on me. 

I turned to the thing that had saved my mental and physical health and given me the strength to believe in myself, Mindfulness. Mindfulness is a contemplative practice that helps us to train our minds and pay attention to our bodies. This journey for me has been filled with joy, fear, and learning; learning about myself, learning about my interaction with others, and learning about Mindfulness! I personally have seen many personal benefits to my practice, including:

• Increased focus and concentration,

• Increased calm,

• Much more moderate emotional swings,

• Less focus on daily pains and discomforts,

• An increased ability to be happy and to see the good in all situations and people, and

• A desire to lead my life with kindness and compassion.

The key word there is increased. I notice a change and am happier for it. Am I the perfect, always happy person? No, but life is better than it was and with continued practice, who knows what the limit to increased ease will be?

In 2015, I utilized my research, instructional design, and mindfulness experience and Mindfulness as I developed resilience training programs based in Mindfulness. Turns out self-awareness is the #1 trait needed for resilience!

In late 2022, I combined all of my experience and it directed me into leadership development and coaching. In January 2025, I’ll graduate from an advanced PCC level coaching training and have enjoyed working in the leadership development field since January 2023.

I look forward to working with you, and your team. We may work together with more traditional leadership development content, or using coaching, mindfulness, or resilience methods. Most often, a combination of methods will support the needs of your leaders!

 My Favorite Things: 

Here's a little about the me that lives every day..

❖ I like to be active. In the summer I love to hike, backpack, and paddleboard with my husband and in the winter I love outdoor sports.

❖ Most often in winter, you'll find me on our local ski hill, Montana Snowbowl, where I was a volunteer ski patroller for 12 years and still volunteer to teach the new patrol candidates healthcare course. I also cross country ski and snowshoe.

❖ I am positively and absolutely in love with my home and the community of Missoula.

Full Circle Work:

My clients and the people I meet provide me with so much sustaining joy, it is my desire to give back in any way I can and to support the community in which I live, as much as possible.

❖ In my personal life, I give back through my efforts as a volunteer first responder here in Missoula.

❖ Through this business I commit to supporting non-profits and other worthy organizations that need Mindfulness training, but may not be able to afford the full payment. I've done volunteer Mindfulness work for YWCA Guts program and the Poverello Center, just to name a couple. Please ask about a sliding fee for training.

Christine Lustik, PhD Missoula, MT
(406) 251-9775 (Office Phone)
christine@mindfulnessinorganizations.com

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