Dr. Cherie Kroh Joins Bakken Center as New Director of Integrative Health & Wellbeing Coaching Program
Dr. Kroh is highly experienced in program design and development, academic program management, teaching and instruction, and has extensive connections to national health coaching leaders.
March 10, 2023
Cherie Kroh, EdD, FACSM, NBC-HWC, EP-C, PAPHS, CHWC, EIM Level II, has joined the University of Minnesota’s Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing as Director of the Integrative Health & Wellbeing Coaching Program.
“I am pleased to welcome Dr. Kroh to the Center,” said Dr. Mary Jo Kreitzer, Center Founder and Director. “Her passion for supporting students from diverse backgrounds combined with her history in student success will ensure that our program continues to grow and thrive while reflecting the emerging needs of community populations. Dr. Kroh is highly experienced in program design and development, academic program management, teaching and instruction, and has extensive connections to national health coaching leaders. We are excited that through her leadership, the program will continue to innovate.”
“Being a part of the team that created the first graduate program in health coaching is a true honor,” said Kroh. “The Bakken Center’s Integrative Health & Wellbeing Coaching Program has an impeccable reputation. Health coaching is a discipline that is primed for making a crucial impact on prevention, chronic disease rates, and improving health equity, and I wanted to be part of an organization and discipline that recognizes this.”
Kroh earned an EdD in higher education administration at St. Cloud State University, where her dissertation focused on intercultural competence. She holds a MS in exercise and sports science from the University of Utah and a BS in physical education from Minnesota State University – Moorhead. She completed health coaching training through the Mayo Clinic and WellCoaches and is National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching (NBHWC) certified.
Kroh was previously employed by Western Governors University Academy where she held various roles as a manager of success coaching, academic programs, and the design and development team. Prior to this, she served as an associate professor in the PhD of health science, health promotion, and wellness concentration at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions. Kroh has also served as a behavioral health specialist and coach at CIGNA corporation and as an academic coordinator at the Mayo Clinic Health Systems.
Additionally, she is the owner of Wellness Coaching Elevated, where she writes and teaches digital courses leading to continuing education credits for NBC HWC wellness coaching professionals; developed a program to help students prepare for the NBHWC national exam through group coaching, study materials and practice tests; provides curricula to existing NBHWC accredited programs; and hosts webinars and events to advance the discipline of coaching.
The Bakken Center has been a leader in the health coaching field for more than a decade, and offers a master of arts degree in integrative health and wellbeing coaching and a post-baccalaureate certificate in integrative therapies and healing practices with a health coaching track. Both programs are Approved Programs of the NBHWC.
