Dr. Sara Erdner, CMPC (she/her), is a Clinical Associate Professor of Kinesiology at Adams State University, where she teaches graduate-level courses in sport psychology and coaching. She also serves as adjunct faculty at the University of Western States specializing in mentoring aspiring CMPCs and teaching the psychology of sport injury and rehabilitation course. Dr. Erdner earned her Ph.D. in Sport Psychology and Motor Behavior from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), where she also completed her M.S. in Communication Studies with a focus on interpersonal communication. She holds a B.S. in Communication Studies from the University of Alabama-Huntsville.

As a Certified Mental Performance Consultant through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology, Dr. Erdner works closely with collegiate, professional, and Olympic-level athletes and coaches, helping them navigate the psychological demands of high-performance environments. Her most notable role was serving as a mental strength coach for a Major League Baseball organization, where she worked with athletes on the injury roster across both the minor and major league teams. Her practice as a whole emphasizes fostering mental resilience, self-awareness, and effective intra- and interpersonal communication.

Dr. Erdner is the CEO and Founder of The COPE Center, which is short for The Center for Optimal Psychological Education in Injury & Rehabilitation. The COPE Center takes a two-fold approach to injury and rehabilitation education by offering educational opportunities via multiple modalities (e.g., webinar/workshops, individual mentorship, group mentorship cohorts) to MPCs, therapist, and medical professionals to enhance their abilities to address the psychological demands of injury. The COPE Center also serves injured clients via individual consulting.

Dr. Erdner is also the author of Dear Coach, What I Wish I Could Have Told You: Letters from Your Athletes, which is a powerful collection of letters that gives voice to athletes' unspoken experiences, which offers both letters of gratitude and constructive criticism to provide coaches insights for creating more supportive and effective team cultures while also encouraging all stakeholders to improve communication within all relationships. Dear Coach, it's time your well-being be centered as much as the athletes.

Outside of academia and consulting, Dr. Erdner is a multidisciplinary artist who enjoys painting, writing comedic material for open mics, and collaborating on music with local musicians. She embraces a quiet life in Evergreen, Colorado, where she lives in a cozy 500-square-foot cabin with her partner, Kyle, and their three beloved pets: Lego, a five-year-old orange tabby; Kira, a seven-year-old husky/pit mix who behaves more like a cat than the actual cat; and Gouda, a one-year-old chow/shepherd mix who keeps the whole family on their toes. Dr. Erdner asks that you please send good energy that Kyle will become more open-minded in allowing them to add another dog to their pack even if they do live in a space that's considered "too small" to allow it!