2025 CPTN Personal Trainer Online Summit Speaker Biographies
Christa Baker, OTM2
Christa is a Success Coach at Online Trainer Mentorship (OTM), where she helps health and fitness professionals grow their businesses through confident, value-driven sales. Christa teaches coaches how to lead enrollment calls, handle objections without pressure, and have the hard conversations that move people to say yes. Her method is simple, real, and effective; her style is direct, honest, and always focused on helping people get results without feeling fake or salesy.
Samantha Cronin, LMHC, RYT
Samantha Cronin is a licensed psychotherapist and certified yoga instructor specializing in trauma, anxiety, and performance psychology. With extensive experience in private practice and collegiate athletics, she integrates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), mindfulness, and movement-based interventions to support mental and physical well-being. Samantha, a 4-year NCAA collegiate athlete, continues to work with athletes facing injury, performance anxiety, and identity challenges, helping them navigate self-worth and resilience. Passionate about the intersection of mental health and the world of college athletics, she explores the impact of social-cultural impacts on body image and social expectations of young adults. Her work empowers individuals to redefine strength through vulnerability and self-awareness. For more information, please visit www.sjcpsychotherapy.com.
Dixie Douville, EdD, MSN, RN
Dr. Douville has 38 years of experience as a nurse specializing in cardiovascular and sports medicine. She is currently a Senior Clinical Lecturer at Iona University in New York. She owns Pursuit of Wellness, LLC, a health and wellness consulting company, and founded Girlfriends in Training, an athletic group for women that she led for 15 years. Through various publications and presentations, Dr. Douville has been recognized for her expertise in heart-rate training, female athletics, special populations, and prevention and wellness. She has had a distinguished career as a certified fitness professional for 32 years. She has served on the Editorial Board for the Certified Professional Trainers Network and is a USA Track and Field certified coach. An avid runner, Dixie is a 23-time marathon finisher.
Paul Gagné, Posturologist, Somatherapist, CSCS
Paul Gagné is a Conditioning Specialist with over 40 years of experience training some top Olympic and pro athletes. He is also the posturologist, strength and conditioning coach, rehab specialist for the Octagon sports agency for their NHL hockey players, and Co-founder of the Desmotec Training Systems (D.T.S.). His expertise lies in training protocols for postural balance, neuro-muscular balance, and performance enhancement. He has developed a unique postural and functional evaluation and training system. For more information, please visit www.desmotec.com.
Anna Hammond, DPT, CSCS, CES-PPCES
Anna Hammond is a doctor of physical therapy and educator with extensive experience in orthopedic clinics, clinic startups, arthroscopic hip procedures, and strength and conditioning, focusing on women's health and injury prevention. Passionate about professional development, she empowers fitness and movement professionals with the tools and insights to improve client outcomes. Anna's dynamic teaching blends evidence-based strategies, clinical expertise, and real-world experience , drawing from her yoga and competitive sports background. Her approach integrates movement, biomechanics, anatomy, and functional training to help professionals enhance their skills and advance their careers.
Karsten Jensen, MSc, CPTN-CPT.M
Karsten Jensen is a periodization coach and expert who has helped world-class and Olympic athletes from 26 different sports, many of whom have won Olympic medals, European Championships, World Championships, and ATP Tournaments. He is the author of The Flexible Periodization Method and Performance Optimization with Periodization, has published over 160 articles and 21 instructor training manuals, and is an international speaker who has conducted hundreds of live, one to four-day workshops. For more information, please visit www.yestostrength.com.
Deanna Lawson-Langford, BA, CPTN-CPT.M, CCF-CMCP, OFC-TFL
As the founder of Deanna Langford Coaching, CPTN course conductor, practical assessor, and professor, Deanna has been educating and certifying fitness leaders and personal trainers for over 25 years. As a certified personal trainer, group fitness instructor and coach practitioner, Deanna is passionate about creating classes and programs where people feel successful, seen, and safe. For more information, please visit www.deannalangfordcoaching.com.
Susan Lee, PhD, CPTN-CPT
Dr. Susan Lee is the president of the Certified Professional Trainers Network (CPTN) Inc. Drawing from her academic, certification and training experiences, she will be launching a series of Pilates workshops designed for professional development (CEC) and the CPTN-Certified Pilates Mat and Verticals Specialist (CPTN-CPMVS). The comprehensive 5-module curriculum includes Functional Anatomy, Pilates Preludes & Classical Mat, Pilates Mat & Applications, Pilates Verticals Repertoire, and Pilates Ball and Props. Author of Online Personal Training: Taking Control of Your Personal Training & Fitness Business, she lectures at the college and university levels on leadership, business and equity studies; presents at international conferences; and publishes in peer-reviewed journals and educational platforms to share her research, practices and passions. For more information, please visit www.synergetics-wellness.com.
Laura Middleton, PhD
Dr. Laura Middleton is an Associate Professor and the Schlegel Research Chair in Dementia and Active Living in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo and the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging. Her research aims to identify strategies to promote the health, well-being, and function of those living with or at risk for dementia. She focuses on the role of physical activity alone and in combination with healthy eating and social engagement, recognizing their broad impact on physical, social, and mental well-being. Her research takes a participatory approach, integrating the expertise and perspectives of people living with dementia, care partners, healthcare professionals, and community service providers as partners to create accessible and effective programs and supports. She is the co-lead of the Canadian Dementia Learning and Resource Network.
Ross O’Donnell, BA, ISKA Master, CPTN-CPT
Ross O’Donnell is president of Fitness Kickboxing Canada Inc. (FKCI). He is an international fitness and martial arts presenter, a fitness columnist with over 300 published articles and 15 instructor-training manuals to his credit, and author of The Ultimate Fitness Boxing & Kickboxing Workout. Among his many leadership roles, Ross is also a professional MMA coach. For more information, please visit www.fitnesskickboxingcanada.ca.
Shirin Panahi, PhD
Dr. Shirin Panahi is the Scientific Director at the Canadian Nutrition Society (CNS), providing scientific leadership for its programs and educational initiatives. An adjunct professor at Université Laval, her research focuses on diet, appetite control, and metabolic health in obesity prevention. Dr. Panahi received her BSc (Hon) in life sciences and MSc and PhD in nutritional sciences from the University of Toronto. Since then, she has received numerous awards and honours, including the CNS Gordon F. Mutch Young Investigator Award in Diabetes Research (2013) and the CIHR-INMD/CNS Postdoctoral Partnership Prize (2017). With over 40 publications (Google Scholar), she also develops nutrition resources, including infographics, and is also the host of the CNS podcast Nutrition Conversations.
Jon Vlahogiannakos, BLA, CPT, PN1, OTA2
Jon Vlahogiannakos founded Strong Jon Fitness. He aims to help clients improve their relationship with food, get stronger, and shed body fat without worrying about supplements or extreme diets. Since 2020, he has been fully online and is now a success coach in Jon Goodman's Online Trainer Mentorship (OTM), helping others build their online coaching businesses in alignment with their authentic selves. For more information, please visit www.strongjonfitness.com.