Dr. Sahnya Thom began Martial Arts training at nine years old. Her passion for helping people and teams reach their highest potential (e.g., trust, resilience, empathy, performance, connection) started early when she taught self-defense, Martial Arts, and personal fitness training at only 16 years old. Her commitment to transformational teaching, coaching, and scientific research on Organizational Posttraumatic Growth (OPTG) continue to be the heart of her work today.

Before teaching college students, Dr. Thom worked as a professional speaker, coach, and personal fitness trainer and owned her own successful Martial Arts School in Milwaukee, WI. While pursuing an entrepreneurial career in Martial Arts, wellbeing, and public speaking, she learned how valuable undergraduate psychology education was in succeeding in life professionally and personally. She decided to downsize her Martial Art school into a private club and return to graduate school and commit to following her passion and love for teaching in higher education and helping guide students to reach their best possible selves. 

Now, Dr. Thom pursues the “pracademic” lifestyle balancing her love for teaching and passion for consulting leadership, teams, and organizations beyond survival to flourishing at healthy positive levels. Her style of teaching and consulting is inclusive, wise, and from a transformational approach, thereby educating the whole person, whole team, and whole system. 

Dr. Thom’s life experience and multi-disciplinary education inform her work. She is known to drop nuggets of Martial Art wisdom from time to time in classes and consulting sessions; students and clients affectionately call "Thom Bombs." She has a long teaching and consulting history in many capacities, including undergraduate and graduate psychology courses, assessments, survey/screener development, wellbeing retreats, workshops, resilience team & leadership coaching, and customized events to meet organizational change needs.

With her multi-faceted background, expertise, authenticity, and engaging personality, Dr. Thom is widely sought after for special teaching and speaking events.

You can book Dr. Thom for your next organizational or team event here!

Speaking event topics can include but are not limited to:

  • Team resilience and growth

  • “Bouncing Forward,” Organizational Growth after Trauma

  • “Leaders as Healers & Warriors”

  • Building Mindful Positive Relationships

  • Conflict Resolution

  • Wellbeing at Work

  • The Anatomy of Positive Organizational Transformation.

Photo by Joslyn Callegari

Credentials

  • Assistant Professor in Psychology, Milwaukee WI

  • Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology with specialized research in Organizational Trauma, Healing Systems, and Organizational Posttraumatic Growth.

  • Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology with specialized research in the science of flourishing/thriving, organizational flourishing, and posttraumatic growth.

  • Bachelor of Arts in Psychobiology, Minor in Biology, continuing education credits in Positive Psychology and American Indian studies.

  • 6th Degree Black Belt in Karate (Universal Systems of Karate).

  • Advanced level practitioner in several Martial Art styles including JeetKuneDo, Indonesian Silat, Muay Thai Kickboxing, and Boxing

  • Current research in the role of leadership in healing organizational trauma (posttraumatic growth), high-performing individuals and systems, assessments, resilience, emotional intelligence, & mindfulness.