AASP West Regional Conference

Mario Soto

Mario is an adjunct graduate professor at both CBU and Santa Ana College. In addition to his teaching duties, he is a full-time consultant to elite athletes, coaches, executives, and corporations looking to enhance their level of performance. Using passion, positivity, educational research, and firsthand stories from high-level performers, Mario provides insight into the science and success of performance. Mario’s ability to connect and inspire individuals, teams, and leaders has yielded exceptional reviews from top sports organizations, elite athletes (Olympic, Pro, & amateur), businesses, and first responders. Mario’s background provides a unique perspective addressing the challenges of coaching, leadership, and performance tailored for individuals or organizations looking to be their best. Mario attributes his success to the philosophy that in order to help others and make a difference, we are responsible to first love ourselves properly through grace and gratitude. This state of being is directly linked and can only be achieved by being present, listening with your heart, creating moments, appreciating those who have loved and forgiven unconditionally, and last but not least never taking for granted the privilege of being invited into one’s sacred space of trust.

Cynthia Clarke, Ed.D., CMPC

Dr. Cynthia Clarke is a nationally recognized authority in sport and performance psychology, 
known for her work with athletes, performing artists, creative professionals, and high-stakes 
leaders. As a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) with over a decade of applied 
experience, Dr. Clarke delivers customized mental skills training designed to enhance 
resilience, focus, and consistency in high-performance environments.

Dr. Clarke earned her Doctorate in Counseling Psychology and a Master of Arts in Sport and 
Exercise Psychology from Argosy University, along with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology 
from California State University, Northridge. Her integrative and evidence-based approach 
draws from sport science, counseling psychology, and human performance, empowering clients 
to unlock their full potential.

She currently serves as Academic Council Chair, Division Chair of General Education, and 
Graduate Program Chair of Performance Studies at AMDA College and Conservatory of the 
Performing Arts, representing both the Los Angeles and New York campuses. For over 13
years, she has taught Performance Psychology and Health & Wellness courses, equipping
performing artists with the psychological tools needed for creative endurance and excellence.

In her private practice, Clarke Pure Performance, Dr. Clarke provides one-on-one consulting to 
athletes and performing artists and serves as a Mental Performance Expert with Voice in 
Sport (VIS), on a global platform supporting female athletes through mentorship and mental 
performance education.

Dr. Clarke extends her professional influence as a CMPC Mentor, offering mentorship to 
individuals pursuing CMPC certification through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology 
(AASP). She also provides CMPC supervision within the Dominican University of California 
Applied Sport and Performance Psychology Program, where she mentors graduate 
students on their path to CMPC certification strengthening the next generation of mental 
performance consultants through structured academic and applied training.

Her past work includes serving as the Sport Psychology Consultant for Whittier College’s 
Women’s Volleyball and Track & Field teams (2010–2012) and leading an AASP-funded 
community program for youth athletes at the Drew League Foundation’s Summer Basketball 
Camp in Los Angeles. In this role, she designed and facilitated an 8-week mental skills 
curriculum and oversaw a team of mental performance coaches delivering specialized 
programming for boys and girls in basketball training environments.

From 2019 to 2021, Dr. Clarke led a team of Cognitive Performance Coaches at Los Angeles 
International Airport (LAX) under a U.S. Department of Homeland Security initiative, training 
over 700 TSA officers in advanced cognitive and mental performance techniques to improve 
decision-making, focus, and operational effectiveness under pressure.

A respected speaker and educator, Dr. Clarke presented at the 2019 National Strength and 
Conditioning Association (NSCA) Conference on the role of mental skills in preventing athlete 
burnout. Her work continues to be informed by a deep commitment to psychological excellence, 
human development, and performance longevity.

Dr. Clarke presented the Kate F. Hays Memorial Keynote and received the Kate F. Hays Award 
at the 2025 American Psychological Association (APA) Convention.

Credentials & Professional Affiliations

• Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) – Association for Applied Sport 
  Psychology (AASP), 14 years
• CMPC Mentor – AASP-accredited mentorship; CMPC supervision provider in the 
  Dominican University Sport Psychology Program
• Active Member, AASP – 15+ years.
  • Former Co-Chair, Teaching Special Interest Group (2017-2020)
• American Psychological Association (APA) – Member, Division 47 (Society for Sport, 
  Exercise & Performance Psychology)
  • President Elect: APA Division 47, Sec II: Performance Psychology
  • Secretary Treasurer: APA Division 47 Sec II Performance Psychology

Dr. Clarke resides in Los Angeles, California, where she draws inspiration from the city’s diverse 
cultural and performance landscapes. Her multifaceted career reflects an unwavering 
commitment to excellence, innovation, and the psychological advancement of performers
across industries, disciplines, and the professional advancement of future leaders in sport and 
performance psychology.

Dr. Angel Brutus, LPCC, ACS, BC-TMH, CMPC®, F-AASP

In addition to serving as Assistant Professor in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program with UWS, Dr. Brutus is the is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Synergistic Solutions, a Business-to-Business (B2B) clinical, sport and performance consulting firm designed to curate professional development experiences for high performance professionals across multiple performance domains as well as facilitate customized trainings for sport organizations. She is a member of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee's psychological services team within the sports medicine department, joining the organization in 2021 after serving as the inaugural Assistant Athletic Director of Counseling and Sport Psychology for Mississippi State University department of athletics. There, she provided direct clinical and performance enhancement services, administrated and developed programming to address MSU's sports culture and served as an appointed member of the Southeastern Conference's Council on Racial Equity and Social Justice. In this role, Dr. Brutus collaborated with a multidisciplinary team of SEC stakeholders as she provided subject matter expertise as a co-author for the Conference's initiatives concerning the hiring practices of diverse, competent practitioners supporting the mental health and wellbeing of SEC athletes.

She completed her B.A. in audiology and speech-language pathology and M.A. in rehabilitation counseling at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, as well as her Psy.D. in sport performance psychology at the University of Arizona Global Campus.

Dr. Brutus is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC®) and Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) Fellow (F-AASP) within which she serves as an Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS) and Approved CMPC Mentor in the registry of mentors per AASP. She is also a certified workshop facilitator with Positive Coaching Alliance® (PCA), HeartMath® practitioner and a training facilitator in Mental Health First Aid® for adults. She serves as an executive board member and professional standards division head for the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) supporting the ethics, continuing education and webinars/virtual conference committees and liaison between AASP and the Certification Council. She is former co-coordinator of AASP's Race & Ethnicity in Sport Special Interest Group (SIG). She is also a member of additional SIGs (High Risk and Extreme Sports, Women in Sport, Anger and Violence in Sport, Eating Disorders in Sport, Adaptive Sport & Physical Activity) and has been a member of multiple committees within AASP in which she has co-chaired nominations, leadership, and development while previously assisting with professional ethics and serving as an IGNITE mentor. Dr. Brutus serves as treasurer for the American Psychological Association's Division 47 Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology, Charter Advisory member for the Center for Credentialing Education (CCE) tasked with co-authoring the inaugural ethics code for Board Certified Telemental Health (BC-TMH) credential holders. She is an advisor for Alston for Athletes supporting legislative efforts addressing the mental health and wellbeing initiatives of student-athletes in the United States and newly selected board member for Z Girls Foundation, an organization designed to use sport psychology frameworks to support middle and high school girls' empowerment through sport.

Dr. Brutus incorporates several different integrative strengths-based approaches to support clientele navigating the full spectrum of mental health, well-being, and performance optimization. She uses narrative therapy, bibliotherapy, liberation-based psychological approaches to affirm individual clients’ identities, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), rational emotive behavioral therapy (REBT), clinical hypnotherapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction, self-compassion, somatic practicing, and heart rate variability (HRV) when appropriate.

Dr. Brutus' areas of personal and clinical counseling expertise include trauma, depression, anxiety, eating concerns, substance recovery maintenance, identity, emerging adulthood, injury and disability, education and career counseling. Her areas of focus in the performance enhancement space further include return to sport (co- treating with medical), attitude, motivation, goals and commitment, people skills, self-talk, imagery, competition anxiety, emotion regulation and concentration, team leadership development, team building and team cohesion as well as performance profiling collaboration with coaches and other sport stakeholders.

Dr. Brutus is licensed to provide mental health services in the states of California, Colorado, Utah, New York, Mississippi, Nevada and Georgia as a licensed professional counselor (LPC), an approved clinical supervisor (ACS), board-certified telemental health counselor (BC-TMH), and Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC®). She is also a Level V yoga instructor and remains under supervision for Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR) certification.

Dr. Brutus has developed a reputation for serving as a subject matter expert regarding the intersection of culturally-responsive, ethical and legal practices necessary for successfully engaging in the field of counseling and sport performance psychology.  Her penchant for ethically inclusive practices has served as the bedrock for her involvement and development of organizational best practices, guidelines, policies, and procedures in various organizational systems.​

​She is known for her interpersonal leadership style that curates meaningful identity-affirming experiences necessary for navigating various high stress, high performance environments.  Many of Dr. Brutus' mentees and supervisees have successfully assisted organizations with developing and maintaining sustainable counseling and sport performance psychology programs within athletic departments across the United States and Canada.  Her work has since transcended the world of sports, into other performance domains to include, but not limited to: corporations, performing arts and entertainment, medicine, and civic organizations.

Dr. Brutus currently resides in southern California. In her spare time, she loves being with her husband, three daughters and family, and enjoys participating in philanthropic initiatives in communities serving under-resourced communities. She also facilitates workshops and keynotes discussing the intersection of mental health, performance, and multiculturalism.

Entrances are available on Magnolia Ave. and Adams St. 

Should you choose Adams St., guests should park on the 4th and 5th floor of the parking structure. If entering off Magnolia Ave., there is guest parking to the right when you enter. Review the campus map to view the exact location of the conference (Copenbarger). 

As an added help, when arriving on campus, you may tell the attendants at the front that you are there for the Sport & Performance Psychology Conference, and the guards should guide you regardless of what entrance entered.