Education
Dr. Wahlström has earned a Doctor of Management Degree from Colorado Technical University in 1997. Prior to that, in 1992, he earned a Master of Arts in Human Resource Management degree from Hawaii Pacific University. In 2015, he earned a Master of Science in Instructional Design degree from Saint Leo University. He also earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology degree with honors as well as a Professional Certificate in Quality Management from HPU in 1991. In addition to these educational experiences, he studied several years in clinical doctorate programs of Forest Institute of Professional Psychology and Pacifica Graduate Institute. He earned a Certification in Clinical Depth Psychology from FIPP, and conducted several years of training analysis with Jungian as well as Freudian analysts.
Consulting Experience
Dr. Wahlström has provided a variety of management consulting services to small and mid-sized businesses since 1992. He has founded and owned three consulting firms himself, Apollo Consulting in Hawaii, Omni Management Group in Colorado, and Otavala Consulting in Illinois. In addition, he has collaborated with many other consulting firms such as Consulting Associates International and Trani Consulting Group. For example, Dr. Wahlström has assisted client organizations in business planning, strategic management, human resources, teambuilding, and conflict management. His past clients include University of Southern Colorado, Evolution Nightclub, Stainless Clothing, Matthew Martin Law Firm, COTC Consulting, Colorado Realty Reports, BSU Enterprises, Food Bank of Central New York, and numerous others in Hawaii, Colorado, California, New York, Florida, and Illinois.
Academic Experience
To date, Dr. Wahlström has taught in about 20 different universities and colleges since 1997, holding many different positions ranging from Adjunct Professor to Lead Faculty. For example, he was recently an Associate Professor at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology after serving as an Associate Professor for University of Maryland University College’s Asian Division. He served many years as an Assistant Professor at Colorado State University at Pueblo, and Visiting Professor at the Helsinki School of Economics. His adjunct teaching posts include Adler School of Professional Psychology, Robert Morris University, Rollins College, Florida Community College at Jacksonville, State University of New York at Oneonta, and American InterContinental University, where he also serves as the Lead Faculty of Human Resources. He has taught a wide range of different management and psychology courses, and even some information technology courses. He has taught these courses at both graduate and undergraduate levels, online as well as in a traditional classroom. During his academic career, Dr. Wahlström has served in and chaired many faculty committees including Faculty Development Committee, Multi-campus Integration Committee, Academic Technology Committee, and University Accreditation Committee.
Clinical Experience
Dr. Wahlström has worked as a Clinician and Counselor in many institutions for a decade. For example, he has worked as a Clinician at Spanish Peaks Mental Health Center, Parkview Medical Center, and Cleo Wallace Center, all in Colorado. He also worked at Queen’s Medical Center, Castle Medical Center, Diamond Head Mental Health Center, and Hale Opio Kauai, all in Hawaii. His therapeutic orientation is existential and analytical psychotherapy. Through his clinical experiences, he has worked with families, children and adolescents, as well as adults. He has treated anxiety and depression patients, as well as severely mentally ill.
Leadership and Management Experience
Dr. Wahlström has served in many leadership positions in mental health agencies and higher education. Currently, he works as the Chief Operating Officer for Soccer Universities. He has served as Chief Academic Officer and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Argosy University and recently served as Chief Academic Officer and Provost at United States Sports Academy. He also served as the Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs at American InterContinental University’s Los Angeles campus after working as the Dean of Business at the same school. He has also worked as the Program Chair and Lead Faculty of Human Resource Management at the online division of AIU. In addition, he served as the Dean of the Professional Studies and Human Services Division at Edward Waters College, an oldest historically black college in Florida. During these academic administration duties, he has overseen professional development and faculty performance management functions, coordinated accreditation and institutional effectiveness efforts, and led many program development and other academic operations activities. He also served as the Case Coordinator Supervisor at Diamond Head Mental Health Center, which is a part of the Department of Health Mental Health Division of the State of Hawaii. However, his most notable leadership experience consists of his visionary leadership as the Managing Partner and co-founder of Otavala Consulting, a Chicago based management consulting firm. Prior to Otavala, he managed and led Omni Management Group in Colorado and Apollo Consulting in Hawaii. All of these different accomplishments combined give Dr. Wahlström nearly 20 years of senior and executive management and leadership experience.
Social Responsibility
Dr. Wahlström is socially responsible in many ways. He served as the Executive Director of the University of Southern Colorado American Humanics program at late 90’s, followed by two years of service as the Executive Director of the Center for Social Responsibility and Community at SUNY Oneonta. He has also served in many community agency boards including the Allocations Board of United Way, Finnish-American Chamber of Commerce, Investing in Communities Education Council, Jung Institute of Chicago Program Committee, and many other similar service organizations. Early in his career, he worked as an assistant for State Representative Noburo Yonamine at the State of Hawaii House of Representatives. Community service and volunteering has been a lifelong passion for Dr. Wahlström and demonstrates his character and care for others.
Personal
Dr. Wahlström’s hobbies and personal interests include movies, arts, and travel. He enjoys the culture of the big cities as much as the pure nature of the great outdoors. He is family oriented and committed to his close friends and colleagues. He is passionate about healthy living and study of Jungian analytical psychology.
Interested in more...
It is always hard to reduce a lifelong journey of academic and career accomplishments into few lines. Therefore, if you have any further questions about the background of Dr. Wahlstrom, do not hesitate to email him.
