Chad McGehee - Sports Meditation Expert at the Center of Healthy Minds, UW-Madison

Sports Meditation and Mindfulness Coach and Trainer

Chad McGehee works at the Center for Healthy Minds, a brain science research center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Chad’s research and expertise lies in meditation and mindfulness for athletes and sports teams. Basically, he helps people of all professions do what they do better by using meditation to help strip away the distractions that interfere with their focus.

First Meditation Training Director in Major College Sports

Chad has been working with the UW Badger sports teams as a meditation trainer and coach for their athletes. Recently, he was formally hired as the Badgers’ Director of Meditation Training, the first-ever such position for a NCAA Division I program.

Athletes like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Steph Curry and UW’s own Russell Wilson have touted the benefits of meditation as a tool to gain a competitive edge. These athletes have been coached and trained by people like Chad, who understand not only the fundamentals of mediation, but also the science behind how mediation can change neural pathways and remove distractions from performance.

Mediation as a Competitive Edge

Though “meditation” often carries a very “new age” vibe, there’s nothing hippie about Chad. His soft tone feels warm and safe, but he speaks about the power of mediation in matter-of-fact, no-nonsense language. For his, mediation is a clear and straighforward way anyone can gain a critical competitive edge. An edge that, quite frankly, most people don’t take advantage of. Those who do harness meditation have much to gain.

Headshot Photos for Illinois Wesleyan’s Alumni Magazine

Chad’s undergrad alma mater, Illinois Wesleyan University, hired me to photograph him for their alumni magazine. Here’s how it turned out.

Personal Branding Headshots for Jason Krueger, Madison Financial Planner

Jason Krueger is a Madison financial planner with Ameriprise, a national firm with local satellite offices throughout the country. Jason is an independent advisor, meaning he doesn’t earn commissions selling clients proprietary funds. He works with each client individually to learn about their financial “big picture,” goals, etc., then works to help them reach those goals.

Jason’s old headshot photo

Jason felt his existing headshot (see right) no longer felt true to his personality and brand, so he hired me to capture a new look that resonated more deeply with him. We shot these in his office, using the natural light from the huge picture window in his north-facing office off the Beltline.

Jason’s clients entrust him with some of their most private life details, so communicating trust, sincerity, authenticity and care are essential to his brand. While glasses often communicate intelligence, Jason no longer wears glasses and I think his clean, sharp image doesn’t need extra help to communicate how smart he is. It was fun talking to Jason about what he does, I got quite an education in the few minutes we chatted. He clearly is a great educator, communicator and listener, and obviously super interested in how the world of and personal finance works.

Jason works with people intimately daily, and he is often on the “hot seat” in terms of navigating sensitive personal and financial terrain. As such, he had what felt to me like an easy time working with the camera. He confidence comes through easily, and he feels like a guy I could feel comfortable sharing my family’s private information and dreams with. In an industry where so many financial professionals strangely do not invest much time, money or energy in their personal branding and image, these headshots help him stand out as a professional who recognizes developing rapport and personal connection is at least as important as expertise in the field.

Corporate Headshots Create a More Intimate Workplace

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Roche NimbleGen is a Madison biotech firm owned by Roche, a much larger Swiss company. Roche invests in staff headshots as a way for their employees to know each other better. As a multi-national business with thousands of employees, headshots associated with email and other internal technologies enable co-workers to pair sharp, modern, flattering images with work communications, which in turn fosters closer, more intimate relationships amongst far-flung staff. It's certainly not the same as being able to enjoy a coffee break in person with a co-worker, but I love that the firm sees the value in providing this service for their staff.

Headshots on Lake Mendota with Madison Author Melissa Falcon Field

I have been lucky over the last few years to work with some really fantastic Madison writers, including Susan Gloss (Vintage), Michelle Wildgen (Bread and Butter), Chloe Benjamin (Anatomy of Dreams), Judith Mitchell (A Reunion of Ghosts), and Jesse Gant and Nick Hoffman (Wheel Fever). I recently got together with Melissa Falcon Field, another fine local author, to shoot headshots for her upcoming book. A Connecticut native, Melissa Falcon Field relocated to Madison a few years ago and has been working on publishing her first novel (What Burns Away, January 2015) while doing freelance writing and teaching with the Madison Writers' Studio. If you get a chance to see her read around Madison (or elsewhere), do so; her personality is a dichotomous balance of East Coast boldness and Maine coast humility. We shot on the lakefront in Shorewood Hills and I think we created some great work for her to represent herself with. Looking forward to reading her words in the new year.

Student Headshots on Campus at UW-Madison

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Kasia is a Fulbright scholar doing post-doc work at the UW in both the Education and Business schools, specializing in setting up international study abroad programs across the globe. Since it was Spring Break week and campus was empty, we met at the Education school and took advantage of its big, bright windows and interesting architectural nooks and crannies to do a natural light shoot. Being next door to Science Hall was too much to resist, so we hopped over there for a while too. Love shooting in the rich, interesting character the classic campus buildings bring, even if that doesn't show up in the shots.

Headshots and Group Portrait at Hawks Quindel Milwaukee.

Attorneys at the Milwaukee office of Hawks Quindel, S.C.

I visited the Milwaukee offices of Hawks Quindel, S.C. earlier this week to update their firm portrait and a few attorney headshots. These folks have gorgeous offices in one of the great old warehouse buildings in Milwaukee's Third Ward, with lots of brick and exposed steel beams. Always nice to be in this neighborhood and a good excuse to stop in MIAD, across the street, to check out student work.

Hawks Quindel is one of the premiere plantiff-side Wisconsin employment law practices, helping workers of all kinds deal with issues like harassment, discrimination, severance agreements, workers compensation, social security disability, etc. HQ also has a strong Milwaukee family law practice, led by attorney Amy Shapiro who was named best divorce lawyer in Milwaukee a few years ago. Rich Saks was one of the attorneys at the lead of the Wisconsin voter ID law challenge, and Tim Hawks and Barbara Quindel have been representing big unions for educators, journalists, healthcare workers, and others for years. If you ever need a good attorney in the employment or family realms, these folks are the best.