About Us
Principals
Birgit Zacher Hanson
M.S., Master Certified Coach
Birgit is president of Heads-Up Performance, an executive coaching firm in Tampa, FL. She works with organizations to customize leadership and change programs that deliver the skills to coach, build collaborative teams and manage commitments.
As co-author of Amazon bestselling Who Will Do What by When?, a business fable about how to improve performance, accountability and trust with integrity, Birgit’s aim is to assist leaders in creating a promise-based culture in which people value diversity, collaborate and hold themselves and others accountable for results.
Birgit began her career as a Board Certified Banker at the Stadt-Sparkasse Duesseldorf, Germany and has lived and worked internationally.
Before starting her coaching business, Birgit held a range of mid-level and senior positions in industry-leading, global organizations.
As Director of Communications for the US subsidiary of Arianespace, a European Aerospace consortium, she managed marketing and communications activities in the US and South America. During her 10 years at INTELSAT (international satellite organization) she was in charge of corporate and internal communications projects, including a company-wide diversity intervention.
As an executive coach, Birgit’s expertise in accountability has led to many partnerships in a variety of industries. Her client list includes the New York Yankees, Verizon, American Express, Invesco, Pfizer, Novartis, Gucci, Elsevier, Pepperidge Farm, Transamerica, De Lage Landen, and many smaller businesses and government agencies.
Academic Qualifications and Memberships
- Master Certified Coach designation from the International Coach Federation
- Graduate of two-year program sponsored by Newfield CEO (Coaching Excellence in Organizations)
- Certified professional co-active coach (CPCC) by The Coaches Training Institute
- Masters in Applied Behavioral Science from Johns Hopkins University
- BA in Psychology from University of District of Columbia
- Qualified to administer and interpret MBTI, Firo-B, V-CAS, LSI I and II, Emotional Intelligence, and 360 degree feedback inventories
- Student of psychodrama, sociometry and improv
- Certified teacher of Yoga (2015) and Qigong (2012) used as inner-strength and flexibility leadership practices
- Sandler Sales graduate and member of entrepreneur’s club
Dr. Tom Hanson
His coaching programs in both sport and business train people to “Excel, Enjoy, and Evolve.”
Dr. Tom Hanson frees athletes and coaches, executives and work teams to consistently perform at or near their best. His coaching programs in both sport and business train people to “Excel, Enjoy, and Evolve.”
Formerly the Director of Performance Enhancement for the New York Yankees, Dr. Hanson also consulted with the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels, and Minnesota Twins organizations. He helps individuals and teams in all sports and regularly coaches in major university athletic programs such as Harvard University Baseball and Florida State Softball. His business client list ranges from giants like Microsoft, Verizon and Pepperidge Farm to small businesses like Public Trust Advisors and insurance adjusters Johns Eastern.
He co-authored both Heads-Up Baseball: Playing the Game One Pitch at a Time and Heads-Up Baseball 2.0: 5 Skills for Competing One Pitch at a Time with Dr. Ken Ravizza. The books have combined to sell over 200,000 copies, been adopted by many major college and professional teams, used as a college textbook, and been called “the bible for developing mental toughness,” by Collegiate Baseball.
Dr. Hanson also wrote the award-winning PLAY BIG: Mental Toughness Skills that Take Baseball Players to the Next Level, and the best-selling business fable, Who Will Do What by When? -- How to Improve Performance, Accountability and Trust with Integrity, which has sold over 30,000 copies to individuals and organizations, including the United States Government.
Amy Parker
Associate
Amy Parker is an Executive Coach with more than 15 years of public sector leadership and leadership development experience, plus five years of Defense contracting experience. Amy is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC), and an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) with the International Coaching Federation since 2020. She has experience coaching US government and private sector executives, both individuals and teams, and is certified to administer personality and job fit assessments. Amy focuses her coaching on her client's leadership development, health, and life balance needs. Her personal motto is Semper Disco - "I'm always learning" and she uses this motto to support her clients’ continuous development and growth.
Amy was a US government civil servant from 2006 until 2021. During her government tenure, she held progressively complex and impactful positions at the Departments of Navy, Defense, and Veterans Affairs. At the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), she was the Chief Learning Officer (CLO) and Executive Director of the Human Capital Services Center. As VA’s CLO, she expanded learning and development opportunities for the VA's more than 600,000 employees, contractors, and academic affiliates. She was also responsible for the VA’s learning management and employee emergency recall systems that supported more than 150 hospitals, plus hundreds of Veterans benefits and memorial affairs locations nationwide.
Amy is an avid learner and creator of solutions that benefit others. During her time at the VA, she was featured on the Government Matters program: https://govmatters.tv/learning-at-the-department-of-veterans-affairs/, created the Department’s first Learning Podcast (reaching the top 25 of government podcasts in its first year), gave a VA TEDx Talk titled “The Future is Disco” about the Department’s Leadership Development Framework, and co-authored articles in the Association for Talent Development magazine called “Stepways to Leadership” and “Leadership Enhancement Advancement and Development (LEAD)” in the Journal of Government Financial Management Association of Government Accountants. These creations focused on helping others concentrate their development efforts to drive higher levels of success.
Amy has also served as a chief advisor to multiple Chief Financial Officers and financial operations leaders. Her work helped shape multiple Departmental budgets at Navy, DoD, and VA, with annual budgets of more than $200 billion. She holds a Master of Business Administration from the Citadel, a Bachelor of Science from Johnson & Wales, and completed the Harvard Senior Executive Fellows program and the University of North Carolina Senior Executive training.
Her client list includes Boeing, Warner Brothers/Discovery, the Four Seasons, Goodyear, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.