Peak Protocols: An Arena Labs Series

Mark Kovacs, PhD in Physiology and Human Performance Strategist , presents a framework for treating healthcare professionals as elite performers, drawing from work with professional athletes, NASCAR drivers, and executives. Background Collegiate tennis champion turned performance scientist after a misdiagnosed shoulder injury redirected him into physiology and biomechanics. Career focused on preve...

Carrie Taylor, Vice President of Soccer Operations at USL Spokane and a pioneering female coach in men's professional soccer, presents frameworks from elite athletics that are relevant to healthcare. Key Career Insights Transitioned from University of Michigan soccer and a pre-medical academic track to a pioneering coaching career. Determined that effective coaching prioritizes understanding...

In this episode, we sit down with Diane Malaspina , Performance Coach Manager at Arena Labs, psychologist, and yoga and mindfulness teacher, who spent years working directly with healthcare providers navigating unprecedented stress during COVID-19. Her unique integration of psychology, mind-body practices, and frontline coaching experience reveals the hidden patterns that lead talented clinicians...

When Technical Mastery Meets Human Connection: What It Really Takes to Operate on Children's Hearts In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Danielle Gottlieb Sen , a pediatric cardiac surgeon whose unconventional path to the operating room reveals as much about resilience and self-determination as it does about technical excellence. From Sub-Saharan Africa to Harvard training programs, she shar...

What Can Elite Athletes Teach Us About Building Stronger Medical Teams? More Than You’d Think. In this episode, we sit down with a two-time Olympian, World Cup competitor, and former co-captain of the U.S. Women’s Rugby Sevens team to explore what high-performance sport can teach medicine about culture, resilience, and sustaining excellence under pressure. From her unlikely entry into rugby to win...

What if your worst professional failure became your greatest clinical asset? In this episode, Matt Cumbee—former Navy SEAL and Arena Labs performance coach—joins us to unpack how “catastrophic” failures forge the grit and capacity every healthcare worker needs. Drawing on his time as a SEAL and years spent helping physicians, nurses, and surgeons translate elite tactics into everyday care, Matt re...

What can the CIA teach us about building better hospitals? More than you’d expect. In this episode, Mike Mears—former CIA Chief of Human Capital and the founder of the CIA Leadership Academy—joins us to explore what medicine can learn from intelligence operations and high-stakes organizational design. After decades in the clandestine world, Mike has spent the past 20 years decoding what makes grea...

What does it take to not only survive, but lead, in one of the most intense environments in healthcare? In this episode of Peak Protocols, we’re joined by Jessica B. Williams, MSN, APRN, ACCNS-AG, CCRN, a Clinical Nurse Specialist in the CVICU with over 17 years of frontline experience. Jess opens up about the physical and emotional toll of ICU medicine, and the turning point that forced her to re...

What can the FBI teach us about performance in healthcare? A lot more than you might think. In this episode, Sarah Draper, a West Point graduate, Army veteran, and former FBI Special Agent, joins us to unpack what it takes to lead and last in high-stakes, high-consequence environments. After a 20-year career investigating national security threats and training the world’s top law enforcement leade...

In the premiere episode of Peak Protocols, we sit down with Jackie Pen — an elite performance coach whose journey has taken her from training world-class athletes at Exos and Future to leading clinician performance at Arena Labs . Jackie isn’t just coaching the frontline of medicine, she’s redefining it. Her team translates the tools and frameworks used by Olympic athletes and special operations f...