Christine E. Agaibi
Christine E. Agaibi is a psychologist, resilience scientist, educator, speaker, and founder of CARE — the Center for Authentic Resilient Empowerment — a consultation and education organization dedicated to helping individuals, families, and organizations thrive through the science of resilience. With more than 25 years of experience in psychology and mental health, she has built a career that bridges academia, clinical practice, consulting, advocacy, and international speaking. Since founding CARE in 2018, Agaibi has delivered more than 480 presentations across 23 countries, empowering people to cultivate character strengths, overcome adversity, and flourish personally and professionally. Her work is deeply rooted in positive psychology, resilience science, mental wellness, and the belief that every person has the capacity to grow through challenge.
Currently, Agaibi teaches psychology courses at the college and university level while also maintaining a therapy practice, consulting with organizations, and speaking nationally and internationally on resilience, leadership, burnout, and mental wellness. She serves as an assistant professor and adjunct professor at several institutions, including Mercer County Community College, Camden County College, and Rowan College at Burlington County. Her academic background includes master’s and doctoral training in counseling psychology through Cleveland State University and advanced doctoral work at The University of Akron. In addition to teaching and clinical work, she is an accomplished author, researcher, and advocate whose publications and presentations explore the intersections of resilience, flourishing, mindfulness, spirituality, and psychological well-being.
Agaibi’s passion for resilience stems from personal experience after the sudden loss of her father at age 14, an event that inspired her lifelong commitment to understanding why some people not only survive adversity but ultimately thrive. Guided by values of integrity, compassion, service, and resilience, she has become a recognized voice in mental health advocacy and leadership. Her recent honors include the Visionary Award from the Education 2.0 Conference and the Mental Health Advocacy and Leadership Award from FLUXX Awards. Through CARE and her extensive educational and advocacy work, Christine E. Agaibi continues to inspire audiences around the world to embrace resilience not simply as recovery from hardship, but as a pathway toward growth, empowerment, and meaningful transformation.
• Cleveland State University- M.A.
• The University of Akron
• John Carroll University- Bachelor's
• Mental Health Advocacy and Leadership Award
• Visionary Award in Leadership and Education
• American Psychological Association
• OPA
• PPA
• NJPA
• SJPA
• AAPP
• CPA
• IPPA
• Take Heart - resilience and trauma training for persecuted Christians around the world
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my dad's own resilience and the example of resilience that he set before me, as well as my mom's resilience since losing him. I would also say service - both my parents were very service-oriented, and they instilled that in me early on, even before I could put words to these things. My dad had a very prominent career as a certified public accountant for the Defense Department, and seeing how hard he worked to get to that place, and his own resilience, truly inspired me. Even after his sudden passing when I was 14, the resilience he modeled and the service-minded upbringing my parents gave me pushed me in the direction of studying and working in resilience, again, before I even knew what those words meant.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I received wasn't really words that were said, but rather the support and actions of a mentor. I had an advisor many years ago in grad school who really believed in my work on resilience, which wasn't always the case - not everyone saw the importance of it back then. Unfortunately, he's passed away now, but he really went above and beyond to support my first publication, which is still making rounds and people are still finding it more than 20 years later. He believed in my vision when others didn't, and saw the importance of resilience even 22 or 23 years ago. It wasn't necessarily something specific he said, but just the support and physical support - going above and beyond to help me publish my first paper in a scientific journal, getting publishers on board, and things like that. That support has stayed with me throughout my career.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice to young women entering this field is to follow your passion and your dreams - it will propel you even when there are naysayers or people that don't believe or don't see what you see. Have a sense of passion and follow your dreams, follow what your intuition is telling you, even if it doesn't seem to be picking up the pace initially. Eventually it will. So stay true to your vision and what you believe in, even when others doubt you.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
There's a lot of talk about mental health right now, and that presents both opportunity and challenge. It is important to talk about mental health and reaching your full potential - resilience is about thriving and flourishing and reaching your full potential. That means a lot of people can come into the field, which is beneficial for the clients we can help serve and people in general. But it also can present challenges in terms of whether some areas are saturated. Despite these challenges, I do believe in the importance of mental health, and so it's really important to get the right people in the right places to support those things. There's also still some stigma around mental health that we need to address.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me in both my work and personal life are integrity, service, compassion, and resilience, which guide how I support others, build relationships, and navigate challenges.