Our Managing Partners, Angela Mouton and Monica Montijo, hold Ph.D degrees in Organizational Psychology and Developmental Psychology, as well as graduate degrees in Law and Evaluation Science respectively. For decades we have worked with investors and C-suite leaders to build high performing, thriving organizations. We have lived and worked in five countries on four continents, and undertaken research in 22 countries on six continents. Today we are headquartered in Avila Beach, California but our clients and team members span the globe, increasingly operating across borders with virtual teams. We bring a diverse, multi-lens, international perspective to our work, while striving to understand the culture and context in which our clients, partners and team members live, work and thrive.

Our Principal Consultants bring a range of experiences and perspectives to the team, including Business, Leadership Development, Wellness, Human Resources, Diversity, Consumer Psychology, and Marketing. What unites us all is a deep interest in and commitment to peak performance, entrepreneurship, Positive Psychology, and striving for representation and equity in the workplace.

dr. ANGELA MOUTON

MANAGING PARTNER

PH.D (Org psych), J.D equiv, B.S.

I hold a Ph.D in Organizational Psychology, a Law degree specializing in Environmental Law, and a B.S in Zoology and Ecology. After almost a decade practicing as an Attorney at multinational law firms, I moved into Management Consulting in 2010. I specialize in human capital due diligence, executive assessments, executive search, and organizational development. Prior to Montijo Mouton Consulting, I was a Management Consultant at ghSmart and AlixPartners, Attorney at Hogan Lovells, Baker & McKenzie, and Freshfields, and Chief People Officer in corporate environments.

Notable human capital clients have included CPPIB, AlixPartners, Igneo Infrastructure Partners, VSS, Denny’s, PlayStation, Dave & Buster’s, Teachable, Workboard, Argyle, and many international law firms, SMEs and startups worldwide.

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DR. MONICA MONTIJO

MANAGING PARTNER

Ph.D (dev psych), M.A. (eval), B.A. (HARVARD)

I graduated with my BA in Psychology from Harvard University and am a proud two-time Ivy League Harvard softball champion. After graduating, I taught in K-12 public schools and coached basketball and softball at the youth, high school, and collegiate levels. I earned my Master’s in Psychology and Evaluation Science and Ph.D in Positive Developmental Psychology from Claremont Graduate University. Today I specialize in human capital consulting at Montijo Mouton Consulting, working with a variety of business and education clients around the world.

My areas of specialization include self mastery, team dynamics, motivation and engagement, relationships, Millennial/ Gen Z development, and well-being.

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VIJI Annamalai

SENIOR consultant

MBA (Harvard), B.A. (Econ & Polisci)

I hold a B.A. in Economics and Political Science cum laude from Rice University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

I have over 20 years of experience working in strategy and leadership advisory across a variety of business issues including: strategy development; operational improvement; M&A evaluation/integration planning; organizational effectiveness and transformation; and talent assessment and development. I have worked across the US, Asia and Europe advising CEOs and senior executives at Fortune 500 companies, alternative investment firms, and family- and private equity-owned businesses. I have extensive experience as a trainer for both client and internal training programs.

I began my career as a management consultant at Bain & Company, where I spent ten years working across the globe on a variety of industries including consumer products, retail, healthcare and financial services. I then served as an independent consultant, primarily working in-house on strategy development for a Fortune 100 consumer products company. More recently, I worked at ghSMART on executive assessment and development and organizational diligence. In addition to my client responsibilities, I was selected to be an internal trainer at both Bain and ghSMART to teach the craft to new and experienced consultants. I currently combine my strategy and talent experience to help companies accelerate performance and am passionate about supporting individuals and organizations to achieve their most aspirational goals.

Dr. Alyssa birnbaum

principal consultant

Ph.D (org psych), B.A. (upenn)

I hold a Ph.D degree in Positive Organizational Psychology from Claremont Graduate University and BA in English and Consumer Psychology from UPenn.

As a TEDx speaker and practitioner-researcher who is passionate about employee wellbeing, I specialize in cultivating high-quality work connections, fostering work engagement, mitigating burnout, supporting healthy work-life balance, and optimizing remote/hybrid work environments.

My expertise lies in translating employee feedback into actionable insights through advanced survey design, mixed-methods research, and compelling data visualization. I have helped leaders across diverse industries build more resilient and thriving organizations.

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CHRISTINE KEELIN

principal consultant

mba, B.a. (biological anthropology)

I graduated from Pitzer College with a BA in Biological Anthropology and an MBA from the Drucker School of Management, Claremont Graduate University. After working for over 15 years helping run my family’s foods business, MPK Foods, and over 6 years of teaching community college business courses, I decided to return to Claremont Graduate University to broaden my professional experience and endeavors by pursuing a Ph.D. in Positive Organizational Psychology. In my time at CGU, I’ve developed a passion for evaluation with a focus on engaging in projects and work that provide meaningful outcomes for organizations and their stakeholders.

My current research interests include positive relationships, employee energy, burnout, responsible assessment, and culturally responsive evaluation.

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dr. jacqui Baumgardt

editor in chief

PHD. Education Management

I hold a Ph.D in Education Management from UNISA as well as a Certificate in Copy-Editing and Certificate in Corporate Coaching from the University of Cape Town. 

Formerly a teacher of English, and Accreditation and Assessments Manager at the Chartered Secretaries of Southern Africa, I have years of experience in the editing of business and academic reports and materials. My corporate experience includes, but is not limited to, coaching of MBA students for a number of years for the UNISA School of Business Leadership. 

I am full member of the Professional Editors' Guild (PEG). Membership Number BAU001.

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Csikszentmihalyi, M., Montijo, M.N., & Mouton, A.R. (2018). Flow theory: Optimizing elite performance in the creative realm. In S.I. Pfeiffer, E. Shaunessy-Dedrick, M. Foley-Nicpon, & S.I. Pfeiffer (Eds.), APA Handbook of Giftedness and Talent (pp. 215-229). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association. 

Mouton, A. (2022). Hope and Work: From the Pandemic to Possibility, Purpose, and Resilience. Current Opinion in Psychology, 101550.

Mouton, A.R., & Montijo, M.N. (2018). Hope and work. In M.W. Gallagher & S.J. Lopez (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Hope (pp. 327-339). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 

Mouton, A.R. (2017). Towards the next generation of positive psychology interventions [Review of the book Positive Psychology Interventions in Practice, by C. Proctor (Ed)]. PsycCRITIQUES, 62(31). 

Mouton, A. R., & Montijo, M. N. (2017). Love, passion, and peak experience: A qualitative study on six continents. Journal of Positive Psychology, 12(3), 263-280. 

Montijo, M.N. & Mouton, A.R. (2016).  Love for frequent and low flow activities in the United States and India. Creativity. Theories, Research, Applications, 3(2), 379 – 407.

Mouton, A. R. (2016). Performance coaching in sport, music, and business: From Gallwey to Grant, and the promise of positive psychology. International Coaching Psychology Review, 11(2), 129-141.

Mouton, A.R. (2015). Positive psychology predictors of performance in academics, athletics and the workplace. Doctoral dissertation. Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA.

Monitjo, M.N. & Mouton, A.R. (In preparation). The importance of negative emotions, learning, and growth in peak experiences.

Mouton, A.R. (In preparation). Hope, flow, and passion as predictors of performance in academics, athletics, and the workplace.

Mouton, A.R. (In preparation). The VIPER Model: A qualitative study of the predictors of peak performance.