Our Managing Partners, Angela Mouton and Monica Montijo, hold Ph.D degrees in Organizational Psychology and Developmental Psychology, as well as graduate degrees in Evaluation Science and Law. With successful careers in Management Consulting, Law, Education, and Coaching, we help leaders build high performing, thriving organizations. We have decades of experience advising C-suite executives, investors, and entrepreneurs in business, as well as leaders in education and workforce development. 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, DEI, 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), M.S. (PSych)

I hold a Ph.D in Organizational Psychology and a Law degree. After almost a decade practicing Law at multinational 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. My areas of specialization include peak performance, driving business results, goal setting / prioritization, hiring A Players, leadership, and organizational design and effectiveness. Notable human capital clients have included AlixPartners, 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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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. After 7 years in the marketing, strategy consulting, and tech innovation sectors, I realized that while I loved business and psychology, I wasn’t interested in selling products. I began to wonder, how is it that some people thrive at their work, finding it engaging and energizing while others do not? My consulting work and research focus on employee engagement, healthy work-life balance, burnout prevention, remote/distributed work, high-quality connections, relational energy, and respectful engagement. I work with companies across a variety of industries to support employee wellbeing and leadership development.

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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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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.