Three independent mental health officers are working in collaboration with the USOPC’s athlete services division and external Mental Health Taskforce to develop a long-term mental health strategic plan that will further promote sustained and holistic athlete well-being. Since learning of the Games postponement to 2021, the officers’ immediate focus has centered on supporting the creation of a USOPC mental health registry, expanding telehealth offerings and developing an emergency action plan for the Team USA athlete community. Featuring various backgrounds and specialties, the mental health officers will be members of the USOPC’s Games staff in Tokyo as originally planned, and bring a variety of experiences to their new supporting roles.
Cody Commander, Olympic Mental Health Officer
Clinical and Sports Psychologist
Dr. Cody Commander is a clinical & sport psychologist. He is the owner of an interdisciplinary group private practice (Commander Counseling & Wellness) and is also the director of sport psychology for the University of Oklahoma athletics department. He received his doctorate degree in clinical psychology from Wright State University and completed his doctoral internship at Ball State University Counseling Center. He has worked in the clinical setting since 2003, treating various mental health disorders.
Dr. Commander is also a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) from the Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) and is in the USOPC Sport Psychology Registry. He has worked with several professional athletes and organizations, Olympic athletes and teams, collegiate athletes and programs, elite youth athletes, and the Oklahoma City Ballet.
Emily Klueh, Paralympic Mental Health Officer
LMSW
Klueh is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and a member of the athletic counseling team in the athletic department at the University of Michigan. Using evidence-based practices, Klueh’s primary responsibility is to provide mental health and sport performance clinical care and to aide in crisis management to student-athletes.
Klueh received her BA in psychology in 2010 from the University of Michigan and later graduated with a master’s degree in social work in 2016. She focuses her degree on social work in sports, working directly with student-athletes to improve their mental health and overall well-being.
Originally hailing from Kentucky, Klueh attended the University of Michigan on a swimming scholarship. While at Michigan, she became a NCAA champion and Big Ten Swimmer of the Year. She was an accomplished member of the U.S. National Swimming Team for 10 years and competed in two world championships, the Pan Pacific Championships, the Pan American Games and the World University Games.
Todd Stull, Paralympic Mental Health Officer
MD
Dr. Todd Stull is a medical doctor who is board certified in psychiatry and addiction medicine and has extensive clinical experience in evaluating and treating the mental health needs of college and professional athletes. Stull spent fifteen years at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln in the athletic department. As the first full-time psychiatrist at an NCAA institution, Dr. Stull treated student-athletes from 24 sports for mental health and substance use issues.
He is active in numerous mental health initiatives concerning athletes. In 2018-2019, he served as a member of the International Olympic Committee Mental Health Work Group charged with developing mental health guidelines for Olympic athletes. He is serving in his second term as president of the International Society for Sports Psychiatry (ISSP), as well as sitting on the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports.
Dr. Stull is board-certified in psychiatry and addiction medicine. He received his undergraduate degree from Hastings College, where he was the quarterback of the Bronco football team. Stull received his medical degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska and completed his residency at Creighton-Nebraska Department of Psychiatry. He has earned the IOC Certificate in Drugs in Sports and is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.
