Meet Cannie

Dr. Cannie Graham, PhD, MPH, MA/EdS, LPC, NCC
Founder, SPARK | Leadership Coach for accomplished women

For more than 28 years, I've been the person people turn to when something needs to be led, built, or held together.

I've led teams and organizations. I've built nationally recognized women's engagement and philanthropy programs. I've taught and mentored future helping professionals, and I've sat with people during some of the hardest moments of their lives, including crisis assessment and intervention in an emergency department and clinical practice.

What I've learned, from both sides of that table, is that the women who carry the most are often the last to ask what they want.

Why I Created Spark

For many accomplished women, there comes a point when the question is no longer "What can I accomplish next?" It becomes something much more personal:

What do I actually want next?

I created SPARK as a place to explore that question.

Through private, high-touch coaching, restorative retreats, speaking, and experiential work with horses, I help women step away from the constant doing, reconnect with themselves, and become more intentional about the life they want to live next.

Education & Credentials

Education

  • PhD, Counseling & Supervision, James Madison University

  • MA/EdS, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, James Madison University

  • Master of Public Health (MPH), Health Promotion Sciences, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

  • BS, Health Science/Public Health, James Madison University

Licensure & Professional Credentials

  • Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Commonwealth of Virginia

  • National Certified Counselor (NCC), National Board for Certified Counselors

  • EAGALA-Certified Mental Health Professional, Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association

Additional Training

  • Birkman Method (certified facilitator)

  • Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI)

  • Appreciative Inquiry

  • The Menopause Society

How my Background Shapes the Work

I didn't arrive at this work through a single path, and that's what makes SPARK different.

  • Leadership. [Nearly a decade / Over a decade: please confirm which is accurate] in senior leadership at James Madison University, where my work centered on philanthropy, engagement, volunteer leadership, relationship building, and advancing women as leaders and philanthropists.

  • Human behavior. Clinical training and years of counseling adults through life transitions, relationships, identity, stress, and emotional wellbeing taught me how people change, and what gets in the way.

  • Teaching. Almost three decades in higher education, and more than 100 courses taught across counseling, psychology, health, and related fields, including women's health, midlife transitions, leadership, and the often-complicated intersection of personal and professional lives.

  • Experiential learning. Training in equine-assisted work deepened my belief in the power of stepping outside our usual environments, and our usual ways of thinking, to see ourselves differently.

I work with women of all backgrounds and life stages, and I bring particular attention to the ways identity, power, and expectations shape leadership and midlife.

My clinical training shapes how I listen and how I help people change. SPARK coaching itself is not therapy. It's a partnership for accomplished women who are ready to design what comes next.

Beyond the Credentials

I'm endlessly curious about people and what makes us come alive.

I believe laughter belongs in serious conversations, that great questions can change the direction of a life, and that sometimes we need to step away from everything demanding our attention long enough to hear ourselves again.

Whether we're sitting together in a coaching conversation, standing beside a horse in a Virginia field, gathering with women in Bali, or sharing ideas in a conference room or on a stage, that's the kind of space I hope to create.

A place to slow down. Get curious. Reconnect. And reignite what's next.

Ready to See What’s Next?

You don’t need to have it all figured out before reaching out.

Maybe you’re navigating a transition. Maybe something that once fit no longer does. Or maybe life looks pretty good on paper, but you know you’re ready for something more: more clarity, more energy, more purpose, more you.

Tell me a little about what’s bringing you here. I’d love to hear from you.

Reignite Your Spark!