About Us
Cogtoolz was founded by Christina Holub, PhD, MPH in San Diego, CA, March 2015. The idea started early in the year when she was looking to go back to paper weekly planners. There's just something about writing things down! At the same time, she learned about how cognitive behavioral tools can help improve mental health and the idea was born... why not combine paper planners with these helpful tools? And so it all started....
We are a team including researchers, staff, students, and interns at San Diego State University. We are part of the Zahn Innovation Center! Our vision is to make these tools more easily accessible to help everyone feel more calm, confident, and content, by balancing thoughts, emotions, and life! We're still putting all the pieces together, but the more we talked about Cogtoolz, many students said they wanted a version focused on school life balance. We couldn't resist, so we've developed an academic version too!
All of this would not be possible without a wonderful team (past and present), who has been volunteering their time and simply being excited about Cogtoolz, how it can help people, and how we see it growing! We'll continue to update our website and team pictures, but we couldn't open the site without mentioning those we want to thank!!
Our Team:
- Christina Holub, Founder and CEO
- Michael Markidis, App Developer Consultant
- Hillary Manalac, Public Relations Consultant
- Katie Hardisty, Graphic Design Consultant
- Bea Gerasmio, Executive Assistant
- Tiffany Lagare, Culture and Content Specialist
- Amy Diep, Reseacrh and Data Analyst
- Vishal Dhandia, Business Consultant
Past Contributors:
- Fernando, Consultant in IT
- Reina, Consultant in Clinical Psychology
- Adrian, Handyman
- Constantina, Consultant in Graphic Design
- Brigette, Research and Social Media
- Desiree, Life Coach Expert
- Gianna, High School (Teen Contributor)
- Kesha, Research and Content
- Paddy, Research and Content
- Sandy, Research and Video (PowToons Extraordinaire)
- Students in our Student Planner Think Tank
- Community members, family, and friends who have given us feedback on the planners
Special Thanks To:
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Cathy Pucher and the Zahn Innovation Platform Launchpad!
Hello! I’m Christina, Chief Thought Provoker of Cogtoolz! I’m always keeping the big picture in mind and making sure we’re continuously improving to help make these great wellness tools readily available to everyone. I also keep track of the details (e.g., shipping, website development), make sure customers are happy, and I pump up the team! Outside of Cogtoolz, I teach at San Diego State University (Public Health), am a Core Investigator at the Institute for Behavioral and Community Health, and I’m the violinist (really, the fiddler!) in a band called the Motivators! (Fitting right?!) My love in public health is addressing health disparities and working with communities to develop strategies for better health. I’m a Bruin (UCLA), Bulldog (Yale), and Tarheel (UNC-Chapel Hill)!! AKA former Professional Student!
Personally, I’ve learned more from the times that things didn’t go as planned, were challenging, or even bombed! I’ve failed a lot, but many times those led to new paths, and even a few great successes too! One of my favorite quotes: "Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly." ~Robert F. Kennedy