Sheila Ohlsson Walker, Class of 2025

Dr. Sheila Ohlsson Walker understands the transformational power of sport. One of Colorado’s most accomplished junior tennis players, she went on to compete at Ohio State University before transferring to the University of Colorado, where she played for three seasons.

She then spent three years competing for a German team and playing satellite tournaments in Europe. Her experiences shaped her belief that athletics is much more than games and play, rather experiential learning for skills, behaviors and mindsets that promote holistic health and flourishing across life. 

After working as a portfolio manager and earning her Chartered Financial Analyst designation, Sheila pursued her passion for human development, earning a doctorate in Behavioral Genetics from King’s College London. Her applied research brings together neuroscience, genetics, psychology, and social science to promote positive youth development and thriving across life. Much of her work focuses on the adults – parents, coaches and teachers – who impact youth.

However her greatest joy is in nurturing young people, especially her sons Jack, Charlie and Wyatt, empowering them to build self-narratives of connection, agency and purpose, catalyzing capacity for contribution to our world in and outside of sport.

She is a Senior Scientist at Tufts University’s Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development, a Visiting Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins School of Education, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. She co-authored “Wise Decisions: A Science-Based Approach to Making Better Choices” with Dr. Jim Loehr and serves on several boards including the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Foundation, the International Tennis Hall of Fame, the USTA Sport Science Commission and the Hologic WTA Women’s Health Taskforce.