About Us | Executive Function Coaching for Students & Adults

OptiMind Educational Strategies

We believe in the power of transformation through compassionate, practical guidance.

We support and nurture individuals in developing essential executive function skills, empowering them to achieve their full potential in all aspects of life.

Our Story

Helping People Thrive With Executive Function Coaching

In today’s fast-paced world, many individuals struggle with managing daily demands.

At OptiMind Educational Strategies, we understand these challenges and are here to help.

Founded on the belief that everyone can excel, our mission is to empower individuals by enhancing their executive functioning skills.

We provide personalized executive functioning coaching, teaching clients about their brains and how to optimize cognitive functions for a transformative impact on their lives.

Our holistic approach combines cutting-edge cognitive science with compassionate coaching, making us a partner in our clients’ journeys to success.

Our Mission

Our purpose is to empower individuals by optimizing their cognitive abilities, helping them understand and enhance their brain functions.

We provide tailored executive functioning strategies to improve organizational, planning, and self-regulation skills, fostering independence, productivity, resilience, and overall well-being.

This transformation enables clients to achieve their personal and professional goals.

Based in Maryland, we provide coaching services virtually throughout the country and nearby areas, including Annapolis, Baltimore, Washington DC, Northern Virginia, and beyond.

Our Values

Empowering Individuals

We help clients unlock their full potential by improving their goal-directed skills to overcome challenges, build resilience, and achieve personal and professional success.

Advancing Knowledge

We teach clients about how their brains work and how to optimize their cognitive functions.

Encouraging Lifelong Learning

We are driven to instill an enthusiasm for continuous personal growth in our clients.

Promoting Awareness

We strive to raise awareness about the importance of developing strong executive function skills, and how challenges with these skills can impact individuals lives.

Fostering Independence

We help clients become more self-reliant, resilient, and confident in managing their daily lives.

Meet Sarah Ritter

Founder and Executive Functioning Specialist

Experience

Sarah Ritter has close to a decade of experience in special education, serving as a Special Education Teacher, as well as a Learning and Behavior Specialist, prior to becoming an Executive Functioning Specialist.

She worked in the public sector for Fairfax and Howard County Public Schools in the private sector for individual clients throughout the DMV, as well as provided her services virtually.

Sarah’s boundless enthusiasm captivates her clients, who are a diverse range of learners, to address their unique needs.

Education

Sarah attended graduate school at George Mason University, focusing on Adaptive Curriculum in the School of Special Education.

Prior to that, she attended Christopher Newport University, where she earned her undergraduate degree with a major in Organic Biology.

The combination of these two diverse educational experiences and Sarah’s passion for each field of study has deeply influenced her approach to working with students with executive functioning challenges.

With OptiMind ES, Sarah’s passion lies in empowering students to understand how their brains function through science. Through science-based strategies and evidence-based tools, she enables students with the skills they need to succeed in all aspects of life.

Join Sarah on a journey of discovery and empowerment as she harnesses the potential of every client.

Find Us Online

Executive Functioning Skills Change Lives. Hear Stories From Our Clients & Colleagues.

"Helping others achieve the best version of themselves."

Sarah is passionate about her work in helping others achieve the best version of themselves.

- Joe Addison

"My daughter has a newfound sense of confidence in her academic skills."

My daughter has been seeing Sarah for a year now and our experience has been nothing short of incredible. She has been so supportive in helping my daughter prepare for the independence of going off to college and her transformation since starting her EF services has been life changing. My daughter has a newfound sense of confidence in her academic skills and has been able to start taking more control of her own schedule and responsibilities in ways I wasn’t sure I would see for a long time. I am more confident than ever in my daughter’s ability to thrive in college and beyond thanks to Sarah’s expertise.

- Shari

"The improvement in their executive functioning skills has been significant."

Sarah is excellent! She has been working with our twins starting with the 2024-2025 school year. The improvement in their executive functioning skills has been significant. Most important, the growth in their overall confidence is amazing. We had really been struggling to find help for our twins with the executive function skills needed to be successful in a challenging and competitive school environment. In addition to her work with our children, Sarah has been wonderful in providing my husband and I guidance on how to understand the challenges of executive function disorder, how to best support our children and how to advocate for them at school, including when to not step in. We would be lost without her!

- Gina DeStefano

"I am so grateful for the confidence my daughter has gained in social settings since working with Sarah. "

Sarah provided me the guidance I needed to support my child. We are now able to focus on strategies to help with maintaining attention and effective ways to regulate emotions to reach our goals. I am so grateful for the confidence my daughter has gained in social settings since working with Sarah.

- Tayler Hemstetter

"My son has made remarkable progress in organization, time management, and massively improved his grades in school."

I can’t thank Sarah at OptiMind ES enough for the incredible support she has provided our family. Her expertise in enhancing executive function skills has truly transformed our child’s life. Thanks to her guidance, my son has made remarkable progress in organization, time management, and massively improved his grades in school. Sarah’s dedication, professionalism, and genuine care has been invaluable to us. I can’t recommend OptiMind enough to any family seeking expert assistance in supporting their child’s executive functioning skills.

- Christian Schou

"She is an exemplary executive functioning specialist."

I have had the pleasure of knowing Sarah, the owner of Optimind for several years and can confidently say that she is an exemplary executive functioning specialist. I have consistently heard positive feedback from clients who rave about her expertise and the significant improvements they’ve experienced. Sarah is dedicated, knowledgeable, and truly passionate about helping individuals enhance their skills. Sarah’s commitment to excellence and genuine care for her clients’ progress make Optimind a standout in the field. If you are seeking top-notch support in this area, I highly recommend reaching out to Sarah.

- Kayla Shiflett