Every credential below is independently verifiable. Where a certificate exists, it can be produced. Where an institution maintains a public record, it is linked. Nothing on this page asks you to take our word for it.
Coaching Credentials
- Master Certified Coach (MCC) — International Coaching Federation. Verify
- Master Practitioner (EIA) — EMCC Global. Accredited 9 February 2026 – 9 February 2031. Certificate EIA20260264, signed by Mikko Sorvari, EMCC Global President.
- National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC) — National Board for Health & Wellness Coaching. Verify
- Certified Professional Diversity Coach (CPDC) — Coach Diversity Institute.
- PQ Certified Coach (CPQC) — Positive Intelligence. Certificate #1184, April 2024.
Public credential wallet: credly.com/users/derek-young.ac5caeaf
Institutional Affiliations
- Professional Fellow, Institute of Coaching — McLean Hospital, a Harvard Medical School affiliate. Listed in the IOC Professional Fellows Directory
- Co-Leader, Council on Race, Equity & Inclusion — Institute of Coaching.
- ICF Business Solutions Partner. Forbes Coaches Council member since January 2021.
Peer-Reviewed Scholarship
“From the Heart: A Neuro-Behavioral Protocol for Sustainable Change & Patient Adherence” — abstract accepted for presentation at Lifestyle Medicine 2026, the annual conference of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, Orlando, 8–11 November 2026. Accepted for publication consideration in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine.
Executive Education
- Harvard Medical School — Certificate of Completion, Lifestyle and Wellness Coaching, a six-week online executive education program, January–March 2026.
- Wharton Executive Education — Understanding the Brain: Using Neuroscience to Deliver Better Business Results, 2026. Credential ID 183681141.
- Applied Neuroscience Certificate — The Neuroscience Academy.
Assessment Credentials
- MBTI® Master Practitioner — listed in the MBTI Master Practitioner Referral Network (The Myers-Briggs Company / Myers & Briggs Foundation). Credentialed Master Practitioner, Center for Applications of Psychological Type, 2013.
- EQ-i 2.0 & EQ 360 certified — Multi-Health Systems Inc. (MHS), 2022.
Writing for the International Coaching Federation
Four articles published on the ICF’s own site. ICF author page
- The Coaching Journey: Moving Clients from Self-Compassion to Self-Actualization — March 2026
- Grace Under Fire: Building Stress Resilience for Coaches and High Achievers — January 2026
- Professional Coaching Relationships That Work: Respect, Boundaries, and the Art of Mutuality — November 2025
- The Power of Self-Awareness in Coaching: Becoming the Professional Clients Trust and Transform With — September 2025
Writing for Forbes
Member of the Forbes Coaches Council — a fee-based professional membership — since January 2021, with twenty articles published under his byline on Forbes.com.
- Evidence-Based Coaching: A Key To Lasting Personal Transformation
- How To Tell If Your Coach Is Worth The Investment
- How To Find Your Ideal Coach For Professional Transformation
Full author archive on Forbes.com
Television
Eleven network credits across eleven years. IMDb
- 2024 — Fatal Attraction, Season 14 Episode 47, “Deadly Allure,” TV One, 7 October 2024.
- 2019 — On-camera expert interview by Byron Pitts for “Murder He Wrote,” 20/20 on ID Presents: Homicide (Investigation Discovery, 22 June 2019), produced by ABC News / Lincoln Square Productions.
- 2018 — Fatal Attraction, Season 7 Episode 20, “Deadly Ambition,” TV One.
- 2015–2016 — Fatal Attraction and Justice: By Any Means (TV One); Snapped: Killer Couples (Oxygen).
Speaking
- Emotional Intelligence: Using the Laws of Attraction — TEDxLSCTomball, 2016. 5,338,581 views on the TEDx Talks YouTube channel.
- The Power of Presence: The Laws of Attraction “Here and Now” — TEDxOakLawn, 2018. 30,844 plays on TED.com.
- Good Trouble: The Power of Disruption — TEDxHarkerHeights.
- New York University — “Rethinking Work,” February 2026.
Published Work
Leading from the Heart: The Essential Guide to Self-Empathy and Self-Compassion in Coaching and Clinical Practice (2026), with forewords by Margaret Moore, MBA, founder of Wellcoaches and co-founder of the Institute of Coaching, and Carrie Abner, MA, CAE, Head of Credentialing at ICF Global.
Break Up, Don’t Break Down! — Expanded Edition.
Quoted as an expert source in the New York Post. Bylined in Fast Company and Inc. Interviewed by Black Enterprise and Authority Magazine. Broadcast appearances include SiriusXM Urban View, PBS, FOX4 Dallas, and FOX26 Houston.