Listen to Noomii's interview with Dustin Van Sloten

About Me

Dustin Van Sloten, CPC, is founder and president of Spark Starters Life Coaching and Leadership Development. Dustin’s customized SPARK coaching and development system is versatile enough to help individuals, small businesses, and even large corporations make their goals and dreams attainable. Whether you are simply looking to make some personal changes or influence an entire company’s organizational development, Spark Starters can meet you or your company’s needs.
A Masters in Sports Management from Western Illinois University, a certificate in Training and Development from North Carolina State University and a Professional Life Coach certification from Fowler Wainwright International combined with 12 years of training and mentoring college students as an Intramural Sports and Special Events Director distinguish Dustin from many other coaches.
While serving as a Director of Intramural Sports at the University North Carolina at Chapel Hill Dustin developed a desire to reach out and make a difference in the lives of college students. Rather than being “just a boss” to more than 70 students, Dustin sought to actually touch the lives of each student worker he came in contact with. Although not in his job description, he began developing his own leadership system to equip his employees with life skills that they could not only use on the job in intramural sports, but also take with them into their professional positions upon graduation. After seeing the impact that good training and development had on his own student employees, Dustin began his quest to create Spark Starters.
Dustin’s commitment to his clients is unlike many you will experience. Spark Starters was not an overnight whim that sounded good on paper. He poured six years of research, training, and practice into Spark Starters before ever launching it as a professional system to the public. Truly his desire is to see people improve themselves and reach their ultimate potential. This has always been his passion and he considers it an honor to come alongside others on this journey.
No coaching is complete without addressing the person as a whole, and this includes not only mental aspects but spiritual as well. Dustin’s perspective comes from a Christian background that is based on love for others – not the exclusion of others based on a creed or set of laws. His hope is that his clients, if they so choose, will be able to deepen their spiritual relationship with God and see more clearly the spiritual path that He has set before them. This desire is at the core of his coaching passion and is evident in his mentoring system.
But who is Dustin at the end of the day when he isn’t coaching? On any given day you will find this small town Iowa native watching the Chicago Cubs , or maybe you might see him taking a road trip to Iowa City to watch the Hawkeyes. There is also Labor Day weekend when he is agonizing over a fantasy football draft pick with his league of longtime friends from childhood. A normal Saturday will definitely include him relaxing with his two dogs in the living room and maybe a cat if the cat feels like it. You might even find him whipping up a new recipe after watching a few episodes of Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives. But most likely of all you will see him doing any or all of these activities with his wife and best friend Katie.