Whole30 has been changing lives since 2009, when Melissa Hartwig Urban blogged about a 30-day life-changing dietary experiment she recently completed. Since then, millions of people have transformed their health, habits, and relationship with food through the Whole30 program; eliminating cravings, improving energy and sleep, relieving medical symptoms, and losing weight healthfully and sustainably. The Whole30 website currently serves 2 million unique visitors a month with readers checking in from more than 100 different countries, and has a combined social media base of more than 2 million fans and followers. Let Melissa and the Whole30 team help you create the perfect diet for you: a nutrition plan that is balanced, sustainable and keeps you looking, feeling, and living your best.
Melissa Hartwig Urban, CISSN: Headmistress/Co-Founder
Melissa Hartwig is a Certified Sports Nutritionist who specializes in helping people change their relationship with food and create life-long, healthy habits. She is the co-creator of the original Whole30 program, a four-time New York Times bestselling author (It Starts With Food, The Whole30, Food Freedom Forever, and The Whole30 Cookbook). She has been featured by Dr. Oz, Good Morning America, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Details, Shape, Outside, and SELF, and ranked #27 on Greatists Top 100 Most Influential People in Health and Fitness in 2017. Melissa has presented more than 150 health and nutrition seminars worldwide, and is a prominent keynote speaker on social media and branding, health trends, and entrepreneurship.
Melissa enjoys kettlebell training, yoga, hiking, solo traveling, and riding her motorcycle. She lives in Salt Lake City, UT.
Facebook hartwig.melissa| Instagram @melissa_hartwig| Twitter @melissahartwig_
Karyn Scott: Marketing
Karyn, our Chief Marketing Officer, comes to Whole30 with more than 25 years of experience working with food, beverage, lifestyle and fitness brands to develop and grow brand awareness, resonance and consumer affinity. She has specialized in everything from product launch strategy, brand development, marketing strategy and long-term business planning, strategic partnerships and building and leading high performance marketing teams.
She’s a Midwestern girl, originally from Kansas, and has lived in Austin, where she graduated from the University of Texas; Dallas; San Francisco; Santa Monica. She now calls Atlanta home.
Karyn is active in numerous leadership and charity organizations, enjoys family, friends, travel, spinning, yoga and circuit training, a good true crime drama, not to mention her rescue lab, Sadie.
From Karyn: “My experience with the Whole30 program, both through my own personal journey and through our incredibly loyal and inspiring community, has been life changing. There are countless lessons and behaviors and food habits that I have changed and are now a part of my everyday life. Most significantly, I now cook! (And I enjoy it!) With the help of the Whole30 cookbooks and the contributors to the @whole30recipes Instagram, I’m actually pretty good at it. I even own an apron. This is all shocking news to those that knew me before I found Whole30. I am grateful to live a Whole30 lifestyle and honored to be a part of such an incredible team and community.”
Shanna Keller: Social Media and Content
Shanna, our Director of Digital Content, hails from Kansas City, Missouri, where she lives with her husband Alan and a poorly-behaved terrier named Olly. She has spent her career telling stories of life transformation on social, web, e-mail and print media platforms. In addition to celebrating Whole30 successes and stories online, Shanna loves to cook, read, and climb.
From Shanna: “My experience with the Whole30 program—and the experiences of countless others—has convinced me that truly, It Starts With Food. I love that I have the opportunity to spread this message to such a diverse range of people, and to watch as they develop a healthier relationship with food and with themselves.”
Jennifer Kendall: Whole30 Approved Program Manager
Jen, our Whole30 Approved Program Manager, is a born and raised Floridian who now lives in Salt Lake City with her husband Quinn and their highly energetic Australian Shepherd, Aspen. She graduated the University of Florida in 2010 from the College of Journalism and Communications and has a strong interest in nutrition, health and exercise. Jen has an insatiable appetite for travel and adventure and also loves books, spending time in the kitchen cooking and experimenting with recipes, Crossfit, and enjoying as many days as possible in the outdoors year-round.
From Jen: “Through many years of lifestyle diet trial and error and ultimately discovering Whole30 and my own food freedom, I couldn’t be more excited to encourage others to take charge of their health and change their lives through the Whole30. Witnessing the overwhelming success and growth of our kind, generous, and unbelievably supportive community is both fulfilling and inspiring. Hard work truly does pay off with the Whole30.”
Kristen Crandall: Whole30 Coaching
Kristen, our Director of Whole30 Coaching, has a B.S. in American History and Art from Southern Utah University. Over the past few years, she has used her education and experience as a Researcher for an American History Civil War book, an Art Curator for a fine art gallery, and her most important role as mother of two kids. Kristen enjoys volleyball, hiking, traveling with her husband and kids, skiing, swimming, reading, and spending time outdoors with her family.
From Kristen: “I’ve seen how nutrition can improve peoples lives. It all starts with an individual and a choice. I believe that one choice to choose healthy food can change lives and relationships with food. I believe the Whole30 program is helping people make that personal change and better choices possible and easier. I am so grateful to be part of the Whole30 team and the Whole30 Coaching Program.”
Alyssa Anthony: Brand Partnership Manager
Alyssa, our Brand Partnership Manager, is a proud West Virginian living in Austin, Texas with her husband Evan and three boxers. Alyssa’s love and passion for food and people culminate in this role where she gets to bring together our Approved Partners and Whole30 Community.
From Alyssa: “My experience with the Whole30 program extends beyond myself and into the lives of my friends and family. Most notably with my father, who has completely changed his diet and lifestyle habits thanks to all the knowledge he now has thanks to this program. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to work with people who truly change lives. ”
Maggie Lopez: Executive Assistant
Maggie, our Executive Assistant, has a B.S. in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing and Spanish from Weber State University. After graduation, Maggie worked in education helping students pursue their educational dreams. She also worked within the Utah court system helping individuals by providing basic information regarding Utah laws. Maggie enjoys spending time with her family, reading, and striving to learn and expand her education. But most importantly she enjoys playing with her dog, Chula.
From Maggie: “Changing my outlook on nutrition has positively impacted my life. I love helping others succeed in their health journey. I believe that Whole30 helps educate individuals of the importance of real food, moving away from calorie counting and into understanding the importance of whole-food ingredients.
Stephanie Kelley, Social Media Coordinator
Stephanie, our Social Media Coordinator, lives in Denver, CO and is a wife, mom and wanna-be shredding guitarist with an immense love for meeting and connecting with people. She thrives on sharing her life experiences, whether it’s writing a blog post about overcoming a personal struggle, creating a new song with her drummer husband, or simply sharing what she’s making for dinner. These experiences all matter to her, especially if she’s using her creativity and making meaningful connections along the way. She’s spent the past few years doing social media management, photography and content creation and loves helping people and brands share their vision with the world.
From Stephanie: “I found Whole30 in 2013, and it completely changed the way that I think about food. Since then, I’ve completed 9 rounds of the program, and I’ve come away from my experience with a newfound sense of self worth. Whole30 has shown me that even though I’m a wife and mom of three, I can (and should) make my health a priority. I deserve to be taken care of, to be seen and to be heard, and if I can be empowered to take control of this previously ‘impossible’ thing of changing my eating habits, there’s really no telling what else I can accomplish.”
Autumn Michaelis: Whole30 Coaching Coordinator
Autumn Michaelis, our Coaching Coordinator, is an ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist, with a B.S. in Exercise Science from BYU. She has run wellness and aerobics programs at the university and local levels. Though exercise was her first love in the health world, nutrition has become her passion. She is mom to 5 boys (yes 5!) and loves adventuring (hiking, camping, exploring), dancing, running, and creating family-friendly clean recipes.
From Autumn: “You can’t outwork bad nutrition. Good nutrition heals you from the inside out in ways that will surprise you. Many start the Whole30 for weight loss, but you leave with so much more–it truly helps you become your best self. Whole30 was the catalyst for finally reaching a healthy relationship with food and my sugar addiction, and I am thrilled to help share that with others as a Certified Whole30 Coach, and as a part of the Whole30 team.”
Stephanie Greunke: Whole Mamas Program Director
Stephanie is the program director for Whole Mamas and the co-creator of Whole Mamas Healthy Mama, Happy Baby program. She lives in San Diego with her husband and two sons. Stephanie is a registered dietitian who specializes in prenatal/postnatal nutrition and holds additional certifications in perinatal mental health and fitness.
Stephanie has been an advocate of the Whole30 program since 2010, using the program personally and professionally with her clients. She’s also the co-host of Whole Mamas podcast and an internationally recognized speaker. Stephanie is committed to building a community of mamas/mamas-to-be who encourage each other and share their own experiences so they know they’re not alone and have resources to feel empowered.
From Stephanie: “I’ve been a huge fan of the Whole30 program since I completed my first Whole30 in 2010. I saw incredible results in my mood, energy, digestion, and relationship with food. I’ve even completed rounds while pregnant and nursing with multiple non-scale victories for both myself and my baby (less reflux, better less, improved digestion). I’ve also witnessed countless success stories within my own community and clients. I strongly believe this program can change your life and am honored to support mamas and mamas-to-be in this community.”
Chelsea Long: Whole Mamas Content Coordinator
Chelsea, our Content Coordinator for the Healthy Mama, Happy Baby Program, lives in San Diego with her husband and son. Formerly an English as a Second Language instructor at the University level, Chelsea shifted her interest to holistic health after giving birth to her son. Her degrees in Communications and Education serve her well as she works with the Whole30 team to help other moms thrive during pregnancy. Chelsea is a registered yoga teacher (RYT 200) and is passionate about helping others find healing through yoga, meditation, and nutrition.
From Chelsea: “I completed my first Whole30 in January 2015, when I was seven months postpartum. Yes, I lost some of the extra baby weight, but more significantly I found a new sense of self-efficacy. I saw the tangible changes that came from nourishing myself. I’m thankful that the Whole30 helped me return to a place of trusting my body and I’m honored to work with Whole30 Healthy Mama, Happy Baby and help other mamas navigate this season.”
Shannon Canaday: Community Management
Shannon moderates the Whole30 forum and Facebook Page. She lives in Chilliwack, British Columbia in Canada with her husband. Shannon comes to us from a 20-year career where she’s acted as an Account Manager for major national brands, a Customer Service Representative and an Administrative Coordinator. She enjoys a mostly quiet life of cooking, reading and entertaining and loving on family. She can also be found most often on a sunny day riding her Harley Davidson around the absolute glory that is the Fraser Valley.
From Shannon: “I’ve been a fan of and practiced Whole30 since 2013. Over the years of reading and interacting with the Whole30 community, the thing that I love most is when people begin to see themselves as valuable and worthy of their own attention. Especially as women, we’re conditioned to put ourselves last and devalue our own needs, even when nothing else is pressing. Watching people figure out that they deserve their own care and hearing about how they are starting to insist upon space and consideration in their lives is the favourite part of my time spent in this community. It’s not a result you would normally attribute to a 30 day food-elimination program but it happens all the time and it’s amazing!”
Sarah Steffens: Recipe Creative
Sarah, our Recipe Developer, has a B.A. in Business Administration, Public Relations from The Master’s College in Southern California. After years of experimenting with nutrition and recipes in her own kitchen, she now works as a Personal Chef in Los Angeles, cooking meals that support her client’s intention to physically and mentally thrive. She has catered several independent film sets, making it her goal to optimize the energy and well-being of each creative crew. When Sarah is not cooking Whole30 and Autoimmune Protocol meals, she is likely exploring mid-century sites in L.A., taking photographs, listening to an audio book or hiking at Griffith Park.
From Sarah: “The best advice I have received in life is to live consciously and deliberately, recognizing this is always optional. The Whole30 program helps us go back to the beginning of listening to our bodies and empowers us to consciously and deliberately align our eating habits with our highest needs for nutrition and self-care. I’m inspired by this program and use it as a source of clarity and direction when feeding myself and all those around me.”
Virginia DeVries: Graphic Design
