Whole30 has been changing lives since 2009, when Melissa Hartwig 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, 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.”
Tawni Schall: Executive Assistant
Tawni now resides in Salt Lake City after living the majority of her life surrounded by the famous red rocks of southern Utah. Tawni’s precious “play time” is hitting the gym or training in calisthenics. She loves to have a good outdoor adventure, travel, read, jam on the guitar or ukulele and spend time with loved ones. In addition to her responsibilities, Tawni is the founder of the social cause-based Kōkua bottles.
From Tawni: “To say that Whole30 changed my life would be an understatement. Whole30 helped me abolish lifelong food addictions and poor self-image. The Whole30 program created within me a huge amount of self confidence—which has been a catalyst in propelling me to follow my dreams in life and truly love myself. Melissa and the Whole30 Team are incredible people to link arms with. I am so stoked to be able to help those in our Whole30 community reach food freedom. I am truly blessed to be part of something so life changing.”
Dalton Homolka: Social Media and Content
Dalton, our Digital Content Assistant, resides in Kansas City, Missouri, but jumps on any and every opportunity to travel to new cities, countries and probably planets, too. He holds a BA in Film & Video from Columbia College Chicago, and has since tacked on experiences with social media & marketing through various brands, companies and local influencers. Whenever he’s not working, Dalton fills his time with yoga flows, kitchen-dancing, creating and enjoying art, belly-laughter, blogging, exploring the wild outdoors, and reading (predominately YA) fiction.
From Dalton: “Like many others, the Whole30 program taught me things I never knew about myself, beginning with my personal relationship with the many foods I encounter on a daily basis. Before Whole30, I considered my diet to be ‘healthy;’ and technically speaking, it was. But what I wasn’t aware of was the lack of control I had over my own habits, and how that affected my energy, overall happiness, and ability to conquer my boldest intentions.”
Photo credit: Andrea Larson
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.”
Chelsea Long: Healthy Mama, Happy Baby
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.”
Virginia DeVries: Graphic Design
