PLANT-BASEDMeet the Whole30 Team
Whole30 has been changing lives since 2009, when Melissa Urban blogged about a self-designed life-changing dietary experiment. 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 symptoms, and discovering lasting food freedom. 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.
The Whole30 website currently serves millions of visitors a month with readers checking in from more than 100 different countries, and has a combined social media base of more than 3 million fans and followers. Their flagship book, The Whole30, has sold more than 2 million copies. Melissa and the Whole30 team are committed to building a diverse, equitable and inclusive Whole30 community, where everyone who wants to be a part of the Whole30 movement feels represented, welcomed, and included. Learn more about our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Melissa Urban
Co-Founder / CEO
Melissa Urban is a six-time New York Times best-selling author who specializes in helping people establish healthy boundaries and successfully navigate habit change. She has been featured by the New York Times, People, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Today Show, and Good Morning America, and ranks #19 on Greatists Top 100 Most Influential People in Health and Fitness. Melissa has presented more than 150 health and nutrition seminars worldwide, and is a prominent keynote speaker on boundaries, building community, health trends, and entrepreneurship. She lives in Salt Lake City, UT.
Erica Rozetti
President
Erica Rozetti, comes to us with a decade of experience in the health, wellness, and sports industry. She is a recent transplant to Scottsdale, Arizona, after a lifetime spent in California. At her core, she is an operator through and through. She is on a mission to further the reach of Whole30 and make outsized, positive impacts in its communities. Erica is a voracious reader, an avid traveler, loves to cook, and she’s a connector – always making time for friends and family. She is still adjusting to the dry heat.
Bill Ferrante
Chief Technology Officer
Bill Ferrante lives in San Francisco, California with his cat, Oliver (Ollie for short). He got his start in technology supporting and building data systems for risk mitigation and law enforcement investigations with companies now owned by LexisNexis and TransUnion noted for their contribution to 9/11, Beltway Sniper and countless child abduction investigations. He later shifted his focus to Internet publishing where he supported and later ran the publishing platform for AOL. Today, Bill and his team at ThrottleUp work with digital strategy, build and operate all technology at Whole30.
Shanna Keller
Chief Content Officer
Shanna Keller hails from Boise, Idaho, where she lives with her husband Alan, their daughter, 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.
Alyssa Anthony
Director of Branded Content
Alyssa Anthony is a proud West Virginian (GO HERD!) living in St. Pete, FL with her husband Evan and boxer Casper. With a background in marketing and sales, Alyssa has spent the the better part of a decade working with food and beverage brands in the Whole30 Approved network. When she’s not managing projects for Whole30, you can find her scoping out new coffee shops for her Instagram feed or at the beach.
Melissa Schmidt
Director of Coaching Operations
Melissa Schmidt comes to Whole30 with nearly 20 years of experience in project and product management in medical research publications, and she holds a Master of Education degree with focus on adult education for health professionals. Melissa is a wife to Adam, a mom to Henry, and a daughter to Becki, all of whom reside with her currently in Florida. Melissa has a passion for developing efficient, streamlined programs that deliver meaningful content in an accessible format.
Vanessa Chang
Director of Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG)
Vanessa Chang brings to Whole30 over 10 years of CPG experience and a lifelong obsession with food. Her passion has helped brands grow their product lines in fine cheese, artisan meats, and refrigerated foods. A self-proclaimed food nerd, avid forager, and Certified Cheese Professional (yes, there is such a thing!), Vanessa is always on the lookout for the latest in delicious food products that nourish and enrich our daily lives. Vanessa grew up in the Western U.S (Los Angeles and Salt Lake City, Utah), currently living in the Bay Area where she enjoys the outdoors, a good cup of coffee, and supporting all the amazing emerging food producers in the area.
Ashley Maynard
Director of Finance
Ashley Maynard has over 15 years of experience in finance & accounting specializing in the retail food & beverage space, as well as mission-oriented enterprises. A self-proclaimed nerd, she is passionate about numbers and telling the unique story of a business through financial models & reports. Ashley is originally from Georgia, where she graduated from Georgia Southern University with a BBA in Finance. She can usually be found galavanting around New York City with a coffee and camera in hand. She is an avid reader, amateur photographer and last minute flight booker.
Perla Terrero
Director of People & Culture
Perla Terrero is a daughter, sister, loving aunt and avid fan of all things musical theatre! With a B.S in Marketing & Management and a Masters in Industrial/Organizational Psychology she brings to Whole30 over 14 years of experience in Human Resources and a passion for ensuring organizations focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and empowerment to create fair and fulfilling cultures. The ability to value, uphold, and advocate for people is why she does this work – getting to do it alongside the Whole30 team is a gift! Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in the Bronx, she’s proud to call New York City home.
Nicole Schiavone
Director of Marketing
Meet the former Division I athlete, turned yoga teacher and reiki master, and now the Director of Marketing at Whole30. Joining the Whole30 team has been a dream come true for Nikki because it brings her love of food, wellness, community and health curiosity to the forefront of every conversation to her day. She believes that to live our best life, we must transform our relationship with how we fuel our bodies and elevate our minds — Whole30 is where that path begins!
Josh Somers
Director of Licensing
Josh Somers brings over 10 years of brand & CPG licensing experience. Along with managing intellectual property, Josh built a non-profit organization called IndoorHoops, a pickup basketball network with over 30,000 members across NYC, Philadelphia and Chicago. A healthy habit junkie, the opportunity to grow the Whole30 mission and values via strategic partnerships is Josh’s primary objective.
Liilu Hansen
Senior Executive Assistant
Liilu Hansen comes to Whole30 from the health and fitness industry where she has worked 20 years as an accomplished E-RYT500 yoga teacher and anatomy educator. She’s taught extensively within yoga communities that deal specifically with trauma and addiction, and leads trainings, retreats, and classes throughout the US as well as internationally in Denmark and Vietnam. She is passionate about her work with Whole30 and thrives in her position supporting the HQ team and connecting with the community. As a single parent to four busy teenagers, Liilu fills any spare time she gets with traveling and reading.
Jackie Jorge
Senior Communications Manager
With more than two decades of PR experience within the health and wellness industry, Jackie’s strong background in media relations and storytelling has led to multiple award-winning PR campaigns. She considers herself an intuitive and mindful marketer and, through her comprehensive skills, she proudly shares her Whole30 passion to the world.
Autumn Michaelis
Whole30 Coaching Program Manager
Autumn Michaelis is an ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist, with a B.S. in Exercise Science from BYU. Though exercise was her first love in the health world, nutrition has become her passion. She created the blog Wholefoodfor7, sharing easy and budget-friendly Whole30, Paleo, and gluten-free + dairy-free recipes for families. In August 2022, Autumn is releasing the next Whole30 Endorsed cookbook, Whole Food for Your Family.
Jennifer Kendall
Whole30 Approved Program Senior Manager
Jen Kendall is a born and raised Floridian who now lives in Utah with her husband Quinn and their one-year-old boy Easton. 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.
Michael Kontomanolis
Senior Email Marketing Manager
Mike Kontomanolis was born and raised in exciting New York City and currently resides in sunny Miami, Florida with his partner Ben and their pup Fasco. He has spent most of his career in the ever-evolving world of digital and email marketing and has always had a strong passion for wellness and health, which has now led him to Whole30. Aside from career and dog-dad duties, Mike and his partner love to travel the world and explore new cultures and wonders.
Stephanie Kelley
Senior Content Manager
Stephanie joined the Whole30 team in 2018. During the workday, you’ll catch her pouring over all things social media, setting up camera and lighting equipment to create Reels and TikToks, and searching for the perfect gif to share on Slack. Stephanie brings creativity and forward-thinking to everything she does, and continually challenges herself to learn new things.
Lindsay Rhodes
Project Manager
Lindsay Rhodes currently resides in Michigan. She attended Butler University in Indianapolis, IN where she received her B.S. in Marketing and a minor in Strategic Communication. Previously, Lindsay has worked for management consulting firms as a marketing consultant and as a campus recruiter. A huge sports lover, she enjoys playing basketball, volleyball, and beach volleyball in her free time. When she’s not diving for a ball, she loves reading, traveling ,and spending time with friends.
Paige Carnahan
Paige Carnahan comes to us with a background in marketing in the Health and Wellness industry. Paige’s passion for effective communication and paid media lends to her project management skills in her role as a Branded Content Coordinator. She’s a proud Floridian, currently living in Atlanta with her husband, Spencer, and her hound dog, Zoey. Outside of work, you can normally find Paige at a concert, reading a book, or trying a new restaurant!
Shannon Canaday
Community Management
Shannon Canaday 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.
Betsy Karr
Community Manager
Betsy Karr is a Whole30 Certified Coach, yoga instructor, and avid hiker. Betsy is the daughter of Mexican Immigrants who taught her the value of hard work, discipline, and integrity. Betsy loves connecting with the Whole30 community and brings an unparalleled positive, can-do attitude. She’s passionate about motivating people to push past self-doubt and is committed to helping people heal from the inside out.
Sarah Steffens
Recipe Creative
Sarah Steffens 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.
Virginia de Vries
Whole30 Graphic Designer
With a passion for creativity, Virginia has always been excited to study and practice new forms of art and design. While mainly focusing on graphic design, her other favorites are photography and illustration. Since discovering Whole30 in late 2015 she has completed several rounds, and is continually learning of the deep role that food plays in each of our lives.
