Professional Development:

Navy education followed by 6 years of service overseas proved to me that the slogan “It’s not a job, it’s an adventure” was true! Belonging to one of the greatest forces ever set the standard for not settling for anything but the best! With 25 years in various technologies, I yearned for a complete shift of careers in the 1990.

As a competitive runner, nationally and internationally, human performance became my passion. This passion took me to the leading edges of sports nutrition, training, endurance, energy and peaking for performance. It helped propel me to 5 National Titles and assisting in coaching 18 other national champions.

Athletics turned to a desire of helping everyday people to be the best they could be. Owning and operating Ultra Fit Sports led to wellness coaching in southeastern Wisconsin. Fate would have it that location brought me to within 5 miles of Standard Process Inc where I have been Health and Wellness Manager since 2007.

Demonstrated Success:

One key and very unique component of our Challenge is a company-wide or group purification program. The Standard Process Purification Program is not strictly a cleanse diet but rather a structured program that combines whole food eating with supplements, nutritious supplement shakes, and light exercise.

The purification program combines a generous menu of whole foods with supplements that support the body’s ability to remove naturally occurring toxins. This promotes a state that allows for toxin release.

When you’ve completed the 21-day purification program, you’ll transition to a new way of eating to feel your best based on enjoyable, healthy food.

While compiling data from the Purification Program and HRA we found significant results regarding the health improvements for participants involved in the program.

This can be clearly seen in the average of the participant’s health scores according to the HRA which were taken three times, before the program, after the 21-day completion and a follow up 60 days from the start. After the 21-day process those who completed it averaged an increase of 4.19 points on their health scores, which continued to progress until day 60 where the average health score increased .8 points to a 4.99 health score points. By simply looking at this number we can see that the program was beneficial to those who participated in that their health level increased.

This result came from a varied amount of biometrics that accumulated to create the increase in health scores, such as weight loss, body fat percentage decrease, body measurements decrease, and with a drop in blood pressure. The total average weight lost after 21 days was 5.88lbs which is a substantial and safe amount to be lost in that time period. In addition to the weight loss, participants also lost an average of 1.41 inches from their chest, waist, and hip measurements. Furthermore, the participants dropped their BMI by .91 points and their body fat percentage dropped an average of 1.06%. Also, they dropped their blood pressure significantly, with their systolic dropping an average of 4.11mmHg and the diastolic dropping 3.86mmHg.

However, at the 60 day HRA we found that the BMI increased by .14 points and the average weight increased 1.01lbs. Even with these metrics getting larger, the overall benefits of the program were shining through. We saw an increased health score, a continued loss in body fat percentage, an increase in inches off the waist and hip measurements, and a continuation of drop in blood pressure. The health scores continued to improve with an increase of .81 points to reach an average of 83.38. The body fat percentage dropped another .34%, the inches lost in the waist and hips increased to an average of 1.67, and the systolic blood pressure dropped an average of 1.96mmhg to 6.07mmhg and the diastolic an average drop of 2mmhg to 5.86mmhg. By observing these other metrics we can see that the increase in BMI and body weight was a good gain, we can interpret the 60 day results and explain that the weight increase of an average of 1.01lbs was a gain of lean body weight and not fat. This is shown through an increase in the average body fat percentage and the continued loss in inches around the waist and hips.

Leadership

As a runner, coach, team leader for over 30 years, I have demonstrated success at all levels of ability. My number 1 goal in working with people is to deliver balance and whole-body health, whether it be at the starting line of a race or at the workplace. I began my career at Standard Process in 2003 as their personal trainer, overseeing fitness programming for their emerging wellness initiatives. In May of 2007, I was promoted to Health & Wellness Manager overseeing a team of four. In 2008, I was named to the Wellness Council of Wisconsin’s Board of Directors, awarded the Light of Wellness Award Honorable Mention from Wellness Council of Wisconsin in May of 2012.  My primary responsibility is to establish strategic and tactical areas of the program and to monitor all aspects for quality and results.

Innovation

The most successful program/intervention I have been involved with is our annual Wellness Challenge. It is designed to fully engage our employees in all areas of our programming, 7x24x365. 85% of the Challenge is based on participation with 15% based on outcomes. It is a 4-tiered program with Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze levels. This encourages employees to participate in many aspects of the program, such as physical fitness, education, health risk screening, biometric checks and more.  For achieving the Wellness Challenge, employees are rewarded with a $250, $500, $750 or $1,000 (net dollars) annual bonus based on the level achieved.  This has dramatically improved the health and knowledge of our employees. 

Our Annual Wellness Challenge began in 2003 and has demonstrated that continued engagement drives bio-markers in a positive direction and lower health claims as a result. This comprehensive program addressed lifestyle-related diseases, specifically diabetes and heart disease. It rewarded for physical activity, educational presentations, screenings, mindfulness and social contributions to the community.

Compelling Vision

The challenges faced by not only corporations but Americans in general are ever-changing. The traditional health concerns with regards to obesity, cancer, diabetes and heart disease will continue to be there. New fronts for wellness professionals and team are that of mounting employee stress, environmental threats and that of technological addictions.