ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

IT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN possible for me to write this book without the encouragement and support of my husband, John Hlinko, and my parents, Jim and Mary Helen Stringer. I am also extremely grateful to my employer, EYP, for being flexible and giving me the space to write. Their flexibility speaks volumes. A big thank you to Teresa Rainey, Director of High Performance Design at EYP; Robyn Baxter, Regional Leader of Consulting for HOK Canada; Lauren Abramo, my agent; my editor, Stephen S. Power and the many editors and staff who helped me shape and craft this book.

The process of writing this story, about health at work, has been about discovery. None of us really has this health thing figured out—or we would not have the problems we have today—but there are some real champions for health and wellness in our midst who graciously agreed to speak with me and offer what they have learned. I would like to thank and acknowledge the researchers and health professionals at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, especially Tim Church, MD, MPH, PhD, professor of preventative medicine; Peter Katzmarzyk, PhD, FACSM, FAHA, professor and chair of pediatric obesity and diabetes, associate executive director of population and public health sciences; and Amanda Staiano, PhD, assistant professor of research. Thank you as well to Catrine Tudor-Locke, PhD, FACSM, professor and department chair of kinesiology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

I would like to thank and give a big virtual hug to the people and my performance coaches at the Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute (JJHPI) in Orlando, Florida. They helped shape some of the content of this book, but more importantly, they helped me to define my ultimate purpose and how my personal health goals fit into my life as a whole. Their Corporate Athlete® program is outstanding and I would recommend it to anyone. In particular, a big thank you to Bill Donovan, general manager of JJHPI, and Brett Klika, Chris Mohr, PhD, RD, and Rhonda Waters, MEd, my performance coaches and advisers.

A very special thank you to my colleagues and partners in crime at the Center for Active Design: Joanna Frank, executive director, Suzanne Nienaber, partnerships director, and all of the amazing health and design experts on the health and well-being committee. And thank you to Eileen McNeely, PhD, MS, RNC, co-director, SHINE, Center for Health and the Global Environment, Harvard School of Public Health, and to Ron Goetzel, PhD, senior scientist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Their work is foundational for making the business case for health today.

Several people recommended that I go to Miraval, a health and wellness resort in Tucson, Arizona. If you have ever been there, you know that it is a real treat. Many people visit when they are grieving or dealing with health or relationship issues. I visited because I was exhausted from work and felt it might be a good place for recovery. It turns out this is true: Miraval is a wonderful place for quiet, serenity, a few choice spa treatments, and workshops to improve physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. I’m particularly grateful for my instructors, Sheryl Brooks, RN, a certified health coach who first introduced me to the issue of sleep apnea (which my husband was diagnosed with shortly afterward); Anne Parker, MA, wellness counselor; Andrew Wolf, MEd, RCEP, exercise physiologist; Wyatt Webb, creator of the Miraval Equine Experience; and Junelle Lupiani, RD, nutritionist (now with Green Mountain at Fox Run).

I highly recommend visiting the Human Origins Exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. I took an outstanding tour there and got some great advice during my paleo research adventure from Briana Pobiner, PhD, research scientist and museum educator, Human Origins Program, Department of Anthropology. She and many of her colleagues put together an amazing exhibit.

I’m very “mindful” of Joy Rains, meditation speaker, author, and guide, who taught me how the workplace can be a great place for mindfulness, and to David Gelles, author of Mindful Work, who nudged me to attend Wisdom 2.0 Business, a conference in New York about meditation and mindfulness for business leaders. A big thanks to Brigid Schulte, whose book Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time and advice kept me from being “overwhelmed.”

I had the great pleasure of speaking to several specialists and experts in their field, in addition to the ones I have already mentioned, who were invaluable to my full understanding of many of the issues addressed in this book. They include Sara Crain, physical therapist and ergonomics specialist at Mercy Hospital; Nancy H. Rothstein, The Sleep Ambassador; Alan Pollard, CEO, Vitality Group; Mike Tinney, CEO, FIX: Fitness Interactive eXperience; Shir Nir, CEO, the Handel Group; and David Conrath, with Anthrospheres.

And finally, I’d like to thank people from the many “healthy” organizations who took time to speak with me and to share their stories and insights. You all were invaluable to me as resources for understanding employee health from an employer perspective, and you have demonstrated how employers can make a difference in the lives of their people. Thanks especially to Peter Chiarchiaro, head of wellness at Next Jump; Sarah Kalamchi, environment specialist with Tilt.com; Sam Whiteside, chief wellness officer, David Meier, Jill Ralph, Megan Brinsfield, and Michael Douglass at The Motley Fool; Newton Cheng, fitness programs manager, Google; Nate Costa, FX Studios and Under Armour Performance Center; April Floyd, global benefits, Under Armour; Mark Cunningham-Hill, MD, director, Global Solutions Center, and head of occupational medicine for Johnson & Johnson; Deb Gorhan, wellness and health promotion manager Americas, for Johnson & Johnson; Megan Benedict, global health and vitality manager at IBM; Meg Bach, U.S. health promotion operations lead at IBM; Gale Tedhams, director of sustainability for Owens Corning; and David Ribble, professor of biology at Trinity University.

You are each an inspiration.