Jean is a certified Personal Trainer, Wellness Coach, and Health Educator with over 30years of experience in these fields. Jean holds a bachelor degree in psychology and a master degree in social work, as well as certifications in Wellness, Personal Training and Lifestyle Management. She practiced for over 15 years as a therapist, focusing on behavioral and motivational change and stress management. Jean currently offers personal wellness coaching and fitness training, and conducts seminars on health and wellness topics throughout Massachusetts., Michigan and virtually. I’ve known Jean for over 20 years, have referred many of my clients to her and I have personally worked with her for strength, conditioning and when rehabbing my back and shoulder.

Today we are discussing our largest organ, the skin, and I’d like to welcome Kari Gran. For over 10 years, Kari Gran Skincare has been thriving in the world of clean and natural skincare.
Starting a company from scratch in a fiercely competitive industry may not seem like an expected or safe mid-career pivot, but that is exactly what Kari Gran and Lisa Strain, did.
At 29, Kari was diagnosed with Graves’ Disease and Hashimoto’s Disease. Both are autoimmune forms of thyroid disease. By her mid 30’s, even drier skin arrived along with what would be the 10+ years of perimenopause. Because of this, Kari started looking into everything from what she ate to what she put on her face. This led her to begin formulating products that fit her skincare needs.
Lisa had the big idea to turn Kari’s products into a business, seeing a need for women that wasn’t really being met in a way that felt authentic or truth-telling. Or, plainly put, calling BS on the beauty industry. Kari formulates the line and oversees operations and Lisa’s the CEO and keeps the business humming along.

The company is built around a small number of edited, oil-based products that they personally researched, developed, and tested. With the combined ages of 116, Kari and Lisa discovered that more is not better when it comes to skincare products. We only need a few simple steps each day to care for our skin.

Dr. Renee is a double board certified doctor who has been working with women for over 20 years and due to her own personal health challenges, she stepped outside the box of conventional medicine to take a radically different approach to heal herself from the deep depths of burnout. About a decade ago, Dr. Renee was living what she thought was her dream life; she was an extremely busy Ob/Gyn, married to a doctor, with toddler twins and had moved to a quaint, quiet town in the country. One day in May 2012, Dr. Renee fell off of her horse during a riding lesson and broke her back. She not only struggled with severe back pain, but with fatigue and the inability to focus. Her doctor diagnosed her with depression, but her symptoms did not improve after trying two different antidepressants. It is truly amazing how many of us found functional and integrative medicine through our own school of hard knocks!