Resident Experts
Meet the people behind the SparkPeople program!
SparkPeople is made up of a small team of healthy lifestyle experts and staff members. Learn about the experts behind the site and meet the SparkPeople team here!
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SparkPeople Sponsors help keep the site free!
Resident ExpertsMeet the people behind the SparkPeople program!SparkPeople is made up of a small team of healthy lifestyle experts and staff members. Learn about the experts behind the site and meet the SparkPeople team here!
Additional SparkPeople Staff Members
"I've been fortunate to achieve great results using the SparkPeople program; now it's exciting that millions of other people are using this program to reach countless goals, too!"
 Chris Downie, Motivation Expert and SparkPeople FounderChris earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Cincinnati. He started his career at Procter and Gamble, where he used proven health, goal-setting and motivation techniques to get fit, manage stress and create the fuel he needed to reach his goals. He left P&G to co-found an early Internet company, which became eBay's first acquisition. With the freedom and capital to do whatever he wanted, Chris founded SparkPeople so that he could SPARK millions of PEOPLE to get healthy and reach their goals, too. Since 2001, Chris has invested $5 million of his own money to create and operate SparkPeople.com. A hands-on CEO, "SparkGuy" is an avid exerciser, leader of several SparkTeams, and active member of SparkPeople's positive Community. As SparkPeople's founder and resident motivation expert, Chris corresponds directly with members every day. He has written more than 10,000 personal messages to members, offering encouragement and congratulations alike. In addition to talking to members directly on SparkPeople.com, Chris frequently speaks at meetings and events and has "spread the spark" to millions through media interviews and appearances with FOX, "Entertainment Tonight," The New York Times and more. Chris wrote his first book, The Spark, which will be published by Hay House on Dec. 29, 2009. He is proud that this book was a team effort involving the resident experts from SparkPeople and its members, too. The Spark tells the inspiring account of how Chris founded SparkPeople and distills the best of the SparkPeople program, along with new strategies and secrets of success, in an easy-to-follow 28-day plan. Learn about Chris's new book, The Spark. 
"Cooking is an art, but understanding the science behind the art will make you a better cook."
Meg Galvin, Master Chef and Healthy Recipe DeveloperMeg, who has a bachelor's degree in business administration, earned her Certificate of Culinary Arts from Le Cordon Bleu in London and is certified as an Executive Chef by the American Culinary Federation. A World Master Chef since 2005—a title held by only 13 other women in the world—Meg is the host of the regional television show "The Dish," which airs on a Cincinnati CBS affiliate and online. She also serves as Program Coordinator for the Culinary Arts and Science program at the University of Cincinnati and is a faculty member at the Midwest Culinary Institute of Cincinnati State Technical and Community College. Meg has authored and co-edited several books and research abstracts. An experienced and highly awarded chef, Meg is largely interested in healthy cooking methods, seasonal foods, and the instruction of basic cooking skills that can help adults and children live healthier lives. Working for our sister site, SparkRecipes.com, Meg develops healthful, diet-friendly recipes and creates videos that teach the fundamentals of healthful cooking. On any given day, this world-class chef can be found hitting the pavement for a long run or cheering on her sons at their sporting events. 
"Wellness is not achieved by accident. It begins when you assume responsibility for the quality of your life. It requires a search for accurate knowledge, the scheduling of time, and the constant commitment to energize and motivate."
Becky Hand, Registered and Licensed DietitianBecky Hand earned a bachelor's degree in food, nutrition and dietetics from Marian College and a master's degree in health promotion and education from the University of Cincinnati. Becky has more than 25 years of nutrition experience in hospital and community settings. She is passionate about improving the health and wellness of people in her rural community as well as the lives of people throughout the world via SparkPeople. Becky is involved in numerous food, nutrition and health education activities, including nationwide presentations for SparkPeople conventions. A licensed and registered dietitian with a certificate in weight management from the American Dietetic Association, she also teaches weight management classes for children and adults, conducts cooking classes and food demonstrations, and assists school districts in implementing wellness policies. Becky hosts a weekly nutrition talk show, writes articles for newspapers and magazines, and provides food and nutrition coverage on television. Whether Becky is talking to schoolchildren, a scout troop, college students, high school athletes, a women's club, church group, or corporate America, she wants her nutrition messages to be practical, easy to apply and fun! She utilizes humor and hands-on activities to involve the audience in her presentations and assists them in setting realistic goals and action plans. As SparkPeople's Head Dietitian, Becky stays on top of the most current nutrition research and provides nutritional recommendations for the SparkPeople websites. She also advises members by writing and reviewing food and nutrition articles and answering questions on the message boards. 
"Perfection and guilt have no place in living a healthy lifestyle."
Nancy Howard, Certified Running Coach and Community ModeratorA retired pediatric nurse with 15 years of experience, Nancy received her bachelor's degree in nursing from Texas Woman's University. She joined SparkPeople as a member in December 2005 and lost 80 pounds before joining our staff as a Community Moderator. A master runner, Nancy holds a running coach certification from the Road Runner's Club of America and has completed more than 65 races in the past 3 1/2 years, including two half marathons and a full marathon. She wants everyone to know that you don't have to be an Olympian to run. Passionate about helping others learn the process of living a healthy lifestyle, she believes it is never too late to start. She coaches members via the message boards and SparkTeams, writes health and fitness articles, and presents across the country at SparkPeople conventions. Besides being an avid runner and health enthusiast, Nancy also enjoys strength training and Pilates. 
"Being healthy through setting and achieving goals not only allows you to live your best life, but also offers you the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others along the way."
Tanya Jolliffe, Healthy Eating Expert and Community ModeratorTanya earned her dietetics degree from the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati. She served as a clinical dietitian, specializing in general nutrition and organ disease, for several Cincinnati-area hospitals. She has participated in multidisciplinary patient care teams, helped educate medical students and dietetic interns, and has presented at seminars and professional roundtables. Tanya has nearly 20 years of nutrition counseling and education experience in the areas of prenatal nutrition, general family nutrition, and therapeutic nutrition in end-stage organ disease. Her passion for nutrition education drives her in helping people live their best lives to reach their goals. Tanya has spent much of her life in competitive athletics, including collegiate-level volleyball, and continues to stay active through a variety of cardio, strength-training, and flexibility activities and strives to make her own life an adventure. She believes that, "There's joy in the journey as well as in the accomplishment." Tanya spends most of her time advising new moms and moms-to-be as the Community Leader of BabyFit.com, one of SparkPeople's sister sites. She also monitors several condition-specific SparkTeams and answers nutrition questions on the SparkPeople and SparkTeens message boards, in addition to writing and reviewing nutrition articles for all three sites. 
"You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call 'failure' is not the falling down but the staying down."
Jen Mueller, Fitness Coach and Community LeaderJen's background is in business, but she left the corporate world because she wanted to make a difference in people's lives. She earned a master's degree in health promotion and education from the University of Cincinnati and then worked for two years as Program Director for the YMCA in Memphis, Tennessee. After returning to Cincinnati, she began working for SparkPeople. Jen is an AFAA certified personal trainer and has (very proudly) completed several marathons. She is also certified in Prenatal and Postpartum Fitness. Jen is SparkPeople's Community Leader, which involves overseeing the message boards, SparkTeams, challenges, and the development of new community-related features. She also writes and reviews fitness articles for the site and has been interviewed as a fitness expert for both print and television news stories. Jen's passion is coaching people to help them reach their fitness and health-related goals. She says the best part of working for SparkPeople is helping members realize that they didn't need her as much as they thought they did. "They've had what it takes to make a healthy change inside of them all along. I just pointed them in the right direction!" 
"I have a passion for helping people live healthier lives. When you're healthy, you're happy, productive, and are able to enjoy all that life has to offer."
Nicole Nichols, Certified Fitness Instructor and EditorNicole has a bachelor's degree in health promotion and education, specializing in exercise and fitness, from the University of Cincinnati, where she also pursued a certificate in journalism. She maintains several fitness certifications, including AFAA Group Fitness Instruction, Spinning, Prenatal and Postpartum Exercise Design, and EFI Sports Medicine (Group and Personal Training), and has taken several specialty workshops and trainings in the areas of cardio kickboxing and Pilates. Nicole has designed and taught health programs on the topics of eating disorders, body image and self-acceptance, strength training for women, exercise for seniors, and prenatal exercise. She continues to teach a variety of fitness classes in the Cincinnati area, an experience that has helped her create more than 50 free workout videos—and three fitness DVDs (available in the SparkPeople Store). She has also contributed to newspapers, magazines, and appeared on FOX and CBS news programs as a fitness expert. Her practical experience, working as a health and fitness writer, exercise instructor and personal trainer, has allowed her to help athletes, students and seniors achieve their fitness goals. As SparkPeople's Editor and Content Manager, Nicole sets the editorial direction for SparkPeople and SparkTeens, overseeing and contributing to the production of content, articles and newsletters. She enjoys breaking down complex fitness and nutrition concepts into easy-to-understand ideas that people can use in their everyday lives. 
"Consistency is the key to success! If you are consistent in reaching smaller goals, that leads to bigger goals, and you'll be successful no matter how you look at it."
Denise Tausig, Community ModeratorDenise's first introduction to SparkPeople was January 1, 2004, as a member. It took her eight months to lose 40 pounds and reach her goal weight. Losing weight and exercising inspired Denise to change her life and pursue a bachelor's degree in wellness at Lincoln University in Missouri. Denise maintains her weight loss and fitness level with regular walking, yoga, and fitness videos. Today, using her personal experience and education, she help others achieve their health and fitness goals, including the 13- to 17-year-old members of our sister site, SparkTeens.com, where Denise works as the Community Leader. At SparkPeople, you'll find her throughout the Community, answering questions, leading SparkTeams and challenges and providing support to members.
Do you have a question or need to contact SparkPeople?
BethBeth works in marketing and product development for SparkPeople and manages the SparkPeople Store. She is very excited about developing new products and services that will help members reach all their goals. She enjoys staying active with her two daughters and husband! 
DaveDave manages product development at SparkPeople. He loves finding ways to improve the site to help people better reach their goals. You'll often see him posting announcements about new features on the site. 
DeanDean Anderson has master's degrees in human services (behavioral psychology/stress management) and liberal studies and extensive social work experience as a caseworker and community organizer. Dean's interest in healthy living began in 1999 when, at the age of 50, he confronted his own morbid obesity and related mental and physical health issues. He joined SparkPeople, lost 150 pounds and regained his health. During this process, Dean earned a personal training certification from ACE, received training as a lifestyle and weight management consultant, and began working for SparkPeople. He is currently pursuing a certification from the American Senior Fitness Association. 
JennyJenny works on the marketing team, heading up SparkPeople's local efforts to bring SparkPeople to a town near you. She also helps our PR Department, so you may see a SparkMail from "SP_JENNY," asking if you'll share your success story on the site or in the media. Jenny is happy to be part of such a great team, which allows her to see so many success stories each day! 
JeremyJeremy does web development at SparkPeople and has a degree in information systems from the University of Cincinnati. He uses SparkPeople on a daily to reach his fitness goals and plans to run his first 5K this year. 
JoshJosh heads up the engineering department at SparkPeople. He does some programming of new features as well as site and database maintenance. Josh is on his own weight loss journey and is happy to help people use the SparkPeople.com tools to lose weight. 
KellyKelly is our Office Manager and one of our resident experts who assists with monitoring the message boards. Kelly also mails all of the promotional prizes that members win during contests, giveaways and by spinning the SparkPoints wheel. She joined the SparkPeople staff in 2004 and has enjoyed living a healthy lifestyle with her family ever since. With the help of SparkPeople and healthier fitness and eating habits, she was able to finally kick her smoking habit. WOOHOO! 
GrantGrant has been part of the marketing team at SparkPeople since 2002. He leads our PR department and has helped SparkPeople members get featured in numerous national magazines, newspapers and television programs. Grant directly contacts members with amazing stories to help them share their stories with the world. Don't be surprised if you receive a SparkMail from GRANTM! 
SeanSean has been a member of the SparkPeople marketing team since 2002 and currently leads advertising and sponsorship sales initiatives for the company. He enjoys being part of an innovative web company that makes such a positive impact on people's lives. Sean also loves to "go outside and play" through a variety outdoor activities. 
StepfanieStepfanie writes articles as part of SparkPeople's content team. She is also editor of SparkPeople's sister sites dailySpark.com, SparkRecipes.com and BabyFit.com. A certified Ashtanga yoga teacher, she's passionate about from-scratch cooking, green living, kindness and grammar. A former newspaper reporter who has lived on three continents, Stepfanie enjoys learning new languages, running, and cycling. Working at SparkPeople is a dream come true; she gets to write what she loves and witness amazing life transformations each day. See All of Stepfanie's articles 
TamiTami has spent 20 years in executive and editorial roles at publishing and media companies. She has worked as a health editor and published many books and magazines in the health, fitness, self-help and cooking categories. She is currently leading SparkPeople's publishing efforts, as well as various projects for the company. She loves outdoor activities like running, hiking, biking, and kayaking and is so excited to be at SparkPeople, where she can work alongside others with a passion for healthy living. 
TimTim has been a part of the SparkPeople team since 2001. He works on the marketing and business development team, and his roles include leading our social media marketing efforts by managing SparkPeople's Twitter account and Facebook page. He feels very lucky to be a part of such a great team where he gets the chance to help people achieve their goals and dreams and is inspired daily to keep working toward a healthy and active lifestyle! |
Senior Health and Fitness
Find tips and support that will help you stay healthy through your golden years.
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Served cold or hot, these tangy yet sweet noodles are rich and tasty.
See This Recipe on SparkRecipes
