ACHiEVE

Lee Holden was born and raised in Northern California. He was a fan of soccer as a child and pursued this passion through college while studying at UC Berkeley. An unfortunate accident caused him to turn to QiGong for healing, a practice he had been exposed to while young. When it cured his pain, he embraced the practice and set up a studio in Northern California and began educating not only practitioners, but also teachers of the healing artform. He also earned a doctorate in Chinese medicine and opened a number of clinics in Northern California. Lee has worked or collaborated with Esalen, the Omega Institute, the Kripalu Center and Deepak Chopra. He recently launched a documentary entitled "Search for Superhumans".

Kim O'Hara was born and raised in Rhode Island. She developed a childhood passion for film and moved to New York after college to produce, direct and write independent films. She then made her way to the West Coast and re-invigorated her passion for writing, earning a publishing contract for her life's memoir entitled "Kicking Abuse in the Ass". She parlayed that into a consulting practice where she now coaches clients to write books reflecting the stories of their lives. She has also launched a podcast entitled "You Should Write a Book About That".

John Vuong was born and raised in Canada, to an immigrant family from Vietnam. The youngest of four children, he developed a strong interest in business in his youth, observing his parents from a young age. He launched a business focused on SEO optimization for local businesses that support the community. This has grown into developing and supporting his clients' digital presence, including blogging and social media posts.

Kenley Neufeld was born in Nigeria and spent a portion of his childhood growing up in Zambia. His family migrated to California eventually, where he currently resides. He studied history in college and launched a career in library sciences. He developed an interest in world religions and cultivated a passion for Buddhism. He became a member of the Order of Interbeing and also joined the Plum Village community, founded by Thich Nhat Hanh, shortly after September 11, 2001. He devotes time to building community, or sangha, within this Buddhist tradition.

Chanie Gluck was born and raised in New York City. She parlayed experiences working in physicians' offices managing their billing into a significant standalone billing management business which she conceived of at the age of 19 and officially launched at the age of 24. She was able to scale her business by outsourcing business services to India, where she travels frequently. She sold a portion of her business and continues to operate a staffing business where she maintains operations in India. She is a mother of four and also relocated nearly a decade ago to Arizona.

John Friel was born and raised in the Midwest, just outside of Chicago. Since young, he has had a penchant for bringing creative friends together in an artistic pursuit, be it a band or a magazine. He earned his undergraduate degree at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and in addition to pursuing his artistic endeavors he became involved in some technical projects where he could develop his expertise in computer coding and programming. He has brought this expertise to bear in the start-up he co-founded called Art in Res, broadening the distribution of art through an online platform.

Tina Dietz grew up mostly in western New York State and studied in Buffalo, NY during her undergrad years. She had a childhood passion for musical theater and helped her parents out extensively in their family business. She went to graduate school in North Carolina focusing on education and returned to western New York where she worked with an international leadership organization called Camp Rising Sun. She also worked as a life coach and educator, focusing on adolescents. After several years she, her husband and two children migrated to Costa Rica. She has now relocated to Florida and morphed her coaching and business development company into an audio production studio called Twin Flames Studios where she produces audiobooks and podcasts for clients.

Benjamin Hedrick was born on the East Coast and after spending elementary school in the state of Washington, he came back to Bethlehem, PA. Certain he was going to be a lawyer, he attended the Penn State Honors Program and prepped to enter law school. He opted to put it on hold and go to Japan to teach English for a year. That wound up being a multi-year teaching and travel experience. He returned to the US to earn a Master's in teaching at Duke University. He taught for a number of years prior to earning a doctorate at Stanford in Math Education. He is now responsible for Advanced Placement test design.

Kernan Manion was born and raised in New Orleans, LA. At the age of 15, he made the choice to join the seminary, going against his parent’s wishes. Shortly after finishing his Bachelor’s Degree, he chose not to pursue a path as a priest. He became a radio announcer for a few years and ultimately decided to go to medical school, following a passion for the mind that he had been cultivating since youth. Post internship he worked in an emergency room for a period of time before transitioning to practicing psychiatry. He also worked with a civilian contractor where he assisted Marines grappling with combat distress at Camp Lejeune. In highlighting the mistreatment of his patients, he was fired from his position. He is now an advocate for physician burnout avoidance, a co-founder of Speak Up Academy, assisting whistleblowers, and a founder of the Center for Physician Rights (CPR) to assist physicians in protecting their professional rights.

Howard Kern was born and raised on the East Coast.  Inspite of a professed childhood aversion for writing, Howard chose to study law.  He practiced as a corporate attorney for a number of decades, migrating to California early in his career.  Through a series of experiences which included witnessing a dear friend pass away, he turned to writing to find solace.  His discovery of his joys of writing led to an avocation that he engages in regularly and one that he has come to rely on to be healing for him.  He is also a two-time cancer survivor.  Howard is co-founder of an initiative entitled Shift Poetry where he and a partner pluck written compositions from those who find the practice of writing supportive to their own well-being.