Thanks to our live classes, you can engage with instructors, ask questions, and receive unscripted answers. It’s great for the whole household.
Brenda is the founder and CEO of Launch and is on a mission to make a difference in how healthcare is delivered. She likes to work hard and is up for any challenge, which usually means pushing a boulder up a big hill.
Brenda has over 20 years of experience in healthcare leadership and is a registered dietitian, and she believes food is the closest thing to a magic bullet when it comes to our health and wellbeing. She is sick and tired of “sick care” and works tirelessly to help people live happy, healthier lives because they deserve it. She loves being creative and has an endless list of ideas.
When not working at Launch, Brenda enjoys cooking, usually without a recipe, but has chef Jeremy on speed dial for when things go awry (perks that come with working with a chef). She loves being active and can likely be found at the gym way too early in the morning.
Amanda is a part of Launch’s founding team and is on a mission to bring the ‘food is medicine’ movement to the masses. She ensures our services are engaging and easy to use by focusing on each member’s journey. On any given day, you can find her working on i.t., marketing, accounting, or sales – variety is the spice of life!
Amanda has worked in health care for 10+ years, championing wellbeing and innovation. She has her B.A. in Political Science from St. Olaf College and M.B.A. from the University of St. Thomas. Amanda also serves on the Minnesota Angel Foundation’s board of directors and the Saint Paul Area Chamber’s foundation board.
When not working to optimize Launch’s newest feature, Amanda can be found singing oldies with her toddler, planning her next trip abroad, or cooking one of Chef Jeremy’s latest recipes.
Chef Jeremy takes a “back to basics” approach to cooking whole fresh foods. He passionately believes whatever you eat should taste delicious, and that preparing food should be fun and relaxing. He wants to take your culinary skills to the next level and improve your health while doing it. As a classically trained chef, Jeremy knows the art of cooking but likes to keep things simple and loves to teach and celebrate his students’ successes.
Chef Jeremy has a broad food background, from Chef Instructor at Le Cordon Bleu to Restaurant Manager to Culinary Education Manager for the largest healthcare provider in Minnesota. In his early days, he worked at Tim McKee’s Solera in Minneapolis and Robert Mondavi and Julia Child’s “COPIA” in Napa Valley.
Chef Jeremy’s students love his sense of humor and engaging teaching style, and he definitely has a fan club. If you take a cooking class, you will be sure to find out what his kitchen pet peeves are.
When not in the kitchen, Jeremy loves being by the water. His favorite spot is at his cabin in Wisconsin or taking his boat out on the local lakes. And, of course, he loves checking out the cuisine at any restaurant.
Megan is our nutrition aficionado and reads nutrition books for fun (for real). Professionally, she is a registered dietitian and has additional training through the Institute for Functional Medicine. With over a decade of experience as a dietitian, Megan is passionate about helping clients discover the power of food to enhance their wellbeing and prevent or manage chronic disease.
Whether assisting clients with learning how to eat mindfully, improve their gut or metabolic health, manage an autoimmune disease, lose weight, or something else, she always brings a positive approach to food.
Megan loves to learn and has fun challenging herself to try new recipes—even when it doesn’t turn out! More recently, Megan is enjoying learning how to downhill ski and golf.
Maddie is our go-to-gal for all things social media and beyond. With a passion for growth, connection, and engagement, she is driven to create a fun and supportive digital community for our Launch clients. On a typical day, you will find Maddie behind the scenes creating content, scheduling posts, and writing the Launch newsletter.
Maddie is experienced in the health and wellness industry, where she has worked to optimize and create social media and digital marketing strategies. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in nutrition from the College of St. Benedict and has a passion for creating in the kitchen and educating others on the importance of food choices. You will also see Maddie in front of the camera teaching cooking classes for the simple home chef.
A travel lover, foodie, and Instagram fanatic, Maddie likes to spend her time cooking and baking, teaching barre, and exploring her temporary home just outside Frankfurt, Germany.
Kirstie helps leaders and founders grow their business and influence through executive visibility and strategic communications.
As president and founder of Foster Modern PR, Kirstie has a passion for building reputations through the power of effective thought leadership. As a trusted C-suite advisor, she brings more than 25 years of experience leading communications for Fortune 500 companies and admired brands.
Before launching her own business, Kirstie held leadership and executive roles at General Mills and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. She has dedicated her career to helping companies and CEOs build trusted relationships, engage employees and build strong customer connections. In 2018, she was inducted into the Arthur W. Page Society, the world’s leading professional association for communications executives.
Outside the office, Kirstie is board chair of Angel Foundation and a community volunteer. She enjoys hiking, snowshoeing and traveling with her husband and two daughters. As a Minnesota native, Kirstie loves boating, bonfires, cabin trips “up north” and the Minnesota Vikings. She is the daughter of a U.S. Marine and Vietnam veteran. Kirstie graduated with honors from the University of St. Thomas with degrees in journalism and speech communication.
Dr. Tina Johnson is a board-certified physician and founder of Pinnacle Medicine, providing direct primary care in addition to being our medical director. She has a passion for preventive care and enjoys working with her patients to understand their health goals and to help them achieve those goals. Dr. Johnson believes in providing her patients the information and support they need to make the most beneficial decisions regarding their care.
Dr. Johnson has practiced internal medicine since 2007, earning her undergraduate and medical degrees from Creighton University. She completed her Internal Medicine Residency at the University of Minnesota, including a year as a Chief Resident at the Minneapolis VA Hospital.
Minnesota Monthly named her one of the best internal medicine doctors for women in the metro area (2011) and Mpls.St. Paul Magazine named her a Top Doctor “rising star” (2016). The most meaningful honor she receives is when patients refer family or friends to her.
Outside of work, Dr. Johnson enjoys spending time with her family. She and her husband stay busy with their three girls. They are all animal lovers with two dogs and three cats. Coming from Nebraska, Dr. Johnson (and her family by default) are Nebraska football fans. Saturdays in the fall are for chili in the crock pot and football on TV!
Jen is a results-driven leader with a wealth of experience in marketing and sales in the health, wellness, and beauty industries. With over 20 years experience, she has a passion for building and developing teams, fostering growth, and delivering exceptional value to clients and stakeholders. With four successful exits, she loves to roll up her sleeves and scale organizations.
Jen is currently a Managing Partner at The Genesis Company, helping transform and scale brands to retail. Prior to that, she was the Chief Revenue Officer at Wellbeats, a digital fitness, mindfulness and nutrition company.
Outside of work, Jen enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband and two daughters. The girls keep her very busy and they can be found spending their free time on a boat in the summer or in the snow in the winter.