HARMONY TYNER

39, DULUTH

How do you spend your free time?

I love running and backpacking. I think I’m truly happiest when I’m hiking or participating in some endurance activity. I will participate in any non-motorized activity that involves being in the woods or on the water. I also enjoy reading and trying to witness plants grow. I have ended up with a collection of growing things that my husband refers to as my “plant hospice”; we will call it marginally successful. When I must be indoors, I love our wood-burning sauna and renovating our home.

Tell us about an influential person in your life.

Dr. Charles Rohren believed in me before I believed in myself. In addition to being an exemplary physician, he turned every interaction into an opportunity to lift me up and propel me forward. Dr. Rizwan Sohail has modeled what it looks like to allow your faith to influence your life’s decisions in a way I hope to emulate, and Dr. Arne Vainio (and his wife, Ivy) have shown me a generosity of spirit that continues to have a significant, positive impact on me.

Where is your favorite place in Duluth/Superior?

The incomparable Superior Hiking Trail, and every place where Lake Superior touches the land. Seriously, that lake never gets old.

What have you learned in your time spent at home during the pandemic?

On a personal level, before COVID-19, we filled our lives with so many activities and meetings and things, in an effort to not miss out on living life to its fullest. When we stopped and stood still, we discovered that life is actually lived to its fullest in the quiet moments when we deepen the relationships with the ones we love. Time at home during the pandemic also gave me the opportunity to think in depth about how to answer questions about the epidemiology of COVID-19, and gave me time to design an epidemiological study to answer the important questions about this virus and how it spreads, and how our bodies respond to it that would inform our decisions and policies.