FM Wellness Quarterly - Spring 25'

FM WELLNESS Quarterly Connection SPRING ‘25 | ISSUE 05

we are what we eat: IS YOUR FOOD CONSUMING YOU?

heal the healer retreat ARE YOU A CAREGIVER WHO IS NEED OF RECEIVING? THIS RETREAT EXPERIENCE IS FOR YOU!

spring refresh!

FOR THE HOME AND YOUR BUSINESS

skin deep no fomo here:

A DEEP DIVE INTO NORDIC THERMAL CYCLING

USING THE GENE KEYS TO UNLOCK INNER WISDOM A HEART OPENING TEA RECIPE HYPERBARICS POST BRAIN INJURY MEET THE COLLECTIVE AT OUR EVENT!

IN THIS ISSUE 5

Tending Your Inner Garden

11

Spring Fling

15

Heal The Healer Retreat

18

A New Version Of Eating

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Spring Cleaning For Your Brand

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Gene Keys Circle

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Escape The Artificial, Embrace The Extraordinary

Utilizing breathwork and plant medicine

Clear the energy of your home

A deeply restorative experience for caregivers to RECEIVE!

Optimizing our health through food

Freshen up your marketing

The keys to inner wisdom

Dive into Nordic Thermal Cycling

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Hope Through Healing

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FM Wellness Collective Directory

A deeper look at the brain after injury

Find a practitioner perfect for your needs!

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The FM Wellness Collective is a community of wellness practitioners in the FM area dedicated to supporting and empowering one another. We serve as a reliable resource for the community to connect with wellness professionals, making wellness more accessible, and strengthening the culture of well-being in the Fargo-Moorhead area.

Our Board Members

Executive Director: Melissa Pachak

Chief Operating Officer: Hannah Bettenhausen

Saree Janz

Emily Jones

Randi Olsen Heinold

Shannon Radcliffe Bueche

Michelle Vasicek

Jennifer Enz

1445 1st Ave N Fargo, ND 58102 www.fmwellnesscollective.com hello@fmwellnesscollective.com

Magazine Creatrix: Sarah Jacobs Creative Edits: Melissa Pachak

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THIS SPRING FEELS LIKE A FRESH START—EMERGING FROM A LONG WINTER AND STEPPING INTO A SEASON OF GROWTH AND RENEWAL.

A NOTE FROM HANNAH BETTENHAUSEN, CHEIF OPERATING OFFICER AND

A Note from the Founder

PARTNER IN FM WELLNESS COLLECTIVE

I’m so excited to be stepping into the energy of spring renewal after a long winter. It feels incredible to reflect on how much we’ve grown in just a little over a year. I feel so grateful for everything we’ve built together and the impact we’re making on our community.

I am beyond thrilled to partner with Melissa as a co-owner of FM Wellness Collective! Joining forces with such a talented and passionate wellness professional is truly an honor, and I couldn’t be more excited about the impact we will create together.

I’m especially looking forward to all of the events we have planned, particularly our women’s wellness programming and the Women’s Wellness Summit coming up in July! Stay tuned for more info on that!

At FM Wellness Collective, we are committed to redefining wellness by focusing on the mind, body, and spirit. By collaborating with wellnessminded businesses and professionals, we offer personalized workshops, curated resources, and tailored services that inspire growth and transformation for individuals and organizations alike.

Fargo is such a wonderful community, and the work we are doing to support wellness and build a culture of well-being feels so rewarding.

This spring feels like a fresh start—emerging from a long winter and stepping into a season of growth and renewal. I’m excited to see all the amazing things we’ll accomplish together.

Looking forward to all the good things ahead,

Melissa Pachak Founder of FM Wellness Collective

The potential to make a lasting difference in our community fuels my passion and drive. From supporting workplaces in fostering healthier cultures to helping individuals embrace their own paths to wellness, our mission is to revolutionize the way people heal and thrive.

I am so grateful to be part of this extraordinary journey alongside Melissa and the amazing businesses and professionals we collaborate with. Together, we are building something truly special—a collective that empowers people to achieve balance, resilience, and fulfillment.

Here’s to a bright future filled with growth and positive change for our community. I can’t wait to see what we accomplish together!

Meet our Newest Board Member We are so excited to introduce you to the incredible individuals leading the way as we step into this new chapter as a nonprofit! FM Wellness Collective is more than just an organization—it’s a movement dedicated to holistic healing, accessibility, and community-driven wellness. And behind it all, we have a passionate team of leaders who believe in the power of well-being for all.

Introducing our newest board member, Randi Olsen Heinold.

For over 18 years, Randi has used bodywork, therapeutic yoga, and seasonal healing practices to support deep healing and transformation. Through her business, Hemma Wellbeing, she helps individuals align with seasonal rhythms to navigate their healing journey with confidence, feeling at home within themselves and trusting their inner wisdom.

RANDI OLSEN HEINOLD HOLISTIC WELLNESS PRACTITIONER + EDUCATOR WITH

HEMMA WELL BEING

Beyond individual healing, Randi is passionate about the broader connection between personal wellness, community building, and entrepreneurship. She believes that nurturing oneself is the foundation for nurturing strong communities and thriving businesses and supports small business owners, nonprofits, and leaders as they navigate the highs and lows of following their dreams.

Thank you Randi for being an Specializing in women’s health, she integrates abdominal massage, herbalism, and natureintegral part of our team! based coaching, as well as provides education and inspiration through her essays and podcast The Home Practice.

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Tending Your Inner Garden Through Breathwork and Plant Medicines

“The same energy that births flowers from the earth and breathes life into the land moves through you.”

– Alyssa D. Harper

by Rachel Harveland

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In the garden of all that is you, from the moment you transitioned from Spirit to human until right this very minute – what does your inner landscape look like?

What kinds of flowers or weeds have been growing from within you? Has your garden been tended to in the way it has needed to be throughout your life?

Does it feel like a thriving wildflower meadow or more like a neglected patch laden with invasive weeds? Visualize or draw what your garden looks like as you become aware of your body in this moment and observe what comes up, trusting the first things that come to mind.

Our ever-changing inner garden requires frequent tending. The garden of our psyche tells us much about how we are subconsciously showing up in our lives and how we might be operating from a place of fear, unworthiness, or selfabandonment. It’s important to notice where we’ve been letting the weeds take over, where we need to prune or uproot, and where we have space to plant seeds for new growth.

As we are coming out of the winter season, the Spring Equinox welcomes us into new, fertile soil where we can utilize this energy to create intentions or goals for the next year ahead. This is a more appropriate time to make new year resolutions than in the dead of winter. Spring is a time for rebirth.

But in order for rebirth to occur, death is required: the death of old thought patterns that prevent you from using your voice to make space for empowered expression, the death of hyperindividualism to make space for community, the death of victim mentality to make space for transformational healing and embodiment, or the death of an old version of yourself to make space for the new version. Change must take shape for the light to filter in. If our gardens are filled with invasive species, wilted flowers, and decaying fruits, we don’t have the space to nurture the version of ourselves we wish to embody.

This calls for us to tend to our inner garden first which opens up space to plant new seeds.

In herbalism, what others often call weeds, we call medicine. Weeds are simply any growth you deem to be a burden or that you don’t wish to have in your garden.

However, they can be just as healing and just as beautiful as the more “desired” plants in our gardens such as daisies or sunflowers. So as you’re taking stock of your garden, notice what weeds are present. What do they represent? If they are taking over your garden, what is this weed trying to tell you that you might not have noticed before? It is trying to get your attention.

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As sentient beings, we are meant to feel emotions and empathy. Emotions are feelings in motion. They’re not meant to stick around and fester within us. We’re meant to feel them and use our bodies to assist us such as through crying, stomping, screaming, etc. But somewhere along the way, we were taught that expressing the big emotions was immature and burdensome. Your big emotions might have been too much for others or there were scenarios that made you feel unsafe and unable to express those emotions. This is when our unexpressed emotions get “stuck” in our bodies and create protective subconscious patterns to prevent us from being hurt again.

Much of our subconscious programming can be hard to access through a conscious mind, especially if that programming is very protective and if they were created in childhood. This is why accessing altered states of consciousness, such as through somatic breathwork, can be very beneficial in uncovering these patterns and completing the cycle of any unexpressed emotional material being held in the body.

Just as we have more desirable plants in our garden, there are more desirable feelings in our bodies: happiness, joy, inspiration, groundedness, or excitement.

But those desirable parts only make up a fraction of the human experience. It’s important to also look at the “undesirable” parts of ourselves, the parts we hide away from others, from a place of compassion and curiosity, so we can begin to alchemize our experiences, our weeds, into something greater.

Breathwork allows your conscious mind to quiet and therefore parts of the brain that don’t normally communicate with each other are able to work together and create new neuro pathways and new subconscious patterns. So where you might have had a wilted flower or poisonous mushroom in your garden, you’re able to alchemize those into something new and more beneficial for the garden you wish to cultivate. You’re able to shift your emotions around your traumas and create a kinder inner dialogue, therefore creating safety and stability in the body.

Another way I like to support the release of accumulated emotional material is through herbal medicines. We often think of how herbs can help us physically but as energetic beings themselves, they can help us move through emotional stagnation and bring healing on a deeper level. There are many herbs that can assist you emotionally, mentally, spiritually, etc. that are great staple herbs to keep in your home throughout the year. To keep it simple, I’ll highlight a handful of these herbs that you can blend together into a nourishing tea to support you as you’re clearing your garden for new growth.

The dance of life, I think, encourages us to repeatedly come back again and again to our garden, to sit, to witness, and to tend to. Each of our individual gardens create a massive garden of all human existence.

And each time we tend to our own, we contribute to a healthier, much larger garden of humankind.

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Spring Heart-Opening Tea Recipe to open the heart and allow stagnant energies to flow through, making space for new

1 part Rose – a nourishing flower that encourages emotional healing, nurtures love of self, provides support through grief, and opens the energetic heart 1 part Hawthorn – a heartcentered herb that strengthens emotional resilience and supports healing from emotional wounds

1 part Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) – another heartopener that supports emotional balance, resilience, and spiritual growth 1 part Lemon Balm – a calming herb that creates emotional safety and openness, helps to open up emotional processing without overwhelming the system, and helps the body process stored trauma in a gentle way

Rachel Harveland

½ part Lavender – a gentle herb that relaxes an overstimulated nervous system, supports emotional balance, and helps to release pent-up stress and tension from the heart space ½ part Blue Vervain – a powerful herb for the nervous system that helps to release deep emotional tension in the body, promotes emotional expression, and supports self-empowerment

¼ part Damiana – a sensual herb that helps you to reconnect with your body in a safe way, helps move shame & guilt from the body, nourishes creative expression, provides an uplifting energy, helps with depression (suppressed emotion), and boosts vitality (You can keep this really simple by just choosing a couple of these herbs such as Rose & Tulsi, or Rose & Damiana.)

Rachel is a heart-centered Somatic Breathwork Facilitator, Herbalist, and Birth Doula dedicated to guiding others on a journey of deep healing and self-discovery. She believes in the innate wisdom of the body and the power of the breath to release what's no longer resonant, creating space for clarity, peace, and transformation. With gentle presence and compassionate guidance, Rachel helps her clients reconnect with their true essence, supporting them in shedding old patterns and embracing a life of authenticity and self-love. Rachel offers private breathwork sessions, breathwork healing groups, and birth doula services to the Fargo and Lakes areas as well as virtually.

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Network Join in on a free networking event. If you are a wellness practitioner or wellness advocate and want to meet other business owners, you are invited to join us at our free monthly meetings. Location: Mosaic District 1445 1st Ave N, Fargo, ND 58102

Join the Collective If you are a wellness pratitioner or have a wellness promoting business, and you are craving more community, connection, and support become a member! Find out more here.

Be a presenter

*insert topic you are passionate speaking about*

Do you have an inspired message to share? Are you an expert in your field with a passion to help others grow and learn in business and life? Contact us to be a speaker at one of our events.

Click here to message us

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on top of all the exciting Subscribe to Stay announcements by joining our newsletter. at our website our newsletter Subscribe www.fmwellnesscollective.com

Events We offer a variety of both free and paid events to meet and interact with the members of the Collective and special speakers. Check out our calendar to catch our next event!

Directory Need support on your wellness journey? Check out our directory! We have 30+ health and wellness business owners who are excited to meet you. If you are a practitioner and want to become a member and join our directory, find more info HERE

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SPRING FLING YOUR CLOSETS AREN’T THE ONLY THING THAT NEED PURGING!

ER

Does your home need an energetic clearing?

INTERVIEW BY: MELISSA SMITH

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INTERVIEW WITH A SPACE CLEARER: LISA MADSEN ON ENERGY, EMOTIONS, AND CREATING A LIGHTER HOME Melissa Smith: Lisa, space clearing and energy work have been around for thousands of years, but many people think of it as something new. Can you talk about the history of working with energy?

Lisa Madsen: Absolutely! The concept of energetic layers has been documented for at least 7,000 years, dating back to the Vedas. So, the idea that we have energy within us and around us is not new at all.

What happened, though, is that as science became the dominant way of understanding the world, we stopped trusting our intuitive knowing. Everything had to be proven for us to believe it. But quantum science is now showing us what many ancient traditions have always known—energy is everything. It doesn’t just disappear; it simply transforms into a different form.

Melissa: That brings us to emotions, which are a key type of energy. How do emotions impact the spaces we live in?

Lisa: Emotions have a purpose. They exist to tell us something. Anger, for example, signals that we need to make a change, and sadness tells us to grieve or mourn a loss.

The issue arises when we don’t process those emotions. If we don’t act on them in a healthy way, that energy stays stuck.

Let’s take grief as an example—if we don’t fully process and mourn a loss, that grief lingers in our energetic field. And because like attracts like, that stuck energy pulls in more of the same.

Melissa: So, if we don’t clear those heavier emotions, they accumulate?

Lisa: Exactly. If you’ve had a significant loss and never allowed yourself to grieve, that grief doesn’t just go away. It stays in your energetic layers and continues to attract more heavy energy into your life.

Most of the time, we naturally clear energy just by living—laughing, playing, engaging in active relaxation, even just opening the windows. But sometimes, we get stuck in a loop where we can’t shift the energy on our own.

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FOUR WAYS TO CLEAR HEAVY ENERGY IN YOUR HOME Clean Your Closet

Closets, especially for women, are one of the heaviest emotional spaces in the home. We hold onto clothing that represents different versions of ourselves. That shirt you wore on the worst day of your life? It still carries that energy. Those jeans you keep hoping to fit into? They’re screaming judgment at you. Clearing out clothing that no longer serves you can be an incredibly powerful energetic reset.

Open The Windows Let the air element move through your home and sweep out stagnant energy. If you do this on a windy day, even better! It’s a simple but powerful way to reset your space.

Have a Date with Your House Treat your home like someone you love. Bring in fresh flowers, light a scented candle, and clean up as if you were preparing for a special night out. Infusing love and care into your space shifts the energy and reflects back to you that you are also worthy of love.

Cleaning Party Turn on your favorite music, open the windows, and set a timer for one hour. Have a cleaning dance party! Use citrus or mint-scented cleansers—both literally and energetically, they help clear the air.

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Melissa: So when do you call in a pro?

Lisa: Think of it this way—when you clean your house, you do a great job, but a professional cleaner will always catch things you didn’t even realize were there.

The same is true for energy. I can see the "energetic dust bunnies" that most people can’t. If you’ve done everything you can to shift the energy in your home and something still feels heavy, that’s when it’s time to bring in a space clearer.

Melissa: Lisa, this has been so insightful!

Thank you for sharing your wisdom.

Lisa: My pleasure! Energy is always moving, and when we learn how to work with it instead of against it, our spaces— and our lives—become so much lighter.

Lisa Madsen Lisa Madsen is a psychic medium, energy healer, and fiction author who helps people clear what’s blocking them so they can step into their most aligned, abundant lives. Whether through intuitive readings, powerful energy work, or immersive storytelling, Lisa specializes in guiding people through transformation with clarity, confidence, and maybe even a little mystery along the way. If you're feeling stuck or searching for a deeper connection to yourself, she can help you unlock what’s next.

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Take time for yourself!

As the earth awakens and life begins to bloom, embrace this season of renewal with a sacred retreat designed to replenish your spirit and reconnect you to your own well-being. Spring is a time of rebirth, growth, and transformation—an invitation to step into the warmth of new beginnings and shed the weight of the past.

Join us for a deeply restorative experience where healers and space-holders can pause, reflect, and receive the nourishment they so often give to others. Through intentional practices, guided reflection, and heartfelt connection, we will cultivate inner balance, restore our energy, and plant seeds of clarity for the season ahead.

April 11-13th @ YMCA Camp Cormorant

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Healing through Creativity

Experiental Yoga

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Self Care for the Healer

Discount!

(Click here)

A New Version of Eating

by Julie Larson

Sometimes the continuity of the natural world outside the front door, the way we can rely on eventual green blades of grass pushing through still standing snow or the chlorophyllic waxing and waning of deciduous trees, cycles steeped in ancient rhythm, creates a false surface of reality— particularly considering how much humans have altered our living and thinking spaces.

What if we used the concept of creating multiple versions in a more personal way?

Could considering multiple inputs allow us to understand the daily reality of our bodies in a new way… one that provides us an opportunity to optimize our health because of accepting that—with our without our awareness—we are already creating a different version each day?

We are in a moment undoubtedly altered by artificial intelligence, changing the way a day unfolds at a pace that’s impossible to discern in real time, due to its unceasing nature. The fact that stating AI requires no further explanation is telling. Whether or not you are a fan, it’s worth looking into its basic operating modalities, because it’s a useful mirror to this moment in human history. After all, it’s mimicking the humans who have designed it to emulate the human brain’s unique capacity to juxtapose information in the endless creation of something new. AI creates versions of reality based on what it has been trained to seek and capture. Add inputs like “fox,” “myth” and “riding the rails” and it can procure a story incorporating those ideas.

The Body as a Multitude We don’t always remember that we have bodies and that often leads to a fragility not apparent until it’s clear something is on the line. Within us, there is pulse and oxygen and excrement and somehow in all that endless churning we function, cook dinner, drive to work, dance under moonlight. We revel in the pleasure of what we find interesting, but we may not wonder if the range of motion we experienced while walking our dog in the cold or attuning to the darkness when the lights dimmed while watching Wicked at the Fargo theatre was informed by last night’s dinner or the bag of Doritos we ate in a moment of weakness at our desk. Do we?

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Deep within our physical form is an inner world that most of us can only imagine or maybe hope to only ever imagine. But as soon as we arrive at ourselves on a molecular level, it’s much easier to see that conceptualizing our health through the lens of “self” as a singular anything is a mistake. Inside us, we find an additional world that we couldn’t understand what “us” is without; the habitat of bacteria, viruses, yeasts, fungi and more living within us. A world comprised of trillions of microbes vast as stars in the sky but compacted and busier than any street you’ve ever walked on. Turns out Whitman’s metaphorical self-proclamation in Song of Myself, “I am large, I contain multitudes,” is biologically correct.

The sheer numbers of the beings living in this inner landscape is immense and so, for the sake of a readable-sized article, the focus is narrowed to beneficial microbes, or what my brother Jon and I like to refer to as “little buddies”.

The Multitude as a Body Maybe you remember Jamie Lee Curtis promoting Activia® yogurt in the 2010s or have seen the Netflix documentary Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut. Many of us now understand the basic concepts of probiotics as live microorganisms that help us digest our food. We’re beginning to accept a new framework about how our bodies function, that the presence or lack of these gut microbes alters the outcome of how we feel1— we want to feel healthy, strong and sexy, of course. Whether chicken or egg, an enormous body of scientific study on the human microbiome is shedding a wealth of light on this subject, and that might provide the input, or inputs, we’ve been seeking.

A newer aspect of gut microbiota research focuses on what is produced by the food you eat, going beyond nutrients we are used to, such as vitamins, minerals or macronutrients like fat. It’s digging into one facet of what is produced with the help of these beneficial microbes, short chain fatty acids (SCFA), which turn out to waste products formed as human gut microbiota breaks down dietary fiber in the gut.2 The major short chain fatty acids are acetate, propionate and butyrate and these break down into acetic, propionic and butyric acids.

Turns out we function differently whether there is abundance or shortage of these metabolites, but what do they do in the body that’s useful?

They are chemical messengers kicking the first domino in a chain of events that ends in beneficial results throughout the body and it’s important to note each SCFA provides raw materials for many of the body’s critical functions.

They influence metabolic parameters like glucose and lipid metabolism and satiety while also acting along the gutbrain axis helping neurotransmitter production so important for regulating mood and behavior3. Foods like apples, almonds, oats and beans are known to produce butyrate, which helps to support a healthy gut lining4 and that could mean that the body operates more optimally to keep the amount of pathogens in check. The list of benefits really goes on the more you include whole foods on your grocery list.

Why does any of this matter? Can’t we just eat food and call it a day? No. One of the biggest dividing lines between what we can consider food and junk food, commonly referred to as “ultraprocessed food” these days, may well be what its impact in the gut is. Research has explored how those who regularly consume junk food have markedly less diversity in the number and abundance of beneficial strains. They also have more detrimental bacterial strains.5 Scientific exploration has led to findings that gut bacteria is highly responsive to what we consume and significantly impact its composition.6 In other words, maybe we really are what we eat.

That same study illuminates how much the inclusion of a single food can alter our gut microbiota finding6 coffee drinkers had over one hundred different genes switched on or off and levels of a beneficial strain, Lawsonibacter asaccharolyticus, was found to be 4.5 to 8 times more abundant than in non-coffee drinkers.

Importantly, higher levels of this particular species correlate with markers of metabolic health including liver and blood sugar. To change genetic expression is also worth making note of as the difference can feel like night and day.

Perhaps most fascinating of all, our bodies may be in “communal sharing of bioenergetic resources”2 with our gut bugs, which means we live symbiotically the way trees and fungi work together to exchange energy similar to the mycorrhizal network, to build something referred to as the “extracellular pantryome”. 2 This store of energy is, of course, named after the place we store our future energy capacity, the panty. In a healthy gut, the pantry is stocked; however, in a gut that is dysregulated (dysbiosis), research suggests that there is a lack of shared resources.

This lack creates problems down the line.

The Body, Retold It’s a larger philosophical question to ask if we become different people based on what we consume, because a multitude of other factors influence the internal state of the body, but oh, if it were so easy. However, food is a major input in the daily versions we create of ourselves and there are so many things which fall under the category “edible”. If we’re in a symbiotic community of energy production creating a storehouse of energy we all draw from, we must consider “food” from both our perspectives.

Whether or not we are conscious about this, we tell ourselves a story about what it means to be in our bodies every day, often attributing a feeling to a possibility. Most of us don’t actually eat as if we want to live that long, our health a flash in the pan of our own lifespans.

Clarissa Pinkola Estes, writer and Jungian psychoanalyst, makes a noteworthy point about how story “is learned through assimilation, through living in its proximity.” What is more within our daily proximity than eating? Through the act of consumption, we create our literal bodies again and again over the course of our lives.

“Scientific exploration has led to findings that gut bacteria is highly responsive to what we consume and significantly impact its composition. In other words, maybe we really are what we eat. “ 20

Developing Hunger Beyond Personal Craving Nutritional exchange is not linear. A piece of fruit is a swell of water, containing minerals, vitamins, fibers, polyphenols and calories to sustain what makes our bodies thrum. When we bite into it, we consume everything about what it contains and where it has come from. The tree, yes. Also, the soil, air and water that nourished that tree. We often conveniently remove ourselves from this cycle. When we eat something like an apple, we become more than we were and part of that is what is gained by working with this complex microbial system within us.

Consider what convinces you to begin moving in a new directly. All too often we humans change when this sophisticated sharing system within the body has already begun to fail. If the framework we have set to is “take the body for granted,” we may not shift until we have a new framework in place—and a compelling reason to make the potentially uncomfortable leap.

What AI lacks is curiosity. Curiosity is the human input into the AI equation. Eating certain foods provides the nutrients that allow the brain to be curious. Maybe experiment. It starts with what you put in your mouth, adding inputs like “quinoa,” “walnuts,” “carrots” and “eggs” one bite at a time.

1.Probiotics Regulate Gut Microbiota: An Effective Method to Improve Immunity 2.Emerging connections between gut microbiome bioenergetics and chronic metabolic diseases.

3.Short chain fatty acids: the messengers from down below 4.Butyrate’s role in human health and the current progress towards its clinical application to treat gastrointestinal disease 5.Unveiling the Gut Microbiome: How Junk Food Impacts the Gut 6.Coffee Drinkers Have Distinct Gut Microbiomes

Julie Larson Julie Marie Larson has an MFA in English from MSUM where she focused on poetry and creative nonfiction. In 2021 she became a certified teacher of mindfulness mediation through the School of Positive Transformation and regularly braids meditation into a healthy writing practice.

Julie has worked at the dietary supplement company Swanson Health Products for the last 14 years as a writer, proofreader and researcher.

The last several years she has focused on researching the function and potentiation of herbal medicines, fungi, nootropics within the human microbiome. She believes this focus of study will continue to provide insight on how humans can supplement their diet for optimum cognitive and body functioning—including and especially the creation of various types of art.

She is deeply influenced by a subconscious/symbolic/Jungian approach to writing and instruction based on the idea of alchemizing pain, anxiety and overthinking into art and how those fusions and intersections might just slowly-but-surely make the world a better place—for all living beings.

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Spring Cleaning For Your

by Mackenzie Brimm

Refresh, Reset, and Reignite Your Brand Identity This Spring You know that feeling when you finally tackle that overstuffed closet, toss out the jeans you haven’t worn since 2012, and suddenly, life just feels…lighter? Yeah, that’s exactly what your business needs this spring. Just like your home, your brand and marketing strategy collect clutter—outdated messaging, stale visuals, and strategies that just aren’t working anymore. It’s time to clean house and make room for fresh opportunities!

Lucky for you, this isn’t about busy work—it’s about creating clarity, momentum, and a brand that feels fresh and connects.

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Clear out the marketing clutter Take a hard look at your brand’s online presence. Are you still using that dusty old Facebook cover photo from years ago? Is your website filled with outdated offers and images? Marketing moves fast, and if your brand isn’t keeping up, you’re missing opportunities.

REFRESH TIP: If it feels outdated, clunky, or like something you ‘have to do’ instead of ‘get to do,’ it’s time for a refresh. Your brand should feel like YOU—dynamic, current, and aligned with your goals.

Spring Cleaning Checklist: Refresh your website copy—does it still reflect what you do NOW? Update old social media bios and pinned posts.

Ditch any marketing strategies that feel forced or exhausting. (The clearer & simpler the better!)

Dust Off Your Brand Messaging What’s the first thing people think of when they hear your business name? If you don’t know, it’s time to get crystal clear on your brand voice and message.

Ask yourself:

Your brand message should be confident, and crystal clear —because no one has time to decode vague marketing.

Does your tagline still make sense?

Is your messaging speaking to your ideal audience today? (No one’s ideal audience is everyone with a pulse.)

Are you standing out, or blending into the noise?

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Refresh Your Marketing Strategy (No, You Don’t Have to Be Everywhere!)

Let’s be real—if you’re trying to do everything (posting daily on six platforms, writing blogs, running ads, and sending emails), you’re probably overwhelmed. Instead of throwing energy at all the things, focus on what works.

Spring Strategy Reset: Look at your insights—where is your audience actually engaging? Do more of that.

Drop the platforms that aren’t serving you (It’s okay, you don’t have to be everywhere).

Set a realistic content plan that you can stick to.

REFRESH TIP: Consistency beats perfection. A strong, focused strategy will always win over chaotic ‘post and pray’ marketing.

Polish Your Visuals Spring is the perfect time to update your brand’s look—because let’s be honest, a good visual refresh just feels good.

Quick Wins for a Visual Clean-up: A fresh brand = new energy.

And people notice when you show up consistently with confidence!

Update your brand colors and fonts if they feel outdated.

Refresh your headshots (Yes, it’s time. No, that 2019 selfie doesn’t count).

Make sure all your marketing materials have a cohesive, polished look. (They should look like they belong together.)

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Set New Growth Goals You didn’t build your business to stay in the same place, right? Spring is all about momentum—so use this time to set new goals and take bold steps toward growth.

Ask Yourself: What’s one thing I can do this quarter to elevate my brand?

What offers do I want to promote?

What kind of content actually excites me to create?

Ready for a Brand & Marketing Refresh?

Spring cleaning your business doesn’t have to be overwhelming—it’s about letting go of what’s no longer working and making space for bigger, better things.

Whether it’s updating your website, fine-tuning your messaging, or revamping your marketing strategy, the goal is simple: Show up with confidence, clarity, and a brand that works for you.

And if you need a little extra help? Brimm Marketing is here to make your brand shine.

Happy spring (and happy business spring clean)!

-Mackenzie

REFRESH TIP: Your brand is a living, breathing thing. Give it room to evolve, refresh, and reflect where you’re headed— not just where you’ve been.

Mackenzie Brimm Founder & Lead Creative at Brimm Marketing Mackenzie Brimm is a dynamic marketing professional with over a decade of experience transforming brands and driving impactful results. A proud Fargo native and NDSU graduate, Mackenzie blends strategic expertise with creative flair to help businesses and startups stand out in competitive markets.

Specializing in brand development, marketing strategy, and communications, Mackenzie excels in crafting memorable campaigns, engaging social media strategies, and seamless sales automation. Her passion for innovation and storytelling shines through in every project, from building unforgettable brand identities to planning community-focused events.

With a mission to empower businesses to reach their full potential, Mackenzie brings energy, vision, and a results-driven approach to every challenge.

The Keys to Inner Wisdom

by Crystal Franco

Living in an area where the seasons change allows us to be reminded of our own connection to nature and the fact that we are a part of this entire ecosystem. Just as every flower has its role, we too, are fractal pieces of the whole and have our own roles for this entire ecosystem of life. This is one reason why I personally had such a strong connection with the Gene Keys when I dove into my own profile. They share with us our unique fractal piece!

When you look at your own profile there are 3 initial sequences known as the Activation Sequence (the sequence of your unique Genius){Start here if you begin!!}, the Venus Sequence (the sequence for love, unlocking your heart and moving through your wounding from conception onwards), and the Pearl Sequence (the sequence for prosperity).

Each sphere of these sequences correlates with a specific Gene Key and possesses a Shadow, Gift and Siddhi.

If you’re unfamiliar, the Gene Keys are 64 keys related to the iChing that can be drawn up into your own personal profile based on your birth information (similar to having an astrology chart drawn up).

The journey through the keys is one of contemplation and the unlocking of the light in your DNA simply begins when you take the initial steps into your keys. You get to love your shadows into wholeness, see the gifts that emerge from these shadowy places and unfold just like a blooming flower.

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If you’re saying yes to this, spend time with your first sphere, your Life’s Work Sphere. Let it really permeate into your life. See how the shadow aspect shows up for you and when you’re in the gift state. An example to help this make more sense: My Life’s Work Sphere has the Shadow of Indifference and it points out how much of a disservice I do for all that is when I am wishy washy or don’t stand out as my unique self. The Gift of this sphere is Versatility. Which boy oh boy was this big for me to love on-for I have often been ‘the jack of all trades’ and here it is in my keys telling me I can love it completely. I am meant to be versatile, to do Many things. And yet the Siddhic state is Mastery. SO it’s all about bringing all my magic together which is honestly what I often do in everything I offer the world!

As of late it’s been huge as I have really merged my role as a Gene Key Guide and Psychosexual Embodiment Facilitator with all the other healing “Crystal magic” I offer the world as I created a very unique experience called Heart Fire Alchemy. This is just One key of mine and how much it has unlocked in my life.

Crystal Franco Crystal is a psychosexual embodiment facilitator aka the Pleasure Fairy. She’s here to awaken Radical Self Love and overall Aliveness in people through all of her gifts and presence. She hosts experiences dedicated to tuning into the self, sacred sex, and so much more! She works online with people all around the world and hosts in person experiences too.

If you want to connect more with Crystal Franco, you can find her at crystalfranco.com or on IG @thecrystalfranco www.crystalfranco.com

Things simply unlock as you dive into your keys.

And I’m so here for it: -observing it happen in trickles throughout the world -the big ah has that happen when I host Gene Key circles for people to come and understand and speak the same language -the solo conversations as people fall more in love with themselves and release shame by seeing their unique magic and purposes on the Earth So, here’s your invitation to explore your keys!

Obviously since I love it and am a guide I have special links and ways to work with me, however you can just get started by entering your info on the Gene Keys website. Dive in and if you want support, connect! Cheers to playing 'n' loving your shadows and unfolding into all your gifts with every life season change! ~Crystal Franco

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Meet the Collective

You are invited!

Join us for Wellness Connect: Meet the Collective, an opportunity to experience the heart of the FM Wellness Collective!

This event is your chance to connect with the incredible practitioners and wellness businesses that make up our community.

Explore the diverse range of services our members offer, from holistic healing and mental well-being to movement, nutrition, and self-care.

Experience mini sessions and hands-on demonstrations to get a taste of what our practitioners do.

Capture the Moment with a professional headshot by Bared Soul Boudoir— available for a free-will donation to the FM Wellness Collective Foundation.

Whether you’re looking to expand your wellness journey, network with like-minded individuals, or simply immerse yourself in a supportive and uplifting space, this event is for you!

Come meet the Collective, discover new possibilities for your well-being, and leave feeling inspired!

Details: Date: Sunday 4/27 Location: The Mosaic District, 1445 1st Ave N Fargo, ND 58102 Cost: Free to attend! www.fmwellnesscollective..com

Escape the Artificial.

Embrace the Extraordinary.

by Jen Stafford

A THERMAL CYCLING SANCTUARY

The steam rises like morning mist over still waters as I watch another Moonglader step into our sauna, shoulders tight from carrying the weight of endless decisions. Within minutes, I see it happen – that moment when the body remembers how to exhale.

It’s the same transformation I witnessed in myself years ago when I first discovered the power of what we now call thermocycling at Experience Moonglade.

“I didn’t realize how much I needed this until I felt the shift,” a recent guest told me, her eyes bright with newfound clarity after completing her first session.

“We believe that in today’s rush, we’ve lost touch with the amazing healing power of nature. At Moonglade, we want to bring that connection back. Our goal is to help you pause, relax, and dive into the goodness of our sauna rituals. It’s not just about us guiding you through; it’s about building a community that values taking it easy and caring for yourself. We’re here to help you on your journey towards feeling better, finding calmness, and getting in sync with the world around you.” -Jen Stafford

As a former high-level executive and single parent, I intimately understand that feeling. We normalize stress until we forget what it feels like to truly rest.

We wear our exhaustion like a badge of honor until our bodies force us to listen.

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That’s exactly where my journey began. As I navigated the relentless pace of corporate life, I was caught in a cycle that many of us know too well—pushing through fatigue, ignoring the whispers of my body, treating rest as a luxury rather than a necessity. It wasn’t until I reached complete burnout that I discovered something profound: Our bodies hold a wisdom that our busy minds have forgotten to hear.

The science behind what we do at Moonglade isn't just compelling – it's transformative. Research published in JAMA Psychiatry shows that the combination of heat therapy and cold exposure can reduce anxiety by up to 50%. A 20-year study from the University of Eastern Finland found that regular sauna use reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease by 63%. But these aren't just statistics – they're stories of revival written in our cells.

The benefits of thermocycling aren’t just anecdotal—they’re rooted in hard science.

The combination of heat therapy and cold exposure creates profound physiological shifts that reset the nervous system and enhance resilience.

A 2023 study in the Journal of Physiology found that sauna use increases heat shock proteins, compounds essential for cellular repair, longevity and immune resilience.

These proteins reduce inflammation, improve mitochondrial function, and even play a role in protecting against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.

When you step into Moonglade, you’re not just entering a wellness space—you’re stepping into a sanctuary where ancient wisdom meets modern science. Our signature thermocycling protocol—alternating between sauna sessions, cold plunges, and heated mineral bathing—creates a powerful nervous system reset.

In the heat, your blood vessels expand, circulation improves, and your body releases a cascade of healing compounds, including nitric oxide, which lowers blood pressure and enhances oxygen delivery to tissues. A 2022 study in Experimental Gerontology found that regular sauna bathing is associated with a 40% lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease and a 66% lower risk of dementia.

In the cold cold,, an entirely different alchemy occurs. A single cold plunge triggers a 250% increase in dopamine,, a neurotransmitter linked to motivation dopamine and mood regulation (Nature (Nature Neuroscience, 2022).

2022).

Exposure to cold also stimulates the production of norepinephrine, a compound known to reduce inflammation by up to 40% and improve cognitive function ((Frontiers Frontiers in Physiology, 2021).

2021).

Stress Resilience and Performance But perhaps the most powerful element of what we do isn't measured in percentages or clinical trials. It's in the moments between – when a CEO or athlete learns to breathe through discomfort in the cold plunge and realize they can bring that same presence to the boardroom or the field. It's in watching a burned-out mom discover that rest isn't weakness; it's wisdom. It's in the subtle shift from surviving to thriving.

Our approach isn't about escaping life's intensity – it's about building the resilience to embrace it. A 2022 study in Cell Reports found that controlled exposure to thermal stress strengthens the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s command center for decision-making, patience and emotional regulation. That means every time you transition from heat to cold, your nervous system learns how to adapt more efficiently, training your body’s stress response for real-life challenges whether that’s navigating a high-stakes meeting, managing a household, or juggling the never-ending demands of parenthood.

This is why we are starting to see a resurgence in the United States where people are turning to this practice—not to escape stress, but to become more resilient in the face of it. When an executive learns to breathe through the discomfort of an ice plunge, they’re also training their mind to remain calm under pressure in the boardroom.

We see this shift daily at Moonglade.

• The exhausted parent who walks in drained and walks out with a renewed sense of self—because they finally had space to breathe. breathe.

• The entrepreneur who comes looking for relief and leaves with something even greater—a clearer mind and a body that feels recharged to meet life’s challenges with clarity and ease. ease.

• The caregiver who spends all their time tending to others, others, suddenly remembering what it’s like to be cared for.

As someone who has walked the path from corporate burnout to vibrant wellbeing, I created Moonglade to be more than a spa. It's a place where transformation happens at a cellular level. Where the artificial constructs of "always on" culture dissolve into the extraordinary wisdom of your own body. Where each session is an invitation to remember what it feels like to be fully alive. Thermocycling isn’t about escaping stress; it’s about learning how to navigate it with more grace, clarity, and resilience.

The Hidden Cost of Ignoring Your Nervous System Chronic stress isn’t just unpleasant—it’s physiologically damaging.. Long-term activation of the sympathetic damaging nervous system (fight-or-flight mode) has been directly linked to increased risks of heart disease, insulin resistance, anxiety disorders, and accelerated aging ((Nature Nature Medicine, 2020).

2020).

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On the other hand, deliberate activation of the parasympathetic nervous system (rest-and-digest mode) through thermal therapies has been shown to: • Reduce cortisol levels by 32% (Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2023) • Increase deep sleep by up to 70% following a sauna session (Journal of Clinical Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2021) • Improve focus and cognitive function by 40% due to increased blood flow to the brain (American Journal of Physiology, 2022) This is why at Moonglade, we’re not just offering relaxation—we’re offering a return to your body’s natural equilibrium.

The Extraordinary Lies in the Pause The results speak for themselves. Our corporate wellness programs have shown that as teams, parents and individuals; engaging in regular thermocycling sessions report greater mental clarity, lower stress levels aiding in emotional resilience, and enhanced creativity. Individual members often share that their sleep quality improves dramatically into what we would call deeper, more restorative sleep– unsurprising given that research shows a single session can enhance sleep quality for up to 48 hours.

But beyond the metrics and mechanisms, there’s something else that happens here. Something deeper. In a world that moves too fast, Moonglade offers something rare: permission to pause. pause. To breathe. To remember that your body isn’t just a machine for productivity—it’s an intelligent system designed for resilience and renewal.

As I watch the sun set over our sanctuary, casting that distinctive moonglade glow—the path of light across water that inspired our name—I’m reminded of why this work matters.

We’re not just offering treatments; we’re providing a pathway back to natural rhythms of balance in an increasingly artificial world. Back to the wisdom that lives in your cells, in your breath, in the space between thoughts.

Because the extraordinary isn’t found in pushing harder or moving faster. It’s found in the courage to slow down, in the willingness to feel deeply, in the trust that your body knows the way home. At Moonglade, we’re here to guide you back to that innate wisdom, one breath at a time.

Whether you're seeking relief from executive stress, looking to enhance your team's wellbeing, or simply ready to experience what it feels like to truly feel alive again, Moonglade offers more than just a reset – it offers a return. To balance. To vitality. To yourself. The question isn’t whether you need this kind of deep restoration.

The question is: How much longer can you afford to wait?

Ready to experience the transformation for yourself?

Experience Moonglade offers individual sessions, private group bookings, corporate wellness programs, and team events. To begin your journey back to extraordinary wellbeing, visit ExperienceMoonglade.com or contact us to learn more about our customized corporate packages.

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Alisia Becker

Directory

Reiki Master, Energy, Chakra & Crystal Practitioner www.solandstonescom

Allison Grippe of Yuj Yoga

Brenda Weiler of Ecce Yoga

500hr certified yoga instructor

Yoga Instructor and Group Facilitator

www.yujyoga.com

www.ecceyoga.com

Caroline McGuire of CJM Yoga

Danielle Anderson

Yoga & Ayurveda Teacher www.cjmyoga.com

Derek Harnish Dentist

Owner of Above & Beyond Cleaning www.livewellcounselingmn.com

Diane Rust Emotion Code, Body Code and Belief Code Practitioner

www.archdentalfargo.com

www.dianerust.com

Dr. Alli Svobodny, ND

Dr. Caitlin Pollestad

Naturopathic Doctor, Intuitive Healer, Group Healing Facilitator

Psychologist, Certified Sex Therapist

www.deeprootsmedicine.org

www.psychologytoday.com

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Directory Drs. Monica and Zach Landry with The Wellness Way Fargo

Dr. Melissa McCulley with McCulley Optix Gallery Owner, Optometrist www.optixgallery.com

Emily Jones

Chiropractors

Licensed Clinical Social Worker, EMDR and TF-CBT

www.thewellnessway.com

www.creativespiritcounseling.com

Endure Thermal Spa Thermal Cycling www.endurethermalspa.com

Hannah Bettenhausen Business Coach Fractional Integrator https://www.654strategies.com/

Hearts of Hospitality

Heather Thomas

Family Lifestyle Support Specialists

Licensed Massage Therapist

www.heartsofhospitalityservices.com

www.inspirehealthspa.com

James Bergman

Jen Enz

Professional Intuitive Songwriter

Rossiter Practitioner, Nutrition Coach, Fitness and Yoga Instructor

www.artistjamesbergman.com

www.enzwellness.com

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Jen Olson

Directory Jen Stafford with Experience Moonglade

Licensed Vibrational Sound Therapy Practitioner www.resonancevst.com

Jessica Zdenek Yogini Oracle Priestess

Nordic Spa Experience Curator, Wellness Guide, and Life Coach www.experiencemoonglade.com

Karly Kalstad Spiritual Guide, Life Coach, Breathwork Facilitator, Reiki Practitioner, Marketing Mentor

www.taraloma.com

Kellee Haan Photographer

www.highwaterhealing.net

www.baredsoulboudoir.com

Kim Hobbs

Kriss Brown

Owner of Downtown Yoga Fargo and Lead Teacher of Peaceful Warrior Yoga School www.downtownyogafargo.com

Lisa Madsen Energy Worker, Intuitive Coach, Tarot Reader www.lisamadsen.com

Massage Therapist, Level III Reiki Practitioner, Level III Healing Touch Therapy www.caringtouchwellness.com

Melissa Pachak Wellness Coach, Holistic Nutritionist, Herbalist www.simplywellwithmelissa.com

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Michelle Vasicek

Directory

Intuitive Business Coach www.facebook.com/groups/lunawolfsales

Morgan Aubol

Morgan Hastings

Catering Chef

Mental Health & Substance Use Counselor

www.moderntablend.com

www.livewellcounselingmn.com

Ms. Anna Lee

Natalie Reiter with Prairieland Counseling

Artist and Creative Guidance Counselor, Energy Portraits, Human Design Readings, Intuitive Coaching www.missannalee.com

MEd, LPC/LPCC, CCS, PMH-C www.prairielandcounselingfargo.com

Nina Flippance

Rachel Harveland

Therapeutic Arts Life Coach

Somatic Breathwork Facilitator, Herbalist, Birth Doula

www.creativecompass.podia.com

www.rachelharveland.com

Sarah Jacobs

Sarah Smith Warren

Licensed Reflexologist, Reiki MasterTeacher, Certified Beyond Quantum Healing hypnosis regression

Career & Empowerment Coach

www.reikireflexology.com

www.soulspacework.com

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Directory

Sarah Tee, MPH, RD, LRD Registered and Licensed Dietitian www.inspirenutritionnd.com

Saree Janz Hypnotherapist, Mindfullness Coach

Shannon Radcliffe Bueche Massage Therapist, Herbalist, Earth Mother

www.myinnerspark.com

www.massage-alchemy.com

Stephanie Samson

Your Name Here

Travel Advisor

Join the FM Wellness Collective!

www.tabatraveling.com/wellness

www.fmwellnesscollective.com/membership

We want to hear what you have to say! Submit an article or be a presenter at a networking group.

Email us at: hello@fmwellnesscollective.com 40 31

Our Values Community When we seek wellness in community, we all benefit. We aim to create a culture of well-being in Fargo Moorhead, where individuals are inspired and empowered to lead healthier, happier lives. ​

Collaboration FM Wellness Collective provides a platform for practitioners to connect, collaborate, and cultivate a supportive environment. ​

Empowerment We empower wellness practitioners to thrive in their careers and empower individuals to take control of their well-being. ​

Inclusivity We are committed to making wellness services accessible to all members of our community. We seek out opportunities to work with and support under represented populations. ​

Visibility We enhance the visibility of wellness modalities and practitioners in the FM area to promote awareness and accessibility. ​

Integrity We hold the collective and practitioners to a level of integrity that speaks to our values, ensuring ethical and responsible practices.

Connect. Empower. Thrive.