Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis at the beginning of 2020, this has been the most challenging year of her life. Balancing working from home, motherhood, and MS has been no easy feat. Upon diagnosis, Moyna started conducting tons of research, looking for support groups or general MS resources. She noticed a reoccurring theme within the MS community. She did not see many people who looked like her or had similar backgrounds. It motivated Moyna to create her Instagram. Sharing her journey and stories in hopes of inspiring others. The positive reception from her Instagram lead her to create a website and begin blogging. MS has been an inspiration to cherish each day. Spending time with family and friends and keeping close to her support system. Moyna lives in Queens, NY, with her partner and three-year-old son.
An early diagnosis of MS at 16 led Conor to gear his studies towards human nutrition, receiving his undergraduate degree at Trinity College, Dublin and PhD at University College, Dublin, School of Medicine. Conor has worked in several hospitals, universities and medical centers in Dublin, Washington DC and Australia. Initially returning to Ireland to pursue a lecturing role, Conor shifted his focus towards launching Setanta Nutrition, a natural, research-based, plant-based, whole-food product line to prevent and treat common diseases affecting brain health such as MS, Dementia, Alzheimer, and Parkinson. Conor has gained national recognition for his research, including winning Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur and raising pre-seed funding to further develop Setanta Nutrition.
Quayce Thomas is the Founder of Timsle, a social accountability network he built after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and psychosis while studying architecture. Through Timsle, Quayce explores how data and technology, combined with the support of friends and family can help others with mental health disorders functionally overcome their illness as well. Quayce graduated from Carleton University’s Born Social Fellowship, University of Ottawa’s Patient Safety & Quality Improvement Leadership program, and interned at IBM Center for Advanced Studies. Although he is usually coding, he maintains his health through running and biking (even in Ottawa winters!).
For five years, Kate Milliken has been immersed in the personal stories of people living with chronic illness as the founder of MyCounterpane, an online platform that allows patients and caregivers to lay out their personal moments and connect to others who get it. The venture began when Kate was diagnosed with MS in 2006. Kate saw a need for moment-based authentic content of what it was like to actually live with an illness, where every entry was tagged with an emotion to make it immediately helpful and easily searchable for people in need of finding others to relate to. MyCounterpane aimed to demonstrate insights and prove outcomes in the emotional realm of health, healing people through the story of them in the process. Kate will continue this work with Moodify, a 2.0 version of MyCounterpane.
Pre-MS, Kate founded Milligrace Productions, a video production company specializing in mini documentaries for private, corporate and non-profit clients. She has worked in television for more than 15 years, off camera as a producer for the View and VH-1 and as a correspondent in alternative sports (such as snowboarding, mountain biking and monster trucks) where she worked for Fox Sports NET, TNT, TNN the Outdoor Life Network and Oxygen.
Kate lives in Bronxville, New York with her husband and two young children, an 8-year-old son who works to throw 3-pointers on a basketball court like Steph Curry and a 6-year-old daughter who wages a daily battle against the hairbrush.
Born and raised along the shoreline of California, Caleigh has spent the last decade living in San Francisco. Diagnosed at birth with cystic fibrosis, Caleigh maintained her health through sports and social activities. Despite her best efforts to balance health, career, and happiness, she found herself battling diabetes and end-stage lung disease, frequently hospitalized, sustaining nutrition through a feeding tube, breathing with the help of supplemental oxygen and bi-pap and in need of a double lung transplant. In order to financially and mentally survive the isolating nature of her situation she began chronically her journey and beginning her own legacy through her blog and now foundation, Fight2Breathe. A year after her first transplant, Caleigh experienced severe rejection and was in desperate need for a second life-saving double lung transplant. She moved to Los Angeles and spent 6 months living in the hospital while waiting for her surgery. Since receiving her new lungs, she lives an independent and successful life achieving new goals every day – including being a wish granter for the Make A Wish Foundation and public speaking for other organizations such as the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Global Genes, One Legacy, Donate Life, and Sick Chicks. She celebrates others through helping those who are in similar situations any way possible.
Jessie Ace is host of the DISabled to ENabled podcast. A podcast that aims to inspire people living with chronic illness. She’s interviewed everyone from Paralympians, radio DJs, chronic illness bloggers, and marathon runners. She’s also a writer and illustrator for the biggest MS charities worldwide such as the multiple sclerosis today, National MS Society, MS Society UK, shift.MS, MS-UK amongst others and she has also written articles and illustrated for Momentum magazine, MS Matters and New Pathways. Jessie was diagnosed with MS at 22 years old and says MS makes her feel blessed every day because it has enabled her to meet many amazing people. Her own experience of being newly diagnosed so young was negative and scary – she wants to change this for other young people diagnosed. Jessie is also determined to show what is possible and is determined to teach others how to successfully blog and create a brand around blogging.
Ayarpi Reganyan was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in 2007. She went from one doctor to the next in search of answers. After years of research and trying many diet and exercise routines, Ayarpi began to understand that her body simply wanted to be heard. It was tired of the endless hours at work and the unhealthy foods she was subjecting it to. Her body had enough and it was very clear. Ayarpi has taken what she has learned from the last 13 years and decided to put it to use by developing a line of protein bars that have minimal ingredients with nothing artificial called BodyBar Protein, LLC. BodyBar Protein is a Paleo Friendly Protein Bar line with minimal ingredients. The goal at BodyBar Protein is to bring protein bars back to basics. Ayarpi openly shares her journey with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) with the hopes of helping others turn their struggles into something positive.
At the age of 19 years old, Seth became severely addicted to heroin and other hard drugs. After three years and nine overdoses he decided he was going to get clean. After kicking this habit cold, he addressed the underlying emotional issues that spurred the addiction and never used again. That was 22 years ago. Seth Leaf Pruzansky was born with the ability to interpret profound wisdom from his soul. Throughout the course of his life he has learned how to masterfully articulate this knowing in a way that benefits those who are looking for real answers to the big questions in life.
Seth has spent countless hours in meditation since he was a child, including a “forced” and extended meditation retreat in federal prison. He has faced and survived severe opiate addiction, childhood bullying, chronic illness, financial collapse, and so many other hardships, eventually going on to thrive.
He has taken the development of his inner state and applied it successfully to the world at large through “conscious-preneurship.”
Co-owner/founder of Tourmaline Spring-the highest quality most ethically produced bottled water on earth. www.tourmalinespring.com
Co-owner/founder of the certified organic raw food snack company Living Nutz www.livingnutz.com
A soon to be published author of the book “The Fight to Enlight” and Editor of a blog dedicated to transforming human consciousness www.imawakenowwhat.com
Lisa Smith is an IACPRC Certified Recovery Coach, SHE RECOVERS® Coach, speaker, consultant, and former practicing lawyer and law firm executive. She is the author of the acclaimed memoir, Girl Walks Out of a Bar. The book recounts her descent into and recovery from “high-functioning” alcohol and cocaine addiction in big New York City law firms. Lisa’s story launched her to the forefront of the movement to advance wellbeing in the legal profession. She is passionate about smashing the stigma around mental health and substance abuse disorders so that more people are comfortable asking for the help they need. Lisa speaks frequently at law firms and other organizations on these issues. She consults with firms to structure and implement wellbeing initiatives that are both meaningful and practical. As a recovery coach, Lisa helps clients define and work toward achieving goals to support recovery and improve their personal and professional lives. She also co-hosts the podcast, Recovery Rocks, an inclusive discussion of issues affecting people in all kinds of recovery.
Jon is the creator of CROHNIC, a startup that shares messages of invisible conditions through design. Living with IBD since 2010 and a Rare Disease since 2017, Jon found few answers within standard medicine for relief or treatment; seeing over 40 different specialists during that time, most of whom discounted those reported symptoms as drug-seeking behavior. This constant need to advocate for the health and living conditions within his own body became personal. It wasn’t only doctors or nurses with these unsolicited opinions—it was family and friends too. A deep rooted passion for branding and design along with seeing this need in a seemingly underserved community, which included himself, was the inspiration to launch this project. CROHNIC was created to open the dialogue around [in]visible illnesses for patients, advocates, and everyone. Based in Buffalo, NY, CROHNIC is prioritizing giving back to the community it serves through social programs and non-profit work. CROHNIC is every day.