The Health Investment Podcast with Brooke Simonson

EPISODE 165 – After graduate school in clinical psychology, Dana Skaggs worked in community mental health for seven years then served at Woodridge Psychiatric Hospital, Quillen Rehabilitation Hospital (manager of Psychological services), as well as seven school districts. She’s been a board member of Inter-Mountain Psychological Association for four years. After having her third child in 200...

EPISODE 164 – Dr. Terri Bacow is a widely known expert in cognitive behavioral therapy, an evidence-based therapy approach. A Brown and Boston University graduate, she has authored several peer-reviewed papers based on her research, and sees clients in her private practice on the Upper West Side. She is a media contributor and has been featured in Women’s Health and Shape magazines, Scary Mo...

EPISODE 163  – Hormones Demystified (aka “HD”) is a semi-retired endocrinologist who spent his clinical career treating patients in a large, multi-specialty practice. He has trained at two Ivy League institutions, among other well-regarded programs.  He’s been named a Regional Top Doctor multiple times, determined by a survey of area physicians that asks, “Who would you sen...

EPISODE 162  – Hormones Demystified (aka “HD”) is a semi-retired endocrinologist who spent his clinical career treating patients in a large, multi-specialty practice. He has trained at two Ivy League institutions, among other well-regarded programs.  He’s been named a Regional Top Doctor multiple times, determined by a survey of area physicians that asks, “Who would you sen...

EPISODE 161 – Maia Monell is the Co-founder and Chief Growth Officer of the Nav.it Money App.  Nav.it ‘s the fitness app for finances, providing personalized financial coaching to build good habits and live financially well. When she’s not pitching, selling, and creating for Nav.it , Maia’s working with her family’s two foundations. She’s devoted to closing weal...

EPISODE 160 – Caroline Holke has always had a pretty good life on paper—happily married with two kids, a leadership position in corporate marketing, and plenty of good friends and family. But she wasn’t quite happy and knew that the first place to start was her relationship with alcohol. Today she is a Drink Less Coach. She helps women get rid of the bad parts of drinking—and this does...

EPISODE 159 – Born and raised in Los Angeles, Susan Salenger attended UCLA to study English. After graduation, she worked alongside her husband Fred for 25 years at their production company, Salenger Films, which produced corporate training and development films distributed worldwide. Today, at age 79, Susan lives in Northern California to be near her incredible family which includes her two...

EPISODE 158 – Florian Fritz is the founder of the Money Hero Academy, where he is teaching how to create financial freedom by improving your money mindset, money management, and money making skills. As a financial advisor, Florian realized during the last financial crisis in 2008 that the financial industry was only looking out for their own best interest and not that of their clients. That&...

EPISODE 157 – Greg Morrissey (M.Ed.) is the founder of Mountain Goat Movement. In addition to teaching high school literature and coaching ice hockey and lacrosse, Greg spent the last 10 years building human-powered adventures for high school and college students in the greater NYC area. He has led thousands of young people on treks, climbing trips, surf trips, ski trips, sustainability prog...

EPISODE 156 – Peg Sadie—a trained psychotherapist & resilience coach (BA PSY + MA Professional Counseling PSY), wife of 19 years, and boy mom x 2—founded Resilient Mom Academy to realize her vision and bridge the gap between therapy and thriving for struggling moms. She has been featured in over 50 media outlets, including Instyle , Parents , and Women’s Health .  Her own experienc...

EPISODE 155 – Ellen Leonard is a speaker, stress management consultant + coach, and expert who teaches and coaches business leaders, teams, and entire organizations how to manage and prevent stress. Ellen’s professional background and expertise includes 12 years as a published scientific researcher, 9 years as an award-winning university instructor, and 9 years leading The StressLess MethodⓇ...

EPISODE 154 – Dr. Ron Siegel is a part-time Assistant Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School, where he has taught for over 35 years. He is a long-time student of mindfulness meditation and serves on the Board of Directors and faculty of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy. Dr. Siegel also teaches internationally about the application of mindfulness practice in psychothe...

EPISODE 153 – Sara Mednick is a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of California, Irvine and author of The Hidden Power of the Downstate and Take a Nap! Change Your Life . She was awarded the Office Naval Research Young Investigator Award in 2015. Her research findings have been published in such leading scientific journals as Nature Neuroscience and The Proceedings from the National...

EPISODE 152  – Dr. Marisa Cohen is a relationship researcher, marriage and family therapist, and teacher of college-level psychology courses.  She is also the author of From First Kiss to Forever: A Scientific Approach to Love , a book that relates relationship scientific research to everyday experiences and real relationship issues confronted by couples. Dr. Cohen is passionate ab...

EPISODE 151  – Misa Pignataro is a certified health coach, an educator with a Master’s degree in early childhood education, a cooking instructor, and a mom of two young girls. Her mission is to help shape children’s tastes one bite at a time while teaching them to love their veggies so they can live a lifetime of health and happiness! In the episode, Misa explains why it’s so important...

EPISODE 150  – Kurt Nelson is a sought-after speaker and recognized leader in human motivation and behavior change. For over 20 years, Kurt has worked with global companies to apply behavioral science principles to drive change in their organizations. He is founder and president of The Lantern Group, a communication and behavioral design agency which uses behavioral science insights to impro...

EPISODE 149 – Michelle P. Maidenberg, Ph. D., MPH, LCSW-R, runs a private practice in Harrison, NY. She’s the Co-Founder and Clinical Director of “Thru My Eyes”, a nonprofit 501c3 organization that offers free clinically-guided videotaping to chronically medically ill individuals who want to leave video legacies for their children and loved ones; adjunct faculty at New York University (NYU),...

EPISODE 148  – Angel has spent over 40 years working in the healthcare system. Having started out as a Candy Striper at the age of 13, she eventually went on to become a Registered Nurse and ultimately a Family Nurse Practitioner. In 2015 she acquired a medical fraud investigation company that assists insurance carriers to review medical bills and records for evidence of erroneous charges an...

EPISODE 147  – Doug Noll was born partially deaf, nearly blind, crippled, and super smart. (All buzz kills for the girls in his early years!) He graduated from Dartmouth College, earned his law degree, and was a ferocious civil trial lawyer for 22 years. Then he went back to school to become a peacemaker. Since he left his lucrative law practice in 2000, Doug has devoted his life to understa...

EPISODE 146  – Mia Moran is an inspiring mentor for women who are balancing work, family and their wellness. She believes women have the power to change the future for the better—but not if they are stressed out and overwhelmed. Mia is a mom of three teenagers, entrepreneur and coach, who also makes time for family, wellness, and joy, and she hopes to empower 1 million moms to feel a deep se...

EPISODE 145  – Dr. Cynthia Bailey, MD, is a Board Certified Dermatologist in California with over 35 years of clinical experience. Over the course of her career, she’s done 200,000+ skin exams! She founded Dr. Bailey Skin Care in 2009 to make professional quality skin health and skin care information accessible to everyone—trusted physician skin care to help you love the skin you’re in...

EPISODE 144 – Dr. Adjoa Smalls-Mantey, MD, DPhil, is a physician-scientist and writer. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center where she practices emergency psychiatry. Prior to her career in medicine, she conducted HIV immunology research for many years at several institutions including the National Institutes of Health and the...

EPISODE 143 – Wendy Wood is Provost Professor of Psychology and Business at the University of Southern California and author of the book Good Habits, Bad Habits. For the past 30 years, she has studied the nature of habits, how they form, and why they are so difficult to break. In the episode, Wendy explains the role of willpower in forming new habits, how to create and break habits more easi...

EPISODE 142 – Adrian Chavez holds a doctorate in Nutrition and Health Promotion where his research was focused on creating lifestyle interventions for the prevention of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. After his PhD, he had plans of staying in academic research but was frustrated with the lack of impact that his work was having and decided to start creating courses, programs, and free cont...

EPISODE 141 – Diane Macedo is an Emmy Award-winning ABC News correspondent, former insomniac, and author of The Sleep Fix —a practical, user-friendly guide to getting better sleep. In The Sleep Fix, she flips the switch on common advice, illuminating her own relentless search for how to get a good night’s sleep and the surprising, scientific, and practical solutions she found along the way....