Tick Boot Camp

Russ Bell is a married father of two minor children. His MIT educated wife Nicole describes him as the most intelligent man she had ever met. Mr. Bell grew up in the American South where he enjoyed outdoor sporting activities such as hiking and shooting. He understood that ticks and tick bites were part and parcel of a sportsman’s outdoor experience. Toward the end of his professional career, Russ...

Patricia Cosulich is a 26-year-old multi-talented artist, entrepreneur and social innovator. She is the playwright and producer of The Great Imitator , a Lyme disease play designed to “change the way we view healing, build community, mobilize policy change and fundraise through storytelling.” Ms. Cosulich was a gifted child that enjoyed the exploration of her talents until she suffered the tragic...

Marsha Goins is a 41-year-old Oxford University and London School of Economics educated marketing entrepreneur. She is the founder of @MomToMomfluencer , a business “help[ing] mompreneurs grow and monetize [business] on Instagram.” Ms. Goins began the momprenership phase of her career after working in the not for profit and big business sectors. She served on conflict resolution teams in several w...

Brett Knight is a 26-year-old licensed personal trainer currently working full time parenting her son and healing from Lyme disease. She has been managing Lyme-related health issues for “all of her adult life” and her earliest symptoms presented by the age of 17. Ms. Knight’s Lyme symptoms began with “feeling off,” “ringing in [her] ears,” and insomnia. Over time, she suffered from back pain, feve...

Tiara Smith is a 27-year-old financial industry marketing specialist from Kansas who was introduced to Lyme disease by a spouse suffering from the chronic disease. Inspired to assist her wife overcome the illness, Ms. Smith joined Lyme groups and studied the work of Dr Bill Rawls and herbalist Stephen Buhner. As she witnessed her spouse go “through hell on antibiotics,” she searched for a sustaina...

Megan Ward is the 30-year-old founder and CEO of Ergo Hemp Co. , a health and wellness company established to provide the community with reputably sourced CBD products. Ms. Ward grew up in the heart of the Long Island, New York Lyme belt. Her environmentally aware parents and grandparent taught her to conduct regular tick checks, often resulting in finding biting ticks on her body. By the age of 8...

Colonel Nicole Malachowski is a nationally recognized fighter pilot and military commander. Her 21-year military career included flying 26 combat missions, serving as the first female Thunderbird pilot, serving as a White House Fellow in the administrations of Presidents Bush and Obama, and commanding the 333rd Fighter Squadron at Seymour Air Force Base in North Carolina. Colonel Malachowski is a...

Martha Edmister is a multi-talented 47-year-old artist, entrepreneur, and mental health coach from Baltimore Maryland. Her health journey began after suffering a childhood tick bite, 2 years before Borrelia Burgdorferi was identified as the bacterial cause of Lyme. Shortly after her childhood tick bite, she developed health issues that were followed for 14 months by the head of endocrinology at DC...

Nora Claire is a 30-year-old entrepreneur from Denver Colorado. Her Lyme disease journey began immediately after being bit by a tick when she was 17 years old. Ms. Claire developed a summer flu within a few days of her tick bite but didn’t connect it with the tick bite because she didn’t notice a rash. A few months later, she developed fatigue, joint pain, depression, and anxiety. Ms. Claire’s sym...

Tricia “Trish” Baden is the 33-year-old Candle Scientist behind Flores Lane from West Hollywood, California. Her Lyme disease journey began while on a cabin trip with her ex-boyfriend and his family to Northern Wisconsin when she was 23 years old. Ms. Baden became immediately ill during the last day of her trip with a sore throat, bump on the back of her head, and a fever. Her symptoms progressed...

The Tick Boot Camp community has partnered with Global Lyme Alliance (GLA) Ambassadors Ali Moresco and Meghan Bradshaw to host a free virtual kick-off party and donation drive. On Sunday, October 3, 2021, the GLA Global Gala watch-party will be preceded by a Tick Boot Camp kick-off party. You are invited to join the party at 11:30 am EST via Zoom at Tickbootcamp.com/GLA . You are also invited to s...

Katie Beecher is a 55-year-old peer reviewed and verified Medical and Emotional Intuitive and Licensed Professional Counselor from Jacksonville, Florida. Her work has been featured on Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop, Kourtney Kardashian’s Poosh and many other media outlets. Ms. Beecher’s Lyme disease journey began during her childhood, but was not diagnosed until approximately 8 years ago. She suffered a l...

Margaux Gunning is a 29-year-old wellness expert from San Diego, California. Her Lyme disease journey began while she was studying culinary nutrition at one of the top culinary arts programs in the United States. For several years after graduating from college, Ms. Gunning struggled with progressive migrating health issues. Her “random” symptoms included “unmanageable foot pain” and “rashes” requi...

Erin Meyers is a 39-year-old culinary artist from Bakersfield, California. Ms. Meyers moved to California after living most of her life in the eastern US Lyme belt. Ms. Meyers’ Lyme journey began during childhood with classic migrating symptoms that were misdiagnosed as growing pains, IBS and SIBO. Her symptoms were treated individually, not collectively, for over 30 years resulting in a delayed L...

Dr. Diane Mueller is a Naturopathic Doctor, Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, author, public speaker, and entrepreneur. She is also founder of My Lyme Doc , a clinical medical practice that has helped thousands of people restore their health and quality of life by diagnosing and treating their Lyme Disease. Dr. Mueller grew up on the east coast of the United States where Lyme disease ca...

Sam Lesch is a 20-year-old student originally from Auburn, New York currently residing in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Her Lyme disease journey began during her senior year of high school when she suffered migrating symptoms that included the loss of the use of her right leg, the use of her hand and fingers, brain fog, fatigue, and facial drops. Although suffering from classic migrating Lyme dise...

Madeline Castellanos is a 9-year-old actor, student and author from Los Angeles, California. Her Lyme disease journey began 4 years ago when her mother, Alexandra , took her to an urgent care facility when she noticed the child had an “alarming rash." After being dismissed by the urgent care doctor, the formerly energetic Madeline began to nap frequently, fall asleep during car trips, suffer...

Kaitlyn Oleinik is a 27-year-old psychology student, musician and equestrian enthusiast from Orange County, California. Ms. Oleinik is also the daughter and granddaughter of WWII era Jewish resistance fighters. Starting at the age of 10 years old, Ms. Oleinik began to treat with medical doctors for Lyme disease symptoms including severe fatigue, knee pain, and joint pain. Despite visiting “dozens...

Gina Valles is a 33-year-old personal trainer, exercise scientist, gym owner, and entrepreneur from South Windsor, Connecticut. Ms. Valles was an elite nationally ranked high school and college athlete who discovered that over training could inhibit her game day performance. Ms. Valles’ Lyme disease journey began in 2017 after she discovered 3 attached ticks after returning home from a walk with h...

Dr. Janice Iannucci is a Nurse Practitioner and lifelong resident of tick endemic Long Island, New York. Dr. Iannucci studied and earned her nursing degrees, LPN, RN, NP, and Doctorate from the top universities located on Long Island, while working in hospital systems in the region. As Dr. Iannucci was climbing to the educational pinnacle of her profession, she felt but could not see “something on...

Megan Bradshaw is a 28-year-old fashion industry professional and Lyme disease policy activist from Waxham, North Carolina. Since childhood, she has answered the call to public service. She volunteered for church clothing drives, served families at the Ronald McDonald House, and assisted breast cancer survivors during her time managing a lingerie business in the fashion industry. Ms. Bradshaw’s pr...

Nic Turinski is a 39-year-old data analyst and artist from Eugene, Oregon. He is the creative force driving the Chronic 2 Wear brand. Mr. Turinski was an uber athletic 18-year-old basketball player when he began to suffer classic Lyme disease symptoms. The then undiagnosed disease restricted his athleticism eventually stealing his athletic gifts entirely. At the height of the disease, he lost all...

Debbie Nichols and Candice Matthis are the charismatic co-founders of TwoAlphaGals , an Alpha-Gal Syndrome (AGS) health and wellness community. Ms. Nichols’ Alpha-Gal journey began when she realized that red meat consistently made her stomach hurt. Ms. Matthis’ journey began with GI issues that presented shortly after she discovered a tick attached to her toe. Their paths crossed and their relatio...

Katie DePaola is an entrepreneur, author and the creative force behind a globally recognized education and training program. She is the founder of Inner Glow Circle , a company dedicated to training and certifying woman as life coaches. Ms. DePaola’s Lyme disease experience began with a tick bite suffered the summer before she moved to Nashville, Tennessee to attend the elite Vanderbilt University...

Dr. Leo Shea is a neuropsychologist, Lyme disease pioneer and polymath with offices in Boston and New York. Dr. Shea began his professional career as a successful international business consultant where he developed a passion for identifying and developing human resources. Provoked by his passion, he returned to academia to earn dual PhDs in psychology. In 1995, while serving as the Assistant Dire...