Melissa has over 20 years of experience as a Registered Nurse and believes that nurses are in a unique position to promote wellness and disease prevention activities that can optimize an individual’s health. As a Health Coach, Melissa develops individualized health behavior modification programs that focus on intrinsic motivation and sustainable results. A self-described “reluctant runner”, Melissa has completed over 10 half marathons and a variety of adventure races. Never finishing first, but always finishing. As the mother of two boys, she believes in building active communities and is the assistant coach to an elementary school cross-country team with over 100 runners.
Prior to joining Sargent & Associates, Melissa held a variety of positions including that of Clinical Education Specialist and Clinical Manager of the Coronary Care Unit in a 925 bed urban hospital. With a career-long passion for writing, training and education initiatives, she has authored and contributed to a number articles and patient education materials on topics including diabetes, heart disease, smoking cessation and medication therapy. She has created and facilitated courses for healthcare providers on topics including stress management, dietary supplements, nutrition and leadership.
Melissa has a Master of Science in Nursing and Health Policy from the University of Maryland at Baltimore and an Advanced Certificate in Health and Public Policy at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of New Hampshire. Melissa is certified in Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers through the American Heart Association. She is a member of the American Nurses Association, the NH Nurses Association and Wellness Council of America (WELCOA)
Gale Lyman, RN, BSN, HNB-BC is a writer and program leader with a passion for inspiring people to take care of themselves. With more than 30 years of nursing experience, she has a deep sense of caring and wisdom. Gale is an engaging guest speaker and a published health writer with expertise in integrated holism, senior wellness, health behavior change, and caring for caregivers.
As a Health Coach, Yvonne is focused on building strong relationships with her clients, identifying their unique motivating factors and supporting them achieve their individual definition of success. Yvonne is fluent in Spanish and proficiently speaks French, Portuguese and Italian. At Sargent & Associates she applies her language and health coaching skills to expand our services to reach non-English speaking clients. She has delivered presentations on a variety of wellness topics and is known to be a dynamic public speaker with a talent for making complex information easily understandable. An avid reader, Yvonne is also a talented writer and has authored and published a fictional novel.
Throughout her career, Yvonne has continuously worked in roles where she was poised to positively impact the lives of the people around her. Prior to becoming a Health Coach, Yvonne entered the health and fitness industry as a Personal Trainer and Health Club Manager. During that time, she noted that many of her clients struggled with motivation, persistence and consistency. Yvonne is uniquely positioned to relate to these challenges as she has personally faced them. She was overweight and sedentary in her childhood and teenage years. It was while in her 20’s that she began to make lifestyle changes to improve her health, endurance and energy. The positive results she experienced inspired her to build a career based on helping others to achieve their personal best.
Yvonne holds a BA from Florida International University. In 2014, she earned the Certified Life Coach designation through the International Coaching Federation. She holds a Certificate in Relationship and Life Purpose Coaching through the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching. Offering an extensive background in health and fitness, she holds multiple certifications including as a Yoga Teacher through the Yoga Alliance, Personal Trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine and a Corrective Exercise Specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. When away from work, Yvonne has a passion for travel, movies and dogs- especially her two beloved Labradors.
I have been exploring and learning and practicing mindfulness for the past seven years but have devoted most of the past year to intensive training at the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Healthcare and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, MA. Teaching is an important part of my life, particularly in the graduate healthcare management and healthcare informatics program at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, where I teach courses in Leadership and in Organizational Development
My background combines experience in corporate America as well as academic medical centers working with those struggling with emotional problems. Formerly a senior V.P. with over 20 years’ experience in human resources and marketing communications with a mid-size healthcare organization, I also have eight years clinical experience as a psychiatric social worker at various academic medical centers.
My training at the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society at UMass Medical School in included programs in MBSR in Mind-Body Medicine, the Practicum for MBSR, and the Teacher Development Intensive. I have also completed the Mindfulness Schools Curriculum Training. My earlier education includes a BA in English from Loyola University of Chicago and an MBA with a concentration in Healthcare Management from Boston University. I also serve as the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of CLASS, Inc. a not-for-profit organization dedicated to “redefining what’s possible for people with disabilities” and on the Advisory Board for the Money Management Program with Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley.
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