Here we all are! You’ll find scientists and business gurus, fitness geeks and lawyers. We are a wonderfully creative group and we look forward to hearing from you. Email us!

David R. Bassett, Jr., PhD, Scientific Advisory Board, FACSM

David is a professor in the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. He directs the Applied Physiology Laboratory in the Department of Exercise, Sport, and Leisure Studies. His primary research focus is on the measurement of physical activity and energy expenditure in humans. He received a Ph.D. in exercise physiology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1988.

Jean DeBenedictis, Art Director

Jean is the Creative Director and Founder of Relish Design Boston, a graphic design firm that believes that thoughtful design is powerful design. Her background as Regional Designer for Crate & Barrel reinforced the importance of presentation, whether it’s for packaging design or a capital campaign. Her clients include Tufts University, AIDS Action Committee, HomeGoods, South End Community Health Center, Beacon Health Strategies, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and The MGH Fund. Jean received her BFA in Graphic Design from the Art Institute of Boston.

Jean works out at a health club with a personal trainer twice a week. She walks or runs her English Cocker Spaniel Francis around Jamaica Pond and goes horseback riding with her 9-year-old daughter Lily on the weekends.

Patty Freedson, PhD, Chief Scientific Advisor, Chair, Scientific Advisory Board, FACSM

Patty is responsible for all the test components and analytical methods for our proprietary scoring system, and the science behind all of our fitness content. She is currently a Professor and the Chair for the Department of Kinesiology, at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst. She is also an Adjunct Professor of Medicine, in the Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine at UMass Medical Center. Her research has focused on measuring physical activity and fitness in adults and in children.

She has a BS, MS, and a PhD in Education from the University of Michigan. She has been named a Fellow of many prestigious organizations, including the Human Biology Council, the Research Consortium, the American College of Sports Medicine, and the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education.

Patty’s ability to impress does not stop there – she has a 12 handicap…

Russ Pate, PhD, Scientific Advisory Board, FACSM

Russell R. Pate is a Professor in the Department of Exercise Science in the Arnold School of Public Health. He is an exercise physiologist with interests in physical activity and physical fitness in children and the health implications of physical activity. He has published more than 170 scholarly papers and has authored or edited five books. He coordinated the effort that lead to the development of the recommendation on Physical Activity and Public Health of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine. He served on the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (2003-04) an Institute of Medicine panel that developed guidelines on prevention of childhood obesity.

Pate has served in several leadership positions with the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), and in 1993-94 served as that organization’s president. He is a past-president of the National Coalition on Promoting Physical Activity, and he is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education. In 1996 he received the Citation Award from the American College of Sports Medicine, and in 1999 he received the Alliance Scholar Award of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.

A lifelong distance runner, Pate competed in three U.S. Olympic Trials marathons and twice placed among the top ten finishers in the Boston Marathon. For more than 20 years he served as president of the Carolina Marathon Association, which hosted the U.S. Olympic Trials: Women’s Marathon in both 1996 and 2000.

Josh Henkin, PhD, Head Trainer, Scientific Advisory Board

Josh has a BS in Business Administration, an MS in Nutrition, and PhD in Cell & Molecular Biology from the University of Vermont. After graduation, he worked as a Sports Nutrition Teaching Fellow in the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences for 8 years, and a Physiology Teaching Fellow for 4 years. Most recently, he was the Scientific Advisor for the United States Department of Defense in Washington, DC. But it’s his role as a personal fitness trainer for the past 10 years that we covet most. His expertise in helping shape what iMeasure is and how it works has truly been invaluable.

Of course, he’s got some personal fitness credentials as well. He loves rugby, and played on various amateur teams for 13 years. When not helping others train, he runs on trails with his dog, snow skis, plays ice hockey, and does weight training and yoga. A darn well-round guy!

David Kagan, Board Chair

David Kagan is our Board Chair and leads the Manufacturing and Procurement side of our enterprise (Middlebury College, MIT Sloan Fellow, LFM).

Like many who are part of our company, David practices the fitness he promotes. He runs regularly, and has finished the Boston Marathon 5 times.

So, after years of asking various fitness “experts” about a tool to help him assess his fitness, he can now tell them about his product!

Kenneth F. Kozik, Legal Counsel

Ken is the legal expert who has helped us patent the iMeasure Fitness Test. A registered patent attorney, he is a member of the Intellectual Property Law Practice Group of the Litigation Section. His areas of expertise are as wide as they are varied. Specifically, he focuses on general intellectual property management, supervision of domestic and foreign patent application programs, complex prosecution, appeal, and validity and non-infringement opinions. Is he a fitness enthusiast? That’s a bit of an understatement. He runs 6 days a week, does yoga several times a week. In the winter, he skis, ice skates, and snowshoes. In the summer, he hikes, rock climbs, and in-line skates.

Linda S. Pescatello, PhD, FACSM, CPD, Scientific Advisory Board

Linda is an award-winning and published exercise physiologist with research-specific interests in the cardiometabolic health benefits of physical activity and the cardiovascular impact of health promotion interventions. In plain English that means Linda knows what fitness is all about, which is why she’s part of our team.

Currently, she is also an Associate Professor and Director at the Center for Health and Promotion at the University of Connecticut. It was from there than she received her BS in Biological Sciences/Education; her MA and PhD in Exercise Science.

With Linda’s in-depth knowledge of fitness, it should come as no surprise that she is also an active fitness enthusiast. Typically, she’ll bike 100-300 miles a week in all seasons, save winter. She also runs 9-20 miles a week. She does some weightlifting, a little Pilates, and cross country skis when there’s good snow. She also regularly walks her dog!

Jennifer Guckel Porter, CEO

Jennifer has been at the center of many successful start-ups and high-growth companies, using her knowledge, experience, and drive to take the critical steps in making a vision a reality. These companies include Einstein Brothers Bagels, Circles, and Sentient Jet. She is a summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Bates College, and got her MBA from Stanford University.

Jennifer is a passionate fitness enthusiast and strong advocate for companies with a social mission. She runs and enjoys weight training, stretching, yoga, kayaking, snow shoeing and hiking. A tortoise not a hare, Jennifer has crossed the finish line at the Boston Marathon 4 times.

John Staudenmayer, PhD, VP Quantitative Methods, Scientific Advisory Board

John is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His role is to create the algorithms that make the iMeasure test so compelling and useful. His mathematic expertise is undeniable. Beyond his university role, he has a BS in Mathematics from Williams College and his MA and PhD in Operations Research from Cornell University.

Andriette Tempie Ward, MD, Scientific Advisory Board

Andriette is a physician at the Center for Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Her research has focused on various programs to treat and prevent obesity in adolescents and young children. She has received numerous awards and been asked to lecture on several health topics focused primarily on pediatric and adolescent health issues. Andriette received her BA from Yale University and her PhD from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

Dianne Stanton Ward, PhD, Scientific Advisory Board, FACSM

Currently a Professor and Intervention & Policy Division Director in the Department of Nutrition at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dianne has done extensive research and has been published several times on the subject of adolescent physical activity and elements of variance based on gender and race. She has also been the lead investigator for research grants focused on adolescents, physical activity, and metric/measurement guides.

She received her BA in Physical Education from Coker College and her MS and PhD in Physical Education from University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

When not researching or pursuing a degree, she likes to walk, run, hike, play golf and tennis, and canoe. She takes classes that are not for the faint of heart called Body Pump and Jazzercise. Every chance she gets, she walks to work. And she’s proud to call herself a gardener.

Cullen Curtis, Head Writer

Cullen is a freelancer writer and editor with more than 15 years of experience in print, web, and book publishing. She has written for Outside Magazine, the Aspen Daily News, the San Francisco Bay Guardian, the San Francisco Chronicle, American Fitness magazine, Open Spaces magazine, and others. One day she hopes to publish her novel and legitimize the money she spent on her MFA in fiction. When not writing or correcting grammar, she runs on the high-altitude trails near her home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, swims, or does NIA, a form of dance. She has completed five marathons and one triathlon.

Jordan Marton, Web Developer

Jordan recently graduated from Tufts University with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. Jordan is curently employed at Bank of America Corporation, working as a Business Analyst in the Wealth and Investment Management group. In 2004, Jordan, along with a fellow Tufts alumnus, developed InternAdvantage, Inc., an online database of engineering internships. Jordan was also the Website Administrator of StartingBloc's 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 Fellowship Student Application.