Meet the Founder
Katherine Haik - Founder
Katherine Haik has contributed to the pursuit of wellness in the health and fitness industry since 1984. Over the years, she has had the privilege of working with and learning from some of the greatest pioneers in the wellness industry. Katherine has her BS degree in Exercise Science from the University of MN and has spent much of her career designing and/or implementing programming for wellness centers throughout the Twin Cities. Katherine is also founder and President of KC Product Development, LLC where she has patented a mobility device that promotes proper posture and gait mechanics. It is currently (2017) being studied at the University of St. Catherine in St. Paul, MN.
My Personal Statement:
As founder of two fitness related companies, I have surrounded myself with a team of supportive wellness and experienced business professionals. My 30 years of work in exercise science, aquatic therapy, administration, program design and my personal experience, have revealed the need for creating a culture that supports individual wellbeing; especially at a time when we are looking at needed improvements in healthcare costs as we prepare for the aging baby-boomer tsunami.
My education in Exercise Science has provided me with an understanding of human mechanics, kinesiology and the physiology of our autonomic systems for preventing, delaying the progression and/or living with chronic disease. I have spent more than 30 years collaborating with communities, organizations, businesses, clinical health and wellness professionals designing programs and/or introducing integrative solutions for health promotion. My extensive experience as a wellness practitioner and administrator has been rich in developing programs and curricula for populations at various levels of function and rehabilitation. In my current roles as president of KC Product Development, L.L.C. and founding member of THE WELL PLACE, L.L.C., I have led teams in product innovation while simultaneously conducting extensive pilot research in behavioral change as it relates to worksite/cultural wellness. As a pioneer in wellness and chronic disease reduction strategies, I have worked alongside physicians, public health professionals and scientists to provide programming for patient education that is essential to fill the wellness gap in the current continuum of healthcare model. My work serves to effect behavior change and bridge the current continuum of healthcare with disease prevention strategies for improved quality of life. My personal experience, while living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) has taught me firsthand the need to create a multi-faceted, approach to functional fitness and a balanced lifestyle. Early in my career at Hazelden Foundation, I worked with patients and families learning to quiet their minds, bodies and compulsive desire for more. As the MS presented itself with extreme muscle fatigue and numbness, I learned that my body’s neuromuscular circuitry is complicated and sensitive to both emotional and physical trauma. There were no treatments available in 1986. Ten years later, my 6 year-old daughter was diagnosed with Leukemia which brought evidence of how a chemo-therapy protocol effects the entire body; first destroying the cancer, causing numerous side effects, then the need to re-build with love, nutrition and exercise. With the support of family, doctors, nutritionists and child psychologists, we were able to successfully bring my daughter and her brother, through the 5 years of treatment and trauma that occurred in many ways at that time. These experiences have grounded me more deeply for understanding the need for managing strategies with good outcomes. In my career, I have experienced the on-going need and increasing demand for pre-surgical education and training, falls risk reduction as well as prevention and rehabilitation for those living with acute and chronic conditions. Now the time has arrived for pursuing a practical, safe, cost effective, whole-person-strategy, for a better alternative.