Meet our Team
Barbara Ruzansky
Founder + President
After spending three decades struggling with serious mental health issues, including addiction and eating disorders, Barbara began a journey into the world of whole foods eating and holistic living. She combined her passion for healing and yoga and founded West Hartford Yoga in 1997, with the first studio opening in 2001. As she worked with others who struggled, she decided to focus her efforts on bringing the benefits of yoga and holistic healing to communities that might not have access. WHY Outreach, Inc. became an official nonprofit entity in 2013. Barbara’s favorite moments include spending time with her Golden Doodles on the beach, in the water, or hiking in the woods.
Wendy Graveley
Vice President
A graduate of Trinity College with a degree in social work, Wendy has spent her career helping others in need. She currently serves as Development Director for Advancing CT, and is both the brain and heart behind some of their most successful fundraisers, including Art for AIDS. A passionate yogi, Wendy completed a 200 hour teacher training in 2014. She loves sharing her experiences with others and strongly believes that everyone should be able to benefit from yoga, regardless of income. Her dream is to someday teach restorative yoga to people living with mental health issues. In her spare time, she likes to eat sushi, hike, run, swim, and spend time at her log cabin in Northern Maine.
Caresse Amenta
Secretary
Caresse, founder and creative director of CLA design, works with clients to translate ideas and objectives into intelligent, effective designs. She completed a 200 hour yoga certification through West Hartford Yoga in 2010 and also holds teaching certifications in kickboxing, Spinning, barre, pilates, and yoga, currently teaching classes at Lifer Studio in West Hartford. She also has a small shop at Mill Street Marketplace in Wethersfield, CT where she sells photography and other fun + functional gifts. Her own experience with an eating disorder drives her passion for WHY Outreach. When not working or teaching, she can be found training for a triathlon, trail running, gardening, or snuggling with her many rescue cats.
Miranda Junggren
Board Member
Miranda came to yoga while bodybuilding and discovered the multiple benefits of yoga and meditation for her own overall wellness. Her classes are a safe space to explore sensation and awareness, with thoughtful sequencing and body-intuitive transitions. Miranda has a broad knowledge of anatomy and biomechanics and offers opportunities to modify postures for a more accessible or more challenging practice. She is a 200-RYT and is certified in WHY Power, Restorative and LoveYourBrain yoga. She has a PhD in Biology and enjoys wildlife, world travel, reading / collecting books, food, and spending time with her husband and dogs.
Gillian Galen, PsyD
Board Member
Gillian is an instructor in psychology at Harvard Medical School. She is the Program Director and Assistant Director of Training of 3East — a unique, residential program for young women exhibiting self-endangering behaviors and borderline personality traits — at the Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital. She specializes in adolescent psychotherapy, including DBT, and has a particular interest in using mindfulness and yoga in the treatment of BPD and other psychiatric illnesses. She is the co-author of two books: Mindfulness for Borderline Personality Disorder: Relieve your Suffering using the Core Skill of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Coping with BPD: DBT and CBT Skills to Soothe the Symptoms of Borderline Personality. Gillian also has a private practice in the area and is a registered yoga instructor.
Kara Burkhart
Board Member
Dr. Kara Burkhart is a naturopathic physician and acupuncturist dedicated to helping people decrease suffering and take control of their own wellness. Because her prescriptions often include yoga, meditation, nutrition, and other such healing modalities that WHY Outreach seeks to spread, her position on the board harmonizes well with her professional life. She received her masters in acupuncture and doctorate in naturopathic medicine at Bastyr University and also completed her residency program there. In addition to studying various healing arts modalities, Kara is a certified yoga instructor through the Yoga Alliance 200-hour training program. When not working, she enjoys cooking, gardening, playing all kinds of games, walking her dogs, and walking (with) her kids.
Kim Welch
Board Member
Kim manages a full time financial advisory practice serving individuals and business owner clients for risk management, wealth creation and preservation, and estate planning strategies. Kim’s career includes corporate banking and roles as National Sales Manager and head of strategic accounts for fortune 500 financial service firms. She is an honors graduate of Brown University and The Graduate School of Banking. Presently Kim is First Vice President of the board of the Waterbury Symphony and she also serves on the Advisory Board of Sunny Valley Preserve in New Milford. Kim was part of the first 200 hour teacher training class led by Barbara Ruzansky through West Hartford Yoga. She maintains an active yoga practice and she is also an avid equestrian.