Leaders of the Pack 2013
Founder, Reinvent U
Thirteen years ago, Jenna Mormelo was just another fitness fiend working out at a Crunch gym in New York City when Crunch offered her a job as a personal trainer-even though her only credential was remaining fit and healthy for her high school varsity tennis team. Mormelo was not one to turn down a challenge. “I love that the human body is adaptable to most anything,” she says, which inspired her to get certified by Crunch Fitness and work with her clients to help them achieve their wellness goals. At the same time, she continued her own education in nutrition and health, and in 2001 founded Reinvent U, a boutique fitness and wellness company. Today Mormelo offers clients who want to lose weight a custom-designed, 30-day meal plan packed with metabolism-boosting foods. And here is the key: Mormelo shops for and prepares each meal, then delivers it to you at the right time to maximize your chance of reaching your fitness goal. But what about the rest of us, who just can not make it to the gym every week? “Music helps us to stay connected to our movements, and it is proven that when your mind connects to the physical, your results are better,” she advises. “Put together your best playlist, whether it makes you angry, sad or energized. Go with the emotion you are feeling and work it out!”
Red hot entrepreneurs of 2013
JENN TRACZ GRACE
CEO, Gay Business & Marketing
Business consultant Jenn Tracz Grace has worked for the Connecticut LGBT Chamber, the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association, and the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce; she has authored a book titled But You Dont Look Gay; and she can tell you everything you need to know about marketing products to the LGBT community. The CEO of Gay Business and Marketing calls herself a “professional lesbian.” “My involvement with my local LGBT chamber of commerce led me to see a need that there are many professionals looking to do business with the LGBT community, but just honestly do not know how to go about it,” says Grace. Her website, jenntgrace.com, is loaded with podcasts, training webinars, blog posts and resources for business owners seeking to understand etiquette around the LGBT community. “I teach a lot around communications and the specific usage of stereotypes and phrases to avoid,” she explains. “Our community is riddled with nuances that someone on the outside may or may not understand.” Grace also works with her fellow LGBT business owners who keep her going even when “it is not all rainbows and kittens,” she says. “I am inspired by many of the LGBT pioneers who have come before me and paved the way for me to be out and proud and do what I do each day.”
