Meet The Whole9 Team

Our official team is supplemented by our amazing Whole9 Envoy Extraordinaires and our Whole9 consulting team.

Meet our Envoys and read more about how they are helping us spread the Good Food Word in their own communities by visiting on our Envoys page. Meet our team of consultants and see their wide array of comprehensive health and fitness consulting packages on our consulting page.

Whole9

Melissa Hartwig, CISSN, RKC

Melissa Hartwig is a Certified Sports Nutritionist through the International Society of Sports Nutrition, an RKC-certified kettlebell instructor, and is a current candidate for a Master of Science in Health and Nutrition Education from Hawthorn University. She co-owned and operated a strength and conditioning facility until founding Whole9 with Dallas in November 2009.

From Melissa: “I learned about fitness and nutrition by doing – researching, participating and learning, experimenting on myself, then applying those lessons to clients. Good health and fitness doesn’t have to be complicated, but it is more than just your back squat plus protein grams. And it’s not just physical – there are mental and emotional components that must be acknowledged as an integral part of your personal evolutionary process. We help people identify factors impeding their progress, change unhealthy habits and behaviors, and attack their objectives in an educated, effective fashion. We help our clients clear the path for real health and fitness achievements in a way that feels both sustainable and balanced.”

Dallas Hartwig, MS, PT, CISSN, RKC

Dallas Hartwig earned a BS in Anatomy and Physiology and an MS in Physical Therapy from Andrews University, and has been a licensed physical therapist since 2001. He co-owned and operated a strength and conditioning facility with Melissa until founding Whole9 in November 2009. He is a Certified Sports Nutritionist through the International Society of Sports Nutrition and an RKC-certified kettlebell instructor.

From Dallas: “I believe that a high intensity exercise program is both effective and sustainable life-long, when combined with good nutrition and recovery practices. I educate my PT patients about nutrition, sleep, active recovery techniques, and stress management practices as often as I do about the physiology of connective tissue healing, lumbar stabilization, or biomechanics. It was this experience that, in part, led Melissa and me to develop a comprehensive and integrative practice (Whole9) to help our clients continue to aggressively chase health and performance without being hindered by nagging pain and injuries.”

Erin Handley, MS

Erin Handley, our Director of Operations, has a Masters degree in Health Promotion and Education from the University of Utah and has worked in the public health field for the past 8 years. Most recently she was the Assistant Director for a non-profit organization that mobilized high-risk communities around important health issues including obesity and nutrition.

From Erin: “I have spent the most recent years of my professional life facilitating grassroots health program planning and I recognize that the Paleo diet and programs such as the Whole9/Whole30 are, in fact, a grassroots movement of their own. Society has been following the nutrition “rules” for decades and, in a strange twist of fate, still finds TRUE health elusive. Giving people permission to eat real, whole food instead of counting calories and cutting fat is a paradigm shift in the world of nutrition and health and, as a member of the Whole9 team, I look forward to doing what I can to help Melissa and Dallas get their message to as many folks as possible.”

Robin Strathdee

Robin, our Director of Communications, has a B.S. in Print Journalism from Missouri State University. She has used her education and training everywhere from corporate conference rooms to her own kitchen table – where she authors the blog Confessions of a Paleolithic Drama Queen – and is currently pursuing her entrepreneurial dreams as owner of a freelance communications company.

From Robin: “I’ve got a penchant for telling tales – not Paul Bunyan tales or Boy Who Cried Wolf Tales, but the tales of everyday life. One of my favorite stories to tell is about how a change in nutrition revolutionized the lives of everyone in my family. Everyone deserves to know how real, whole food can make a difference in their life wherever they are. I’m excited to be able to use my skills to spread the “Good Food Word” as part of the Whole9 team.”

Whole9 South Pacific

Jamie Scott, PGDipNutMed, PGDipSportExMed, BSc, BPhEd

Hailing originally from New Zealand, now living in Australia, Jamie Scott holds bachelor’s degrees in sport and exercise science and human nutrition, plus post-graduate qualifications in sport and exercise medicine and nutrition medicine. He has worked in the health and fitness industry for over 15 years as a personal trainer, nutritionist, and rehabilitation assistant. He currently works in the corporate health sector, researching and presenting health information through an evolutionary biology lens.

From Jamie: “I’ve gone from believing exercise was the key to good health, to being almost entirely nutrition-focused, to questioning the conventional approaches of both as they repeatedly failed to bring optimal health to myself and the people I worked with. Adopting a more holistic approach, incorporating not just food and movement, but also sleep, sunlight, socialisation, stress resiliency, and so on, and taking an approach informed by evolutionary biology, has been nothing short of revolutionary for my health and for the health of those who open themselves to this path. Given the integrative nature of Dallas and Melissa’s Whole 9 programme, becoming part of their Whole 9 team, and working with smart, like-minded individuals with a common aim, has been a no-brainer.”

Anastasia Boulais, MBBS, BMedSc, DipPath

An Australian resident, Dr. Anastasia Boulais is one of a growing number of doctors taking a broader lifestyle approach to medicine. Prior to the recent completion of her medical training , she combined working in medical pathology with instructing in the fitness industry across a number of different formats. Anastasia is becoming well known in Australia and New Zealand as a speaker in the ancestral health field.

From Anastasia: “I am a newly minted medical doctor with a keen interest in evolutionary approach to conventional medicine. I believe that the evolutionary mismatch between our genes and our environment is at the root cause of the current epidemics of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and autoimmune disease. I advocate real food, smart movement, restorative sleep, quality social interaction and stress management as the key factors to health and wellness. Simple things make me happy: a delicious meal with loved ones, mastering a new skill on the gym floor and exploring new walks in nature. The Whole 9 approach appealed to me as it addresses psychological, hormonal, social and environmental effects of what we put in our plates. I love the fact that Dallas and Melissa look beyond nutrition alone to a broader perspective of health. I am looking forward to working as part of the Whole9 team to take this message to the broader audiences in Australia and beyond.”