Anne grew up in Virginia and knew she wanted more. (Jump to summary)
College scholarship in hand, Anne went to RUTGERS UNIVERSITY, graduated Phi Beta Kappa and moved to New York City for a Master’s degree from COLUMBIA.
Having no idea about "what's next" after Columbia, Anne found herself reading an article in an old Glamour.
"I never read 'women's magazines'.'....and yet I felt like I was intimately communing with a writer. We were having a 'moment," across time and space. It was both bizarre and powerful."
That intimate experience led to Anne pursuing a career in magazines and later, tocreating successful media brands around the world.
Getting started, she landed her first job at VOGUE as the Assistant to the Editor in Chief Anna Wintour (made famous in the movie The Devil Wears Prada).
"Working at VOGUE was a gift. Working for a super powerful woman ignited a fire in me."
As a side-passion, Anne wrote freelance articles and had her first articles published in THE NEW YORK TIMES (!!!)
Inspired by the women bosses at Conde Nast and the power of connecting with people via art, design, ideas and content, Anne set her sights on leading her own magazine.
By age 29, she was Editor in Chief of NATURAL HEALTH, the biggest alternative health magazine in the United States, bringing in mind-body-spirit thought-leaders such as Dr Andrew Weil, Dr Christiane Northrup and Deepak Chopra to connect with hundreds of thousands of readers.
From there, Anne was recruited to be Editor in Chief PREVENTION, leading the world’s largest women’s healthy lifestyle brand, expanding into online, TV, radio, video and internationally.
Inspired by listening to Prevention readers talk about their unmet needs, Anne wrote her first NYT bestseller, Win the Fat War, which was featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show and was a frequent media contributor with a regular spot on NBC's The Today Show.
Oprah dedicated a show to Win the Fat War
Feeling she'd missed the big internet gold-rush, Anne jumped at the chance to go all-in on digital and move to Europe.
Recruited to London (!!!), Anne became the Group Publishing Director of AOL, overseeing 500 million page impressions a month, leading content, community and commerce for the UK start-up, including during the global shock of 9/11 when AOL's 24/7 news and vast community network served as a vital forum for people to connect and communicate with each other around the world.
Next, she moved to Warsaw, Poland, as Creative Director of EDIPRESSE collaborating with content and design teams in Poland, Ukraine and Russia to launch some of the biggest magazines and websites in Eastern Europe.
Launching Vita (Prevention) in Poland
Returning to Washington, DC, Anne was hired to lead NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC books as SVP and Editorial Director. She also created the prototype for a new magazine and oversaw the launch of its first issue: NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY. Described by a reviewer for The Historical Society as "the best magazine I ever opened," NG HISTORY is now global brand.
Next recruited back to Rodale as SVP and Editorial Director of PREVENTION, Anne wrote her second NYT bestseller, The Sugar Smart Diet. Inspired by new research on the effects of too much sugar and how sneaky sugars were creeping into people's foods, Anne exposed "sugarjacking" and shared how reclaim your love of sweets and enjoy sugar where and when you want.
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Suddenly downsized as Rodale was sold, Anne launched her own company Brand Strategies, Inc and starting consulting with mass market consumer brands in the DC area. She was honored to consult for National Geographic, AARP and Healthy Directions. She was also invited to serve as an Adjunct Professor at Penn State University and keynoting talks on branding and women & leadership.
Hired as Content Director for MINDFUL.ORG and MINDFUL MAGAZINE, Anne was thrilled to be exploring mind-body healing, through th lens of mindfulness and meditation. And as someone who has been practicing yoga daily and meditating for DECADES, Anne loved working with the best of the best, world-class scientists, meditation, mindfulness experts Jon Kabat-Zinn, Sharon Salzberg, Tara Brach, Jenee Johnson and more.
To increase awareness about mindfulness with a wider audience, Anne hosted a Women of the Mindfulness Movement live event with 1000+ women, interviewed top experts for conferences, led online meditations during COVID and hosted events on social media, including a live Twitter chat with neuroscientist Dr Amishi Jha, Congressman Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) and US Army Lt General Walter Piatt, advocate for mindfulness in the military.
Along with career highs , there were plenty of lows: divorce, single-parenting, downsizing, and her own dark nights of the soul.
In 2016, she started SOULCANDY as a way to explore the deeper landscape of busyness and how women erase themselves from their own lives, finding an audience of 34K on Facebook.
In 2019, she began the SOULCANDY podcast and developed the SOUL PRACTICE to help listeners explore their own inner landscape, listen deeply and move forward with their own authentic power.
Through her SOULCANDY platform, Anne shares programs, workshops and podcasts featuring practical and profound self-empowerment tools and practices, including WEIGHT LOSS WITH LOVE, GET GOING and private sessions JOURNEY INTO YOU.
Learn to let go of what's holding you back
In 2020, Anne left Mindful to pursue a deep interest in spirituality. She attended All Faiths Seminary International, in New York, studying the intersection of science and spirituality and the process of spiritual awakening. In August 2022, Anne was ordained as an interfaith minister.
Anne's goal is NOT to preach confining religious dogma: "Spirituality is about opening up, not shutting down."
"My hope to create a warm Welcome Mat for anyone who may be spiritually curious, encouraging people to explore the full dimensions of who they are, wonder about things like, What's my purpose? Is there more to life than just getting a job, getting married, having kids and then dying? maybe even What's the deal with this God-thing that people are talking about? These are great questions! People have mulled them over for centuries so it's fascinating to lean in, explore and have your own think about it."
"I've been on this path for years, studying the "BODY" and the "MIND" and now I am so happy to be going deeper, exploring the "SPIRIT."
Anne has practiced yoga for more than 20 years. "Yoga means 'union' in Sanskrit and was developed 4000 years ago to help people connect with the divine. The physical practice, the asanas, calm the mind and body so we can explore the spirit, whatever that means to you."
"Ultimately, it's about embracing and unleashing all three, your whole BODY, MIND & SPIRIT even though that sounds so cliche!"
As the poet Rumi says: Your heart knows the way, run in that direction!
How cool is that?
Inspiring. Successful. Passionate about Science & Spirituality. A Yogi. Even a minister.
Whether leading, speaking, mentoring, teaching yoga or sharing her SOUL practice, Anne is – at heart – about encouraging people to dig deep inside and be bold in their lives.
"At this point, I've read 1000s of books and articles on self-help, led the largest women's health brand in the world, directed National Geographic, been at the forefront of neuroscience, meditation, mindfulness and studied spirituality and ancient wisdom traditions......and lived a complicated life with awesome highs and seriously dark lows.
According to ancient Chinese wisdom, I'm a Water, meaning a "Survivor and Sage."
I have a wealth BODY, MIND, SPIRIT wisdom and experience and I LOVE sharing, encouraging and empowering. people, especially those who shy away from things like meditation, mindfulness, spiritually.. It's so much simpler than people make it out to be!
And, of course, so typical for me: I've boiled all this intel down to the three most important daily practices -- 3 simple rituals so you -- anyone, everyone -- can create your own extraordinary, unique, authentically-your-own life that YOU love."
Living in Pennsylvania with her two teenage daughters (plus two cats and a dog) Anne "wakes up" every morning with her simple 3-step ritual, enjoys traveling, teaching and volunteering around the world, and LOVES chatting with anyone who wants to wake up, explore their own deep knowing, unleash their potential and lead an extraordinary life.
So glad you're here.
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