Since 2015, over 275,000 residents and 835+ organizations in Southwest Florida have come together to support Blue Zones Project. Their dedication led to Southwest Florida becoming a certified Blue Zones Community® in 2022. As the ten-year project concludes, we encourage everyone to keep well-being a priority in their daily lives. The momentum built by Blue Zones Project shows the lasting impact of these efforts. Let’s stay committed to improving well-being where you live, work, learn, and play.

Ambassadors 

NCH Volunteer program or NCH Wellness: Heather Imsdahl, Heather.Imsdahl@nchmd.org
*If you are interested in working with NCH Wellness, you must be employed by NCH. 

Collaboratory: BZP Ambassadors are encouraged to join the Collaboratory’s Health and Wellness Coalition for further community well-being engagement opportunities.

• Collaboratory’s Health and Wellness Coalition

Volunteers

• NCH Volunteer program

• City of Naples

• Collier County

• Salvation ArmyYouth Haven

• Naples Zoo 

• Cultivate Abundance: Lupita Vazquez, lvazquez@cultivateabundance.org

• Meals of Hope: Judy Martin, Food Pantry Manager, judy@mealsofhope.org

• The Conservancy of SWFLBridget Washburn, BridgetW@conservancy.org

• United Way of Collier & The Keys: Carolina Heiser, carolina.heiser@uwcollierkeys.org

• St. Matthew’s House

• Harry Chapin Food Bank

• Age-Friendly Collier: Mark Beland, Baker Senior Center- mbeland@bakerseniorcenternaples.org *Focused on health and access for senior populations. Potential volunteer opportunities.

• Tobacco Free Collier: Mariacristina Javier, 239-252-8231

Walking Group (Community or Public)

If any individual or community group would like to join a walking group or create a new one, please contact one of the following individuals:

• Janice Cressman, scojan@earthlink.net

• Michelle Falco, michellefalco22@gmail.com

• Rafael Campo, rafacampo@hotmail.com

Purpose

• Purpose Journey: Lisa Gruenloh, lisa@lisagruenloh.com

• Rafael Campo, rafacampo@hotmail.com

Organizations and  Individual Wellness Practitioners 

Collaboratory: Strategic community well-being engagement for organizations and well-being practitioners to get involved with Collaboratory Health and Wellness Coalition. Ambassador/Volunteer Meeting scheduled for September at Collaboratory (details coming)

• Collaboratory Health and Wellness Coalition 

Cooking Classes and Nutrition Education

• Harry Chapin: Kerry Deep, Health and Nutrition Manager- kdeep@hcfb.org

• American Heart Association: Andrea Moron Vasquez- andrea.moronvasquez@heart.org

Chefs

• Arturo Aguirre, Naples Dining Company- arturojaguirre@icloud.com

• Beth McCarthy, Joyful Wellness LLC- yogabeth@mac.com

• Shelly Stauber, The Medicinal Gourmet- shelly@medicinalgourmet.com

• Susanne Kunz, Front Burner Kitchen-susanne@frontburnerkitchen.com

Ambassadors and Speakers Bureau

• Silvia Ojeda – Yoga on the Beach: Meditation and yoga as a way of living rather than just a workout, silvia@yogaonthebeachnaples.com

• Elvira Wright: Change your breath, change your life, elabw20@yahoo.com

• Alexandra Janz – www.ajnaplesrealty.com: Downsizing = Rightsizing – Make the right choice for your future living, office@ajnaplesrealty.com

• Monica Fuentes – Sound Wave Alchemy: Sound Therapy Vibrations that touch your Soul, monikapt108@gmail.com

• Connor Hubble – OneDigital: OneDigital’s team helps you achieve their aspirations of health, success and financial security, connor.hubble@onedigital.com

• Oz Wilson – Kaykon: Uncover the Root Causes of Health Issues, hello@kaykon.life

• Reggie Wilson – Naples Home Fitness: Helping active adults enjoy their best years,

  r@napleshomefitness.com

• Elizabeth Plaza – elileedesigns: enriching holistic health and wellness, with a range of products, elilee@elileedesigns.com

• Theresa Edmunds – Naples Robotic Pain Relief: You have nothing to lose – except your pain, theresaedmunds@hotmail.com

Living Longer Lecture Series

The Living Longer Lecture Series is a community engagement initiative dedicated to bringing vital health and medical education to Collier County. From heart health to specialized events focused on women’s and men’s health, these lectures cover a wide range of important topics.

• Registration for the January 2025 signature event is coming soon.
• Stay posted for updates on Facebook

They also highlight advancements coming to the NCH healthcare system. Through the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) at NCH, and the upcoming creation of specialized heart and stroke center, NCH is raising the quality of care our community can provide.

At NCH, they prioritize bringing health education to our community, and they’re excited to share this knowledge with you. If you’re interested in hosting a lecture in your community, please contact NCH event staff: Kate Vernon, NCH Community Event Specialist, katherine.vernon@nchmd.org.

Sharecare and Other Free Resources 

The following online resources will continue to be FREE to our community:

• Real Age Test 
•  Full Plate Living 
• Tobacco Free Florida AHEC 

Built Environment Policy Committee

• Naples Pathways Coalition Michelle Avola-Brown, michelle@naplespathways.org
• Community Traffic Safety Team (CTST)
  Lee County: Jillian Schoeller, JScholler@leegov.com
  Collier County: Michelle Avola-Brown, michelle@naplespathways.org
• Bicycle Pedestrian Community Coalition (BPCC)
  Lee County: Calandro Barraco, cbarraco@leempo.com
  Collier County: Michelle Avola-Brown, michelle@naplespathways.org

Food Policy Committee

The Food Policy Committee will be sustained by Collaboratory. Contact: Maureen Gleason, mgleason@collaboratory.org

Any member who is involved with Retail Food will be referred to Collaboratory.