Johanna, also known as Jo, grew up on the East Coast in Virginia and New Jersey, and moved to Woodbury, Minnesota when she was in high school. Always active from a young age, Jo was a competitive swimmer from childhood through college, specializing in butterfly and sprint freestyle. She swam at the Division 3 level in college, setting several school records, and was a co-captain of the swim team her senior year. She also played competitive softball growing up and water polo in college.
Once she graduated, Jo did several triathlons and marathons but missed the camaraderie of team sports and started dealing with nagging injuries when training for another race. One of her friends invited her to come to a CrossFit class in 2012, and after some thrusters and farmer’s carries, Jo was very sore, but hooked. To her surprise, she found she was able to learn skills she never thought she could do, and also had a natural affinity for Olympic Weightlifting. Over the years she competed in several weightlifting competitions, setting Masters state records, and also competed in the IWF Masters World Weightlifting Championships twice. She also got her CrossFit L1 certificate and CrossFit Gymnastics certificate.
Truly a lifelong learner and self-described nerd, Jo always loved school and science in particular. In college she majored in chemistry and became interested in medicine after volunteering at several local emergency departments. She went to medical school after college and then completed residency in emergency medicine. After residency, she completed a Master’s degree and a fellowship in Clinical Research. She works in the emergency department at Hennepin County Medical Center, seeing patients, and teaching resident physicians and students. She is also a physician-scientist, with a primary research interest centered around maximizing perfusion during cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
CrossFit has shown Jo invaluable new perspectives on health, wellness, and nutrition, teaching her the “sickness-wellness-fitness” continuum, and she has seen firsthand what consistent exercise and nutrition can do for one’s health.
– BA, Chemistry Macalester College
– MD, University of Minnesota Medical School
– MS, University of Minnesota School of Public Health
– Crossfit Level 1 Trainer
