Wayne Coolidge Jr., M.Ed.
Speaker - Wellness Strategist - Professional Trainer - Consultant
Who is Wayne?
Wayne is a trend-setting thought leader in health promotion and chronic disease prevention. As a wellness strategist, he thrives on breakthrough ideas and has a sharp instinct for what’s coming next. He consistently stays ahead of the curve, helping audiences and clients understand not just today’s science, but the future direction of wellness. Wayne inspires organizations and individuals to take decisive action toward smarter, more effective health outcomes.
What Makes Wayne Different?
Wayne was raised on a horse farm in rural Proctorsville, Vermont, where his upbringing sparked an interest in subsistence-type living, folk medicine, and "Ancestral Health." He brings a rare combination of cutting-edge science, real-world experience, stimulating delivery, and audience engagement to every program and event. Wayne is known for challenging outdated norms and is unapologetic in calling out misinformation while delivering clear, evidence-based guidance.
Over a decade ago, Wayne opened my eyes to the world of holistic aging. As founder and facilitator of the South Iredell Healthcare Forum, I have incorporated topics Wayne promotes into the forum's speaker rotation. Wayne has spoken to the group on 2 occasions. His vision for health and wellness is cutting-edge.
~ Stuart Madow, Founder, South Iredell Healthcare Forum
Three Core Areas of Wayne Coolidge Health Promotion (WCHP) Expertise
Wayne and co-owner Kim Twitty Rodes serve four primary health and wellness disciplines, introduced below. Identify your area or areas of need and proceed to the associated webpage for a full description of our services.
Looking for more information on Wayne's professional background and experiences? Proceed to his Curriculum Vitae
Corporate Wellness
Speeches - Presentations - Workshops - Consulting
In 1986, at age 25, Wayne was hired by the Merchants' Bank, whose employee wellness program consisted of each employee getting two pieces of fruit per week. His task was to construct and manage the first comprehensive corporate wellness and state-wide health and fitness program in the State of Vermont. After completing his mission and earning high praise for his work, Wayne left that job to earn a Master's Degree in Health Promotion (Corporate Track).
Wayne's experience in the corporate world and in state government, including his role as the start-up Director for the Vermont State Employee Wellness Program, taught him that wellness initiatives require a path that demonstrates a return on investment. Wayne possesses both the academic preparation and experience to assist management in navigating the narrow path between "feel-good" endeavors and interventions designed to oblige the fiscal responsibility that business and industry demand.
Nowadays, Wayne is a seasoned 65-year-old thought leader in corporate wellness. You may be interested in having him share what he has learned along the way with your people.
Go To the Corporate Wellness Page
Health Conferences and Summits
Speeches - Presentations - Pre-Conference Workshops - Panels
Wayne's 43-year career began as an undergraduate in the pathology lab at the University of Vermont's College of Medicine. His job required frequent trips to the morgue to harvest tissues for cell cultures. One day, there were three "customers" there, two men and a woman, all three were under 55 and died of chronic diseases. Wayne's career path changed that day from medicine to health promotion.
In an exciting and perhaps ironic career twist, Wayne's scientific abstract, "Closing the Wellness Gap: Overcoming Overweight and Obesity Challenges Through Health Equity Advances," was accepted for presentation at the University of Vermont College of Medicine Health Equity Summit for the fall of 2026. He will be lecturing a two-minute walk from where his career path abruptly changed 43 years prior.
Go To the Conferences and Summits PagePersonal Health/Fitness Services
Health/Fitness Consulting - Evaluation - Coaching
Wayne was a Health Coach before health coaching was cool. In 1991, he was among the first to be certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine as a fitness trainer. He was certified by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing as a Certified Health Education Specialist that same year. He was one of two people to hold both certifications simultaneously at that time. Wayne became a Master Health Coach in 1991 and has accumulated more than 38,000 hours of health and fitness testing and consultation, as well as fitness training during his career.
Wayne founded and co-owns Wayne Coolidge Health Promotion (WCHP) with Kim Twitty Rodes. They offer clients a full complement of personal health/fitness consultation services, coaching opportunities, and online courses. Their clients lose fat, gain muscle, improve fitness, optimize metabolic health, prevent disease, and position themselves to create a wellness-infused, empowered life.
Go To the Wellness Services Page
Healthy Aging
Training - Consulting - Health/Fitness Evaluation - Coaching
Wayne was among the first nationwide to be trained and the very first in Vermont to present the "Growing Wiser" program to senior citizens in1985. Growing Wiser was a groundbreaking healthy aging initiative designed to integrate physical wellness with cognitive health and memory improvement. This four-week program aimed to shift the cultural narrative of the 1980s away from viewing aging as an inevitable decline, instead promoting the then-radical idea that the aging brain can adapt, learn, and grow when properly stimulated. He’s still working at it.
Starting with presentations to seniors in church basements, grange halls, and senior centers across Vermont, Wayne has come full circle, dedicating a significant portion of his career to helping the oldest and wisest among us manage their own aging process from a scientific perspective with confidence and dignity. Now that he qualifies as a participant in the very program he ran over four decades ago, Wayne is more excited (and more qualified) than ever to share what he's learned and help wherever he can.
Go to the Healthy Aging Community PageThere is not much Wayne hasn't seen or done in the world of corporate, community, or personal health and fitness. Consider allowing him to share his expertise with you, your audiences, or your groups.
~ Rene McClendon Hodges, Client (corporate and personal) since 1993
Signature Speeches
Laugh More, Age Less: Humor, Science, and Healthy Aging Wisdom for All Ages
What Can an Oyster Tell Us About Thriving at Life?
Stone Agers in the Fast Lane: Using Ancestral Health Principles to Thrive in Business and Life
The Big Lie: Turning Weight Loss Industry Failure into Fat Loss Success
Popular Presentations and Workshops
Blueprint to Burn: Your Pathway to Safe, Effective, and Sustainable Fat Loss
Food, Activity, Recovery: The Go FAR Rx for Ultimate Wellness and Productive Longevity
From Breakroom to Boardroom: Nutrition That Drives Performance (Presentation, Workshop)
Closing the Wellness Gap: Overcoming Overweight and Obesity Challenges Through Health Equity Advances
Speech, presentation, and workshop formats can be re-tooled or custom-designed to meet the health/wellness needs of your employees or organization. To inquire further about Wayne and Kim performing at your event or place of business, visit Wayne's Speaker page below.
For Full Descriptions and "Program Fit" Information, Go To Wayne's Speaker Page.
Wayne's Speaker Page
Introducing Nugget, Our Bot.
Nugget, hiding down on the right side of the page, is the FAQ spokesman for this website. He provides speaker information and access to Wayne’s vast health, wellness, and fitness knowledge base, all downloaded into his little bot brain.
Nugget is forbidden to access the internet, and all content is derived from Wayne’s work, including Speaking FAQ’s, his three books, scientific papers, health and wellness articles, and speech and podcast transcripts.
The amazing and distinguishing feature is this: you have the opportunity to “test drive” Wayne’s personal health, wellness, and fitness knowledge for your own benefit or to see firsthand what distinguishes him from the other speaker candidates and wellness professionals. No information is to be construed as medical advice and is intended for informational purposes only.
