Directors
Ryan Madamba is Executive Director of Wellspring Wisconsin. Ryan is one of the founders of Healthy Living Academies. He earned a Bachelor’s degree from Drury University where he swam on four national championship teams in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Ryan was also the NAIA champion in the 50 freestyle and earned NAIA All-American honors 23 times during his college career. Ryan has many years of experience working with adolescents to change their lives for the better. He has served as a residential counselor, outdoor educator, river specialist, whitewater/canoeing instructor, program supervisor and program director. Ryan founded Wellspring Adventure Camp in 2004 as the world’s first adventure weight loss program for children and adolescents. Ryan enjoys teaching students to lead a healthy lifestyle through a scientifically-based, balanced curriculum that also promotes character development.
Judith Wood, MA is Program Director of Wellspring Wisconsin. Most recently, Judith served as Field Supervisor at Wellspring California. For the prior four years Judith worked as a Policy Officer for the Central Council of Physical Recreation in London, England. Specializing in health and young people, Judith worked directly with the UK and EU governments to promote physical activity as a tool for combating obesity. Judith sat on a number of advisory groups, was an elected member of the European Non-Governmental Sports Organization’s Youth Committee, and was involved in the London 2012 Olympic Volunteering Strategy. Judith is a graduate of Durham University and Warwick University Business School, where her time was divided between studying and playing sport. She competed in national competitions in both fencing and rowing, and is also a keen sailor and equestrian. Judith has hiked all over the world and spent three months on an expedition to Patagonia in the fall of 2007.
Daniel S. Kirschenbaum, Ph.D., is Clinical Director and Chief Program Officer of Healthy Living Academies. He is a licensed clinical psychologist in Illinois and California, was Director of the Eating Disorders Program at Northwestern University Medical School, where he is Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Kirschenbaum is a Fellow and Diplomate in Clinical Health Psychology of the American Psychological Association and former president of its Division of Exercise and Sport Psychology. He has served as a consultant to the United States Olympic Committee, the National Basketball Association, the Ladies Professional Golf Association, the Chicago Bears, numerous professional journals, and several major corporations. Dr. Kirschenbaum has provided invited addresses at many professional conferences world-wide, received numerous grants for research, and published 9 books and 125 journal articles on weight loss, sport psychology, and related topics. His books include: Treatment of Childhood and Adolescent Obesity (1987); Weight Loss Through Persistence (1994); The 9 Truths About Weight Loss (2000); and, The Healthy Obsession Program: Smart Weight Loss Instead of Low-Carb Lunacy (2006). In 2000, the American Council on Exercise and its Board of Directors unanimously endorsed The 9 Truths About Weight Loss as “the best book ever written for the public on how to lose weight and keep it off.”
