Boulder is home to many brilliant minds, but few shine as brightly as Dr. Brenna Bray. This year, she’s been named Boulder Health Coach and Boulder Health Advocate of 2025—a well-deserved recognition for a woman whose work is changing lives across the globe.

Brain Science Meets Real Life

Dr. Bray holds a PhD in Biomedical Science and Neuroscience, with postdoctoral training in Complementary and Integrative Health funded by the NIH. Her early research explored how stress hormones affect the brain’s reward system.

“We confirmed that in healthy conditions, stress increases hormone levels increase in a part of the brain associated with stress regulation, the hippocampus,” Bray said. “We added to that knowledge by finding that when stress hormone levels increase in the ‘underbelly’ of the hippocampus, this increases output of the neurotransmitter dopamine in a brain region where dopamine is associated with attention, motivation, and reward value (the nucleus accumbens),” Bray said. “This is a positive stress-coping response,” Bray explains; “it can help us stay motivated and focused in the face of stress.”

“However, in drug withdrawal, the opposite happens—stress causes dopamine levels to decrease, which can lead to a lack of motivation and increased risk for relapse,” Bray says, citing Bray et al., 2020 and Barr, Bray, Forster, 2016.

Brenna Bray, PhD wins Bouldr’s Health Coach and Health Advocate of the Year.

From Lab to Life

After completing her PhD, Bray’s postdoctoral work took a new direction— into the world of nutrition, mental health, and social justice. She began studying binge eating disorder (BED), a condition that affects up to 30% of people but often goes undetected and untreated (Bray et al., 2021, 2022a, 2022b, 2023 2024, 2025 (in prep)).

Dr. Bray’s research revealed that many experts in the field agree: environmental and social factors play a large role in BED. Things like marginalization, food insecurity, trauma, stigma, and lack of access to care are major contributors. “We’re not just talking about food,” Bray says. “We’re talking about survival.”

[For more information, see Bray’s Jan 2025 AboutBoulder post or her 2022 publication].

Changing the Conversation

To tackle these issues head-on, Bray founded the NourishED Research Foundation in April 2024 (https://nourishedrfi.org). Recently named Boulder’s Nonprofit Pick of the Year, NourishED prioritizes community health education and leverages “the power of knowledge” to change the conversation on eating disorder pathology and treatment.

NourishED “empowers folks to hold their own health in their own hands” and works in four key areas:

1. Free and low-cost resources for physical and mental health.
2. Training for providers on screening and care.
3. Inclusive research to find real solutions.
4. Social media campaigns to shift public perception.

“We believe knowledge is nourishing,” Bray said, crediting the tagline to NourishED Staffer Kristine Eckley. “We prioritize knowledge – and research – as powerful tools for ‘health self-efficacy.’ We also believe that power comes with responsibility, so we also provide research literacy resources that empower folks to use the tools of research responsibly and ethically,” Bray says.

Young & Mighty

With a team of 20 volunteers, NourishED is already making waves.

NourishED’s first intern, Rishi Lamichhane, was recently awarded Boulder’s Student Health Researcher Award (2025) and offered admission into Brown University’s Masters in Public Health Program with a Teaching Assistant position in the program’s Mindfulness class.

Their social media director, Barbara Kalu, creatrs powerful infographics that make complex data easy to understand, Kalu is earning her MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Johns Hopkins University and was recently awarded AboutBoulder’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling Student Award (2025) for her impressive work.

NourishED’s Pscyhedelic Research Team Lead, Payton Follestad, a 5th year ND, MSCR student at the National University of Natural Medicine (where Bray also teaches) stands at the forefront of naturopathic medicine- and psychedelic-assisted therapy research. Follestad was recently awarded a Certificate of Excellence for her research presentation at the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS)’ Psychedelic Science 2025 Conference and was also named AboutBoulder’s 2025 Naturopathic Student Researcher of the Year and Psychedelic Student Researcher of the Year.

NourishED Summit & Mindfulness Course

This September, NourishED will host its first online summit: Changing the Conversation Around Eating Disorders and Mental Health. And starting in October, they’ll launch a 12-week donation-based mindfulness course rooted in Buddhist teachings.

Bray’s public speaking engagements and YouTube channel are also helping spread the word. “We’re on par with major organizations in terms of reach,” she says. “And it’s all thanks to our incredible team.”

Teaching the Next Generation

In addition to her research and nonprofit work, Bray teaches at Naropa University in Boulder and the National University of Natural Medicine in Portland, OR. Her students study everything from contemplative counseling to quantum neuroscience.

“My students are brilliant,” Bray says. “They stay after class, ask deep questions, and support each other in ways that give me hope for the future.”

She encourages anyone feeling discouraged to visit Naropa’s campus. “Just sit and take it in. It’s a reminder of what’s possible.”

A Coach, A Columnist, A Trail Runner

Bray is also a nationally recognized health coach. She was runner-up for Miss Health & Fitness 2024, named Health Columnist of the Year, and won Health Coach of the Year from AboutBoulder.com.

She enjoys meditation, yoga, and ultra-distance trail running. Her personal record for a 50k race is 4 hours and 11 minutes. “That feels like a lifetime ago,” she laughs. “One of my students recently ran the same race and totally smoked me!”

Honored and Humble

Despite her many achievements, Bray remains humble. “I show up to teach and I’m amazed that I’m the teacher,” she says. “I learn so much from my students. It’s just an honor—just like this award.”

Boulder is lucky to have Dr. Brenna Bray. Her work is not only transforming how we understand eating disorders—it’s inspiring a new generation to lead with compassion, curiosity, and courage.

Brenna Bray

Dr. Brenna Bray, a local health and wellness coach, stress researcher, associate professor, and avid ultra-marathon mountain runner, holds PhDs in Biomedical Science, Neuroscience, and Complementary and Integrative Health. Her journey through an eating disorder fuels her dedication to coaching, merging personal experiences with scientific expertise. Through her practice, Bray empowers clients to access and harness their innate healing abilities and achieve remarkable health and wellness transformations. Committed to community engagement and holistic well-being, Dr. Bray shapes a brighter, healthier future for all. Learn more about Dr. Bray at www.brennabray.com.