Brenna Bray scrambles atop Bear Peak while traversing the “Boulder Skyline” “out-and-back”

Some people represent Boulder not by a single title or role, but by how they live, think, and move through the world. Dr. Brenna Bray is one of those people.

Captured while summiting Bear Peak and traversing the Boulder Skyline out-and-back, Dr. Bray stands high above the city she contributes to, with the Front Range rising behind her and the Boulder Valley stretching far below. It is a powerful image and a fitting one. The Skyline route is demanding, honest, and earned, much like the work Dr. Bray has devoted her life to.

The Boulder Skyline Traverse is one of the area’s most iconic challenges. This rugged out-and-back links several of Boulder’s most prominent peaks and tests both physical endurance and mental focus. There are no shortcuts. Every climb requires presence, patience, and respect for the terrain. You earn every view, step by step.

That same philosophy runs through Dr. Brenna Bray’s professional life.

Dr. Bray is a PhD-trained neuroscientist, health researcher, and educator whose work centers on mental health, wellness, and the complex relationship between biology, behavior, and environment. She holds a doctorate in Biomedical Sciences with a specialization in Neuroscience and has completed advanced training in integrative and complementary health research.

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

Throughout her career, her work has contributed to broader conversations around mental well-being, stress physiology, eating disorders, and holistic approaches to health. She is known for translating complex science into insights that feel relevant and human, helping people better understand how their minds and bodies respond to the world around them.

In addition to her research and academic contributions, Dr. Bray is the founder and CEO of the NourishED Research Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing research, awareness, and equity in mental health and eating disorder care. Through this work, she supports evidence-based approaches while helping elevate conversations that are often misunderstood or overlooked.

What makes Dr. Bray especially Boulder is that her work does not stay confined to theory.

She lives it.

An endurance athlete and avid trail runner, Dr. Bray regularly spends time on Boulder’s trails and peaks. Routes like the Skyline demand more than physical strength. They require mental resilience, adaptability, and the ability to stay present through sustained challenge. These are the same principles that sit at the core of her work in health and wellness: managing stress, maintaining focus, and continuing forward even when the climb becomes steep.

In a community that values both intellectual curiosity and physical vitality, Dr. Bray reflects Boulder’s spirit naturally. She bridges science and lived experience, research and real life, showing that wellness is not one-dimensional. It is movement and recovery, knowledge and compassion, effort and balance, all working together.

That is why calling Dr. Brenna Bray a Boulder renaissance woman feels right.

She navigates multiple worlds with ease, moving between neuroscience and nature, research and community, mind and mountains. Her impact is felt quietly but meaningfully through her scholarship, nonprofit leadership, and the example she sets simply by how she shows up.

Standing atop Bear Peak and looking out over the Boulder Skyline, Dr. Brenna Bray embodies what Boulder does best: thoughtful, resilient, curious, and always willing to climb a little higher, not just for the view, but for the greater good.

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