Driven by her passion for lifelong learning, collaboration, and unwavering dedication to a healthy lifestyle, Kari Gearhart spent over 30 years in the corporate healthcare industry before deciding to do similar work at her own pace. In 2014, she started her own business, The Performance Bridge LLC. In her leadership role, she’s utilized her experience to help numerous corporate clients reach successful outcomes through several management development initiatives, forums, workshops, and webinars.

Ms. Gearhart prepared for her professional journey with a Bachelor of Science Degree with a concentration in nutrition, from Hood College in 1981, and started her career as a registered clinical dietitian at Temple University Hospital – Jeanes Campus and Fox Chase Cancer Center for five years. She subsequently served as a regional corporate dietitian at Adult Community Total Services, Inc., the director of program services, quality assurance manager, and health care training specialist at Nutrisystem, Inc., and a manager of training and consulting services for the Live for Life Employee Wellness Program at Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Systems, Inc. She was active in another progressive management assignment at Merck, Inc. from 1997 to 2014.

At Merck, Ms. Gearhart was part of the Coaching Clinic Program, supporting the sales organization to increase the skill sets of managers by coaching their employees. She and the company created an award-winning program inviting several thousand salespeople for a seven-day intensive program on coaching. She earned a Vice President’s Award from Merck as a testament to its success.

Furthermore, Ms. Gearhart co-authored “REACH: Using Fitness to Grow Your Leadership: A Journal for Women” in 2022 and co-founded the Fit to Lead Affinity Group through the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association. Looking toward the future, her goal is to reach people, especially women, regarding leadership—facilitating breakthrough discoveries and helping others realize their full potential. She continually wants to reach more people with her message of connecting fitness and leadership.