John W. Travis, MD, MPH, completed his medical degree at Tufts University and a preventive medicine residency at Johns Hopkins University. In 1975, he opened the world’s first wellness center, the Wellness Resource Center in Mill Valley, California. His work attracted national attention, culminating in an appearance on 60 Minutes with Dan Rather in 1979.

His Wellness Workbook, coauthored with Regina Ryan and now in its third edition, was first published in 1981. The Wellness Inventory, first published in 1975, is now in its fourth edition. Also available in an   online version, it is used by hospitals, corporations, and spas as well as wellness coaches.

In 1991, Jack expanded the focus of his work to infant wellness, co-founding the Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative in 1996 and the Alliance for Transforming the Lives of Children in 1999.

Out of bringing it all together in what he calls full-spectrum wellness, he coined the phrase “The currency of wellness is connection.”

He presently consults with wellness-oriented organizations, speaks on infant wellness, and teaches wellness assessment in the unique online Master of Wellness Program at RMIT University (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) in Australia.