Seven Ironmans. Four children. One more thing to build.
Christy Johnson
Co-Founder & Head of Health and Wellness, Haven
Christy Johnson co-founded Haven from its Board of Directors and is now its Head of Health and Wellness. She holds a Bachelor of Psychology from Skidmore College and a Master’s in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University, and has competed in seven IRONMAN competitions, with multiple podium finishes.
She is Chair of the Board of Promly, a Trustee of Proctor Academy and Director of the Swiftwater Foundation. She is a parent of four young adults.
← All profilesI’ve grown stronger. I’ve raised strong kids. And Haven is helping to raise strong kids, but really, it’s about building stronger families.
Christy Johnson, Co-Founder, Haven
Read it the way it ran in print.
Christy Johnson studied developmental psychology at Columbia, coached ice hockey, taught infant aquatic survival and raised four children. She thought she would travel and do Ironmans once they left home. Instead she’s helping build Haven. Her signature interview runs in the November 2026 issue, pages 42–49. Below is the actual spread, page for page, exactly as it appears in print.
You bring developmental psychology, grit, and heart to Haven’s wellness vision. What does it look like when all three of those are firing at once?
Early childhood development, zero to six, those are the critical years. So much of what lasts in our development is stuff we don’t even consciously remember. And I think the combination of grit and heart is what brings it together. You have to have both.
And then grit, I’ve done seven Ironmans. I believe you can do anything you want. That motto: anything is possible. That goes for anyone in any realm.
Haven is the wellness vision. It’s not about fitness, it’s about your whole picture. Stress management, sleep, all of it.
When you think about the woman you’re becoming through all of this, who is she?
I am much more confident and secure in myself. And that was a real struggle growing up.
I’ve done seven Ironmans, gone to two world championships, played college ice hockey, worked hard at my marriage, raised four kids who I genuinely believe are good and kind human beings, given back to my community, and helped create something with Britt and Morgan and this entire team that feels like a legacy.
My mom once said she didn’t know what her legacy would be. So she started publishing books, making something concrete you could hold onto. I feel like Haven is that for me.
Read the full feature in the November 2026 issue.
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