KAITLYN CHANA

Since Kaitlyn Chana was knee high she wanted to be a storyteller; she strives for purpose, brings truth, and helps others. It’s the crux of why Kaitlyn founded a nonprofit charitable organization called Reel Stories. Real People., Inc., in hopes, to tell positive stories of exceptional work being done in communities through video. Kaitlyn is working to obtain her master’s degree in Health Administration at the University of North Florida. She’s working on incorporating narrative storytelling in the health care industry to improve patient care. Her passion for storytelling cultivated in her early years after spending time with children with life-
threatening illnesses in hospitals through her previous nonprofit organization, Love Letters: Random Cards of Kindness, Inc. As a teenager, she traveled the country speaking about volunteerism as a Congressional Gold Medalist, 2010 Winter Olympic Torchbearer and as a spokesperson for the clothing store, Aeropostale.

Upon Kaitlyn receiving her bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Florida, she planted her boots in Bangor, Maine as a television news reporter before moving to another market in Jacksonville, Florida. She asked people to tell their story on a daily basis, which, in turn, compelled her to share her story with you. Kaitlyn is a survivor of three different eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorders. For about ten years her weight talked when she couldn’t verbally say how she was feeling. She’s now using her pain in an effort to change how schools nationwide approach mental health by designing an educational film and guided curriculum on eating disorders. She lives by the motto, “It only takes one person to move a mountain and then others will follow,” and she hopes this quote inspires others to do the unimaginable.