The MBO Team

My Body Odyssey Team

Rob Pease
Creator/Host/Executive Producer

MBO Creator & Executive Producer Robert Pease recounts that My Body Odyssey was born of a few hundred conversations at a few dozen athletic events with a wide range of people addressing health challenges through regular and intentional exercise. 

“Everyone looks  so fit and healthy in their wet suits at 5 am parking their bikes as the sun rises on another triathlon,” Robert recalls. But at the post-event meal he heard these same people discussing the cancer, diabetes, cardiac, behavioral and other issues they were working to exercise away from.

Rob has followed the usual progression from high impact sports like tennis and basketball in high school and college to the pilates, biking and swimming he enjoys these days – part of an effort to hold off genetic cardiac issues. 

Alison Byrne
Senior Producer, Audience Engagement

Alison is an award-winning producer/editor with credits on the national weekly radio show “With Good Reason,” and the CBS podcast “Mobituaries” with Mo Rocca, which debuted at #1 on the Apple US Podcast Charts. She's also produced documentary films and reality TV for HBO, PBS, HGTV and Discovery. Alison recovered from chronic back pain because of the work of NYU’s Dr. John Sarno and went on to hike the Camino de Santiago, 500 miles across Spain. She now takes it easy, paddle boarding and riding her beach cruiser at the Jersey Shore. Alison has an MFA in Integrated Media Arts and is a graduate of the Transom Story Workshop.

Aleksander Harutyunyan
Research Associate

Alex is entering his second year as a medical student at New York Medical College and told MBO he has loved every minute of it– so far.  Alex  graduated UC San Diego with a B.S. in Human Biology in 2019, then worked in the biotech industry before moving to New York to pursue his dream of becoming a physician. He also conducts research on the patient experience in a post-surgical setting; in doing so he hopes to improve patient outcomes  and overall quality of life. In his free time, he enjoys an active lifestyle, listening to audiobooks and spending time with friends. In addition to researching topics and guests for MBO episodes, Alex also fact-checks scripts and promotional excerpts. 

Valerie Wencis
Co-Host & Producer

Valerie Wencis is a former communications and marketing executive who pivoted during the pandemic to pursue her first passion: journalism. An “NPR junkie,” Valerie is a graduate of Boston University’s Master’s of Journalism program, where she focused on TV and radio. She was recently recognized by the Public Media Journalists Association for her podcasting work exploring Boston’s busing crisis of the 1970’s. Prior to her broadcast career, she led The Fletcher School's Office of Communications, Public Relations and Marketing. Previously, Valerie managed marketing communications programs at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. A former Fulbright scholar and graduate of Tufts University, she enjoys pilates, hiking, swimming, and cycling. But if there’s music playing, Valerie’s dancing.

Peter Lang-Stanton
Audio Engineer

Pete is a reporter, audio producer, and writer. His work has been heard on NPR, BBC, APM, Radiolab, This American Life, and more. Previously he was a managing producer at VICE Audio, where he developed, produced, and edited narrative nonfiction podcasts. Pete taught audio journalism at the Salt Documentary Studies Program at the Maine College of Art. He lives in Portland, Maine where he tries to swim in the ocean as often as humanly possible. 

Cori Ritchey
Associate Producer

Cori is a health and wellness journalist based in Boston, MA. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology from Penn State, and recently got her Master’s in journalism from Emerson College. Her written work has been featured in HealthCentral, Self, and Livestrong. A retired swimmer, she is a fitness advocate and teaches workout classes.