Eero Kilpi
Eero Kilpi is a Finnish native and a leading advocate for Finnish culture and sauna tradition in North America. As a founding member and former President of the North American Sauna Society, he has spent over 20 years promoting the cultural and wellness benefits of sauna, with his insights featured in The New York Times and Forbes. He currently serves as President of the Finlandia Foundation New York Metropolitan Chapter, working to preserve and celebrate Finnish heritage in the U.S.
Kilpi is also the co-host of The Upper Bench podcast, where he explores the art, science, and significance of sauna with industry experts. Passionate about strengthening Finnish-American connections, he continues to champion innovation, cultural exchange, and new opportunities for Finnish businesses and traditions abroad.
Risto Elomaa
Born in Helsinki in 1946, Risto Elomaa’s lifelong connection with sauna culture began when his grandmother introduced him to a smoke sauna at just one month old. His passion for sauna evolved from childhood visits to public and private saunas to founding a sauna club at age 14, which lasted over 40 years. Risto graduated from the Technical University of Helsinki in 1970 and developed a deep interest in sauna research, inspired by Professor Niilo Teeri. His career in international business allowed him to explore saunas worldwide, from Finland to South Korea, Africa, and Japan, further fueling his appreciation for global bathing traditions. As President of the International Sauna Association (ISA) since 2010, Risto has played a pivotal role in promoting sauna culture globally. He has been instrumental in organizing five International Sauna Congresses, supporting sauna research, and contributing to publications on sauna health and technology. Risto also serves as a godfather to a smoke sauna in Jämsä and actively uses traditional saunas, including those at the Finnish Sauna Society. His dedication extends to promoting UNESCO recognition of Finnish sauna culture and participating in humanitarian efforts through Sauna Aid. With decades of leadership and advocacy, Risto continues to champion sauna culture worldwide.
Dr. Earric Lee
Earric Lee completed his PhD in exercise medicine in Finland, with the University of Jyväskylä. His research focus is the adaptation of exercise combined with heat therapy for clinical populations in an applied setting. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Montreal Heart Institute’s EPIC center, the largest center for cardiovascular disease prevention in Canada. He has extensive experience working with a range of populations both as an exercise physiologist, and a strength and conditioning coach prior to his academic pursuit.
In his spare time, Earric enjoys reading, especially books on esotericism and spirituality such as the Bhagavad-Gita, Tao Te Ching (道德經) and the Lankavatara sutra. He is also an avid Brazilian Jiujitsu practitioner and plant medicine user.
Ashley Mason, PhD
Ashley Mason, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry in Residence at the Weill Institute of Neurosciences, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and the Osher Center for Integrative Health at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Dr. Mason received her PhD from the University of Arizona, completed her resident training in behavioral medicine at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, and completed a National Institutes of Health (NIH) fellowship training at the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Health. Dr. Mason has an active federally and philanthropically funded research program. She directs the Sleep, Eating, and Affect (SEA) Laboratory, which focuses on the development of novel mind and body treatments that address long-neglected targets in (1) mood disorders, principally clinical depression and anxiety, (2) insomnia and sleep-related anxiety, and (3) reward-related behaviors, in particular, craving-related and compulsive overeating. Of particular relevance for this meeting, Dr. Mason studies “body” treatments that principally include hot and cold (thermal) therapies as potential treatments for depression and insomnia. Clinically, Dr. Mason directs insomnia treatment at the UCSF Osher Center, where she provides cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) to patients with insomnia and patients who want to quit using substances for sleep.
Ant Shepherd
Ant gained his PhD from the University of Exeter, UK. He is currently based in the School of Psychology, Sport & Health Sciences (SPSHS) at the University of Portsmouth, UK. He leads the Clinical, Health and Rehabilitation Research Team (CHaRT) and recently co-developed a new Centre for Integrated Health and Wellbeing Research.
Ant’s research career focuses on using novel interventions (for example; hot water immersion and hypoxic exposure) to improve metabolic and cardiovascular health, quality of life and physical function. Ultimately, his research revolves around ‘patient’ benefit. He is also interested in understanding the pathophysiology of specific chronic diseases in order to elucidate any potential therapeutic strategies.
Riikka Hietajärvi
Riikka Hietajärvi is the Press Counsellor at the Finnish Embassy in Washington, DC, where she leads the Embassy’s Public Diplomacy Team. She is especially known for her role as the hostess of the DC Diplomatic Sauna Society, the first official diplomatic sauna society, founded in 2008. Prior to her posting in Washington, Riikka served as the Director of Communications for the President of Finland.
In collaboration with
Markus Hippi
Markus Hippi works as a Press Counsellor at the Finnish Embassy in the UK, where his responsibilities include heading the London Diplomatic Sauna Society. Prior to his diplomatic career, Markus worked as a journalist and a producer for Monocle magazine and radio, and hosted breakfast television shows both on the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE and its commercial competitor MTV.
Justin Juntunen
Meet Justin: Equal parts modern designer, sauna snob, and business owner. He has nearly 4 decades of practicing and building saunas. Justin is the founder and CEO of Cedar & Stone Nordic Sauna, a leader in the sauna industry. His team designs, builds, and creates beautiful thermic bathing experiences throughout North America. Over the next decade Justin is committed to hosting one million people to sauna so that we can build more resilient lives.
Alan Jalasjää
You could say that Alan’s first love was sauna. Following Finnish tradition, he was introduced to sauna at a very young age. He liked it so much, it earned him the nickname saunapoika, or in English, sauna-boy. Born to a Canadian mother, and Finnish father, Alan grew up in Southern Ontario. Sharing his Finnish culture with his Canadian friends was always a point of pride. After introducing his friends to the family cottage sauna, it became the place to hang out. Over the years, he’s learned that there is no right or wrong way to enjoy a sauna. For some, it is a place of solitude, for others, a place to gather and socialize. Whether alone, or with a group, it is where the worries of the day evaporate. Alan would like nothing more than to share his passion for sauna with you through this website, Kivia.ca, and his podcast, Kivia: The Spirit of Sauna.
Barbara Männinen
"I'm honored to be asked to be on this panel on the sauna. The sauna was the only way we bathed while I was growing up. I'm 81 years old, a Copper Country native, raised in Painesdale, MI, and am a 2nd generation Finn. Both sets of grandparents came to America from Finland at the turn of the last century, My paternal grandfather came to work in the Quincy Mine and my maternal grandfather came to work in the woods in Arvon Township. Both became farmers. Grandpa Kangas settled eventually to be a dairy farmer in Wainola, near Mass City, MI, and continued to work in the copper mine near Mass City. Grandpa Godell became a dairy farmer in Watton, MI, but continued to also work in the logging camps. Both had saunas that we frequented when visiting the grandparents. Growing up in a mining house in Painesdale that had no indoor bathing facilities, our father built a sauna in the backyard that we heated twice a week, Wednesday and Friday. I'm a retired RN, widowed, live alone, and have 6 children, 7 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren."
Haley Goodreau
Haley Goodreau, an Upper Peninsula of Michigan based artist, is known for her storytelling through various media formats including photography and music. Her art explores the intricate relationship between humans and nature, a theme that pervades much of her work. Currently, Haley is immersed in a photography and book project focusing on the Saunas of the Upper Peninsula. Discover her portfolio at haleygoodreau.com and learn more about her book project at logbook-stories.com.
Amanda Mäkelä
Amanda Mäkelä is a film producer living in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula. Her production company 2nd Sandbar makes film and video content for a diverse array of projects ranging from documentaries to web content. She also is an instrumental part of Visit Keweenaw, helping bring information and create content for the local visitor economy in the Keweenaw. She married into a Finnish family and has progressively integrated into the Finnish American culture. Through this experience as an adopted Finn, she has found the call to share the joys and inclusive nature of this lifestyle with everyone. She is actively working toward that goal by serving as a member of Copper Country Finns & Friends, a Finlandia Foundation National Chapter, and capturing and archiving oral histories of sauna through her annual Sauna Stories project during Sauna Week.
Daena Mäkelä
Daena Mäkelä is a Michigan-based filmmaker. He has a long background working in documentary film and docu-follow television. After 6 years of film and TV editing in Austin, TX, he moved back to Michigan and started 2nd Sandbar with his wife, Amanda, in order to help tell the stories of the Western Upper Peninsula through working with local institutions, businesses, and everyday people. He is a third-generation Finnish American and is currently filming a documentary series about Finnish-American sauna culture, and its prominence and history in the Keweenaw.
Saija Silen
Saija Silen is the head and heart of Saunakylä (Saunavillage) in Jämsä and the chairperson of the Finnish Sauna Culture associaton for over a decade. She is an active promotor of traditional Finnish sauna culture, huge smoke sauna enthusiast and a sauna history specialist. Right now ms. Silen is working on building the European Council's Cultural Route of European sauna culture - the Sauna Route. She works as a cultural heritage specialist and head curator in the Museum of Central Finland, Jyväskylä.
Mikkel Aaland
Mr. Aaland is a photographer and writer and the author of Sweat (1978), host of the documentary series, Perfect Sweat (2023) and co-founder of Sauna Aid, a global initiative to provide portable and sustainable sauna facilities and supportive services to people affected by natural and man-made disasters. He is also an honorary member of the International Sauna Association, the British Sauna Society, and a founding board member of the Norwegian Sauna Association. He splits his time along with his wife Rebecca between their home in Ulefoss, Norway and San Francisco.
Jim Kurtti
Jim Kurtti was born and raised in the heartland of Finnish America, in the village of Bruce Crossing, Michigan, the grandson of Finnish immigrants. Kurtti attended Suomi College (later Finlandia University – Hancock, Michigan). In 1977 he received a Ministry of Education scholarship to study at Helsinki University. He graduated from the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis) in 1980 with degrees in Finnish studies and social work. For 18 years he was employed as the Juvenile Court Administrator of Houghton County, Michigan. In 2000 Kurtti was appointed Director of the Finnish American Heritage Center and Historical Archive, and the editor in chief of “The Finnish American Reporter” – a monthly, English-language journal for North American Finns, which is the largest circulated Finnish newspaper in North America. The FAR has subscribers in all 50 states and most Canadian provinces, as well as seven other countries. As director of the FAHC & HA, Kurtti oversees the Finnish American Historical Archive, the oldest and largest collection of Finnish American materials in the world. During his tenure as Director Kurtti created the Nordic Film Series, the Finnish American Folk School, and the Finnish American Music Camp at the FAHC. He also presided over numerous cultural and musical concerts, lectures, Finland’s Independence Day programs, and was a central coordinator of local visits by President Tarja Halonen, Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen, and numerous Finnish ambassadors, consul generals and other Ministry of Foreign Affairs representatives, as well as Finnish film makers, artists, actors, historians, and media personal. He was the chairman of the FinnFest USA 2013 board of trustees, which hosted the national annual event in June 2013 in Michigan’s Copper Country. Roughly, 10 thousand people partook of some aspect of the festival. Kurtti also taught the Finnish language at the Hancock High School during his lunch hour for seven years (Hancock, Michigan). He is the chairman of Copper Country Finns & Friends – Finlandia Foundation Copper Country Chapter, creator of the mid-winter celebration Heikinpäivä (Hancock), former board member of the Salolampi Foundation (Finnish Language Village – Bemidji, Minnesota), charter member of the Upper Peninsula Ethnic Music Alliance, charter member of St. Michael the Archangel Council Knights of Columbus, charter member of St. Anne’s Conference of St. Vincent de Paul Society, and is active in numerous other civil, school and church activities. He founded the Upper Peninsula Finnish Consortium in 2008. Kurtti is certified by the Michigan Judicial Institute of Juvenile Law and is a licensed social worker in the State of Michigan. He has been a presenter on various Finnish topics, in particular genealogy research, at FinnFests, FinnForum, and the Convention of the Genealogical Society of America. Kurtti has been a delegation to the Ulkosuomalaisten Parlamentti (Finland’s Expatriate Parliament) numerous times. In 1999, Kurtti received the Suomi Seura Hopea Ansiomerkki for his contributions to promoting Finnish culture and language. He received into the Honorable Order of the Cloudberry by the Sami Siida of North America in 2014. In March of 2024 Kurtti was the recipient of Finland’s Order of the Lion, First Class. Kurtti has served as honorary consul for the Republic of Finland for the 15 counties of Upper Michigan since 2008. He resides in Painesdale, Michigan with his wife Debora, and has two adult sons, Christian and Anders, and five grandchildren.
Featured Speakers
Sunday February 16th - Saturday February 22, 2025. All sessions are online via Zoom.
Welcome! Tervetuloa! Välkommen!