Cynthia Bolender
Cynthia Bolender is a U.S. Army veteran, certified health and wellness coach, and nonprofit founder whose work is centered on resilience, trauma recovery, and holistic lifestyle transformation. She served in the U.S. Army from 2013 to 2018, an experience that shaped both her personal and professional path. After experiencing military sexual trauma and PTSD, she began a deeply personal healing journey following a mental health crisis in 2019. Through this process, she discovered the impact of nutrition, sleep, and lifestyle changes on mental and emotional health, which ultimately led her to pursue a career in wellness coaching.
In 2021, Cynthia became a certified Master Nutrition Coach and later expanded her credentials with additional certifications in health and wellness coaching through ISSA in 2024 and trauma-informed health coaching through the Center for Healing the same year. She applies a practical, individualized approach to coaching that includes nutrition planning, lifestyle education, fitness support, and accountability. Her work emphasizes sustainable, non-pharmaceutical strategies for managing stress, improving overall health, and supporting long-term well-being, particularly for veterans and first responders.
Professionally, Cynthia works full-time as an Aquatics Assistant Manager and swim instructor at Fort Stewart Army Base, where she supports military families through fitness, swim education, and wellness programming within the MWR system. In addition to her role on base, she is the founder of Pier 1022, a nonprofit organization established in late 2024 and early 2025 that provides free virtual health and wellness coaching to veterans and first responders. Balancing her professional responsibilities with family life as a mother and Army wife, she continues to dedicate her work to helping others reclaim their health, build resilience, and access supportive, accessible wellness resources.
• Master Nutrition Coach
• ISSA Certified Health and Wellness Coach
• Trauma-Informed Health Coaching Certification
• ISSA Health and Wellness Coach Certification (2024)
• Trauma-Informed Health Coaching Certification from Center for Healing (Summer 2024)
• U.S. Masters Swimming Medals
• U.S. Masters Swimming
• Founder of Pier 1022 Nonprofit (Free Health and Wellness Coaching for Veterans and First Responders)
• Stop Soldier Suicide 10K Steps Campaign Partner
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received actually came from pageantry, which I do as a passion. When I was questioning if I should get into it, one of my friends just said, 'Why the hell not?' I've taken that mindset of, instead of finding your why, give me 10 good reasons why not. Not a lot of people, especially with health and wellness, can find 10 good reasons - you can find 10 excuses, but you can't find true, genuine reasons why not to try something or do something. I take that into everyday life. I will try everything once, and why the hell not? I only live once, and today's the day.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would give them the advice to be headstrong, no matter what any of the male counterparts say. I stand 4 feet 8 inches tall. I am teeny tiny, and it was an uphill battle the whole time. But if I was a little bit more headstrong and stood my ground, I think I would have ended up in a better position at the end. I never want any woman or anyone thinking of going into the services to look at my traumatic experience and say, well, that's everyone's experience. I have friends that are still in that have had wonderful, flourishing careers. I had something traumatic and evil happen to me, but that's not the end of my story. The Army was the foundation of who I am today. So, to any young woman, just be headstrong. They can do it. It's not that hard, your body's not gonna give up, it's your mind. So be headstrong, and you can do anything.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think some of the biggest challenges is just overcoming or trying to get into the social media game of all the fitness influencers, overcoming the bad stuff that's out there on social media of, oh, try these exercises, or this diet, or that, trying to help people really understand and not fall for the fads. And then the opportunity also comes from social media. In the field right now, it's growing. A lot of people in 2026, a lot of women are trying to reclaim their health and reclaim just their wellness in general, and so it gives a lot of opportunity there to share my love for health and wellness and really show the positive impacts on life. It's not just exercise, it's not just dieting, it's the joy of cooking, the joy of even just sitting down and reading a book. One of my male clients, with his PTSD, we found out that knitting is his thing. He will sit there and he knits at night to help calm his brain, because it's a repetitive motion of his hand. Being able to really show that wellness is all-encompassing, not just what you see of, you know, it's not just Julian Michaels.