Ran, a native of South Carolina, was educated in Greenville (Furman University) and Charleston (College of Dental Medicine, MUSC) in the 1980s. After 14 years in Seneca, SC as the CEO of World Class Dentistry, Inc, he decided he’d had enough of the joys and headaches of private practice ownership and went to work as an associate dentist within a group practice. He currently works part-time with children and adolescents in Asheville, NC at SmileStarters. Since moving to Asheville from Charlotte in 2014, he has been able to devote more of his time and energy to self-development and vocational exploration. He has studied energy healing (Reiki level II), become licensed as a massage therapist (TMTI in Charlotte, NC, 2013) and become board certified as a Hellerwork Structural Integration practitioner (2019). He is a long-time student of Gabrielle Roth’s 5 Rhythms conscious movement practice, as well as the Enneagram of personality. He enjoys bicycling, swimming, writing poetry, making music (cello, Native American flute, voice) and spending time with friends. He is psyched about the practice of Radical Honesty (based on the book so titled by Dr. Brad Blanton) and in August of 2022 attended their flagship 8-Day Retreat which he describes as intense, transformative and deeply connecting. According to Ran, “It is a beautiful thing to feel empowered to share oneself honestly and vulnerably within a caring, supportive relationship. I can’t get enough of it.”