#031. Kristen Rainey: on predictable impulsiveness, curiosity, and trusting her gut

This episode turns the tables on Northstar Unplugged’s host, Kristen Rainey.  Guest host Holly Fowler navigates the conversation to explore various threads from Kristen’s past and present, including her prior work in sustainable food at Google, her inability to slow down, her recent move to Bozeman, and the launch of Northstar Sleep School  and The Northstar Unplugged podcast.

About Kristen:
Kristen Rainey is the founder and CEO of Northstar Sleep School, offering online classes and in-person workshops to help people get better sleep. Using a data-driven approach, her students learn what behavior changes they can make in their daily lives to yield the most impact.

Kristen recently finished a six-year run at Google, where she led sustainability and procurement for Google’s 271 cafes across 54 countries. She is a graduate of Princeton University and received a MALD in International Affairs at the Fletcher School at Tufts University and an MBA at Cornell University.

She has lived, worked, and studied in Indonesia, France, Morocco, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Mexico, Thailand, Italy, Spain, and Australia. After 33 zip codes and an Appalachian Trail thru-hike, she has landed in Bozeman, Montana.

Resources:
Northstar Sleep School
Northstar Unplugged podcast

Kristen’s book recommendations:
Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life (William Finnegan)
The Golden Spruce (John Vaillant)
The Orchid Thief: a True Story of Beauty and Obsession- Susan Orlean
Euphoria (Lily King)
Why We Sleep (Matthew Walker)
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking (Susan Cain)
Anything written by Jhumpa Lahiri