Get to know Taryn
Taryn was born and raised in New Jersey and graduated from Marist College in New York with a BA in Communications. She has spent almost 20 years in the financial technology industry, most recently as a Vice President at IPC Systems.
In 2016, Taryn turned her passion for yoga into a way to help others, ultimately co-founding Iris Mind and Body, a yoga studio and brand in New Jersey that provides online and in-person yoga classes as well as facilitator education. Taryn holds certifications in yoga, meditation, prenatal yoga, yoga for mental health and other specialties.
Taryn has four daughters with her husband Raffaele, the youngest of whom was born with Down syndrome in 2020. Welcoming Rhea made Taryn want to both advocate and give back, and she has since started working with several Down syndrome charities and organizations.
In the spring of 2020, Taryn was named as one of NJ Family’s Mompreneurs of the Year for her work with Iris. Taryn’s writing has been featured in several other publications for yoga and Down syndrome awareness as well as podcasts and other speaking engagements.
Taryn, Raffaele and “the girls” live in Northern NJ and love to stay active, spend time outdoors and have a lot of fun in their busy household! Taryn is excited to combine her efforts in the special needs community with her love of mama self care with the Extra Lucky Mamas community!
Read more from Taryn HERE!
Get to know Jess
Jess was born in Sweden but raised in North Carolina. She started singing at the age of 5 years old and pursued a career in music, modeling and performance. She received her BFA in Music Theatre from Elon University and after graduation moved to NYC to continue her career. She had some great successes which included national commercials, a beauty campaign printed in Vogue Magazine, a recording contract and even working with Timbaland and Snoop Dog. She met her husband Matt on a rooftop bar in Manhattan and they were engaged 9 months later. She decided to switch gears in her career and pivoted to the other side of the modeling industry, fashion! Jess worked as a lead stylist for a style-subscription company, moved into marketing for an international branding agency and most recently worked for a non-profit consultancy, on the sales and marketing business side. In 2020 she gave birth to Adeline, who at birth was diagnosed with Down Syndrome. What started as a traumatic and scary diagnosis has propelled her into a life of advocacy and passion for her daughter and the Down Syndrome Community. She currently resides in Hoboken, NJ with her 5 year old daughter Charlee, Adeline (2) and husband Matt. She hopes to inspire others facing a Down Syndrome diagnosis to not fear the future but to embrace a new beautiful perspective.
@jessquarello on instagram
@extraluckyjess on tik tok (145K followers!)
Read more from Jess HERE!