About S.P.I.
We are leading a movement for life-changing sleep, person by person and team by team. Imagine the impact of millions of people rising each day feeling renewed, ready to perform at their best and positively influence the lives of those around them.
THE SCIENCE OF BETTER SLEEP
SPI is the foremost expert in sleep health
“Scientists know more than ever before about how our nighttime habits shape our daytime performance. Equipping people with this understanding and motivating them to optimize their sleep is our sole focus.”
We founded SPI as doctors who have spent our careers solving sleep problems for the gamut of issues people face. Built on the latest evidence and clinical best practices, our programs lead 9 out of 10 participants to noticeable changes in as little as a week.
A TEAM OF SLEEP EXPERTS
Our team
Jonathan A. Parker, DDS
Co-Founder and CEO
A world-renowned educator on dental sleep medicine and co-founder of the Sleep Performance Institute™, Dr. Parker is currently an assistant clinical professor at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, after spending 28 years on the faculty of the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry. He is well known for developing innovative techniques and protocols to improve patient care and treatment success for snoring and sleep apnea. Dr. Parker is a charter member of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine and received its prestigious Distinguished Service Award in 2003. He is past President of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine. Dr. Parker is a unique practitioner and teacher whose career has crossed the boundaries for managing health issues in dentistry and medicine. Over the course of his career, Dr. Parker has presented hundreds of lectures nationally and internationally on evaluation and treatment of snoring and sleep apnea using oral appliance therapy.
Michael J. Howell, MD
Co-Founder
A neurologist and international expert on the role of sleep and circadian rhythms in human performance, Dr. Howell is currently a professor and Division Head of Sleep Medicine in the Department of Neurology at the University of Minnesota and is dedicated to developing novel strategies to improve brain function and sleep health. Dr. Howell's research interests include characterizing the relationship between sleep and neurological disorders and determining whether these processes are reversible with current or experimental therapies. He is also a co-founder of the Sleep Performance Institute. A prolific researcher, author, and speaker, Dr. Howell has received several local and national honors.
J. Roxanne Prichard, PhD
Partner
Dr. Prichard is a Professor of Psychology at the University of St. Thomas. She has designed popular courses on sleep and dreaming, led workshops for college professionals on sleep and has served on the NCAA Taskforce for Sleep and Well-being. Her TEDx talk “Addressing our Children’s Sleep Debt” was featured in the lecture series: Transforming Education. She has lectured widely around the US on subjects related to sleep and neuroscience and her research has been summarized in a variety of national media outlets including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, among others. At St Thomas, she has secured $2.5M in funding from the National Science Foundation and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to change the culture of science education to prioritize inclusive excellence.
Birdie J. Cunningham, MA
Partner
Birdie has twenty years of experience in public health developing and implementing multi-faceted programs, interventions, and outreach for health, wellness, and behavior change. Currently attending United Theological Seminary and working in hospice, assisting others in finding beauty and love through the pain, unknown, and stillness grief and loss can bring. Birdie offers a unique blend of education and population health to the grief experience and thrives in creating holistic, evidence-based programs that allow space for personal understanding and growth.
Dom Wharram
Chief Operating Officer
Dom is an accomplished Strategic Advisor, Executive and Business Coach, and Author, retired after 15 years from a Fortune Five company where he served as Chief of Staff and SVP of Growth Strategy. Before his corporate tenure, he spent 15 years as an entrepreneur in financial education, television, and industrial theatre.
As a servant leader, Dom is passionate about working one-on-one with individuals, small companies, mission-driven organizations, and nonprofits to establish clear goals and confident paths for achievement. Dom serves as COO of the Sleep Performance Institute.
FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION
WORK WITH THE LEADERS IN THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP
SPI develops and integrates sleep programs for corporations, sports teams, universities, and other professional settings, designed in partnership with organizations like yours and customized to your unique needs. Whether to maximize an athlete’s performance or create a more cohesive culture, we align our programs to the outcomes that matter to you and track progress to get you there.
PERFORMANCE IN SLEEP IS PERFORMANCE IN LIFE.™
Sports Teams
Sleep is critical to the performance and recovery of athletes (at least as important as training and nutrition). SPI creates innovative, customized programs for sports teams to improve sleep, health, mood and performance of athletes, coaches and staff.
Universities
Universities are diverse institutions with unique needs for maintaining the health, energy and wellbeing of faculty, employees and administrators. Sleep is critical to this mission. SPI creates innovative, customized programs to reduce exhaustion and burnout and improve health, mood and performance.
Corporations
Good sleep is essential to the health, mood, creativity and productivity in the workplace. The evidence confirms that poor sleep has a huge impact on absenteeism, presenteeism, healthcare costs, accidents, and productivity in corporations. SPI delivers innovative, customized sleep improvement programs for the employees and C-Suite of corporations in all industries.
Guidance tailored to your workforce.
Created in partnership with companies like yours.
Our programs adapt to the requirements of your industry and the goals of your group. Whether it’s guiding pilots to embrace healthy sleep cycles or educating public safety officers on how sleep affects judgment and reaction times, we bring workers the relevant guidance they need today and as their lives and jobs change.
You're safe with me. I'll never spam you or sell your contact info.