Meet The Women Behind GEMS Rising
Shannon Keating
Co-Founder & Chief Executive OfficerShannon Keating is a certified Nutritional Therapist and Life Coach who specializes in supporting teen and pre-teen girls, as well as young adult women, in building self-love, emotional wellness, and confidence from the inside out. Her work centers around helping girls develop a healthy relationship with their bodies, strengthen their intuition and self-trust, and navigate friendships, and emotions with more ease and clarity.
Shannon’s passion for this work is deeply personal. The challenges she faced in her own teen and young adult years shaped her into someone who truly understands what girls are going through and has fueled her commitment to create tools, conversations, and spaces that she wishes she had at that age. Her lived experience, paired with years of education and coaching, allows her to support girls with a unique blend of empathy, insight, and grounded guidance.
Shannon loves staying active and one of her favorite places to be is Stratum Fitness, in Solana Beach, the gym where our GEMStrong classes are held!
Christina Gutman
Co-Founder & Chief Financial OfficerChristina Gutman is mom to two amazing tween and teen girls, who inspired her to contribute her time and energy into building this organization. She wishes to provide the empathy and insights she has from her experience as a tween and teen, and also wants to learn from the incredible girls that participate in GEMS!
In the past Christina has run an arts and activism program for at-risk youth, and volunteer coached a girls after school running-based program. In addition to her passion for youth empowerment, Christina is a practicing CPA and part-time avocado farmer — a combination that perfectly reflects her grounded practicality and her love for nature, creativity, and getting her hands in the earth. She brings this balance of structure, compassion, and playfulness into everything she does.
Our Amazing Coaches
Caitlin Mcnulty
Coach Caitlin is originally from Maui and has called San Diego home since 2014. Her favorite strength movement is Olympic Weightlifting, especially the snatch. Outside the gym, she’s a proud pet mom to her dog, Gresha, and cat, Gemma. Her favorite part of GEMStrong is getting to be part of the girls’ journeys as they grow stronger in both their bodies and minds.
GEMStrong Assistant Coach
Jill Schweizer
Coach Jill has recently moved to San Diego earlier this year! She is very passionate about exercise and also nutrition, and is currently getting her NASM personal training certificate.
GEMStrong Assistant Coach
GEMS Camp Assistant CoachHeather Schelling
Heather is an incredible wedding photographer who is also passionate about helping girls with topics like self love, gratitude, and friendship. She is originally from New York but moved to San Diego with her husband a few years ago!
Important Women Supporting
Behind-The-Scenes
Isabel Lopez
Isabel lives in Denver, Colorado and is Shannon’s wing woman for all things social media posting, content creation, and management.
Social Media Manager
Britt Olson
Britt lives in Florida, she’s the mother of two, and has been instrumental in consulting our social media marketing strategy.
Social Media Marketing Consultant
Branding & Logo DesignAndrea Barras
Andrea is the mother of 3 and created our entire branding package for GEMS - she has designed our logo, fonts, colors, and beyond.
Website Design SupportLeslie Patino
Leslie lives in San Diego with her boyfriend and two cats and has helped with website redesign and branding implementation. Our polished website look is thanks to Leslie!