Our Story
Over the past ten years, I’ve logged hundreds of hours sitting in waiting rooms. I have seen the hope and the hopelessness. I have been the hopeful and the frightened. I have tried, again and again, given up, and tried again. I have connected with other parents and at times, hiding my face in a magazine. I’ve left with the photo-copied, stick-figured exercise homework, not understanding anything in the two minutes of the appointment what I was supposed to do, and getting buried in dinner, homework, and helping my other kids. It is from within those four walls I decided there had to be a better way. I began researching the internet, reading books, attending seminars, and meeting with other parents.
Along this journey, I met Dr. Nelson Mane, Board Certified in Chiropractic Orthopedics, and attaining his MD licensure in Internal Medicine. Dr. Mane had been successfully helping kids for 20+ years with neurodevelopmental disorders and was treating them on a neurological basis rather than with temporary solutions. In his years of treating children with everything from mild ADHD and dyslexia to full-blown autism, he had come face to face with the devastation it was causing to families. When a child is born, the parents begin wondering if they might someday be president, and then as the signs of the condition begin to manifest they begin to worry if the child will be able to finish school or be able to hold a job. He saw the despair that parents feel when he heard a mother who had a child with severe autism say “I know it’s unnatural but I pray every day that he dies before I do”, fearing who would take care of her child. It quickly became apparent that Dr. Mane and I shared a mutual desire to tackle this tidal wave of neurodevelopmental challenges faced by millions of kids in a way that was effective, affordable, accessible, and less time-consuming than bringing one child at a time into the clinic
I approached Dr. Mane about creating a video game, a medium that all children love and something that would be easy for the parent to engage the child in. The combination of Dr. Mane’s expertise, my background in technology, and an amazing team of individuals that supported my efforts in this journey turned out to be the perfect recipe for what I wanted to accomplish – a new and better way to help kids, help parents, and feed research. We put together a combination of tools, and programs based on years of research to help children in the convenience of their own homes. We believe wholeheartedly that our programs can help unlock the potential of these children.
Wanting the best for our kids is inherent as a parent. If you have a child with ADD/HD or Dyslexia, as a Parent or Doctor, we have walked in your shoes. And will tell you that it takes diligence, commitment, and a lot of practice. Kinuu’s programs are designed to give you better, visible results in a shorter amount of time and help your child’s time in the classroom be easier and more efficient. I hope you join Kinuu® and our movement towards helping kids, providing research, and ‘Putting Hope in Motion’.
Our Team
Uniquely qualified experts with a common heart to help kids achieve all things possible. The owl represents a symbol of wisdom and vision and together we want to open up a world of opportunity for you and your child.
Our Mission
We stand for changing the outcome for millions of kids and restoring hope to families for a better tomorrow.
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Dolly Steichen Lowery
CEO / Founder
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Dr. Nelson Mañé
Chief Science Officer
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Cindy Jorgensen
Chief Operations Officer
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Brian Kroening
Chief Brand Officer
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Macy Hanson
BrainyAct Center Manager
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Kyle King
Chief Financial Officer
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Christian Lowery
BrainyAct Product Development Manager
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John Hupp
Finance & Operations
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Dr. Daniel Sipple
Advisor & Board Member
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Daniel Hodgson
Advisor & Board Member
Dolly Steichen Lowery
CEO / Founder
Dolly is always looking for ways to make the world a better place. She had a successful 20+ year career selling software and services in the US and Europe and co-founded and launched Gilda’s Club Twin Cities, a place for families living with Cancer. With over 1200 clinic visits for her kids, she knows firsthand how important help is for families. “I am passionate about having every child and family achieve beyond what they thought possible and for kids to believe in themselves.”
The most important thing about our mission to me is to provide families with effective brain train exercises that produce the greatest result in the shortest amount of time. I was so frustrated about having time slip through my hands year after year without making any progress. Kinuu was born out of that promise, to see change happen most effectively.
My favorite memory of childhood is cooking hamburgers on the grill at sunset, hanging out with my family at our cabin on the lake. And then finishing the night will dilly bars from Dairy Queen.
Dr. Nelson Mañé
Chief Science Officer
Dr. Nelson Mane has been working with patients with functional neurological disorders including childhood neurobehavioral disorders for 20+ years. He is Board certified in chiropractic orthopedics, received his MD degree and has attained board certification in Internal Medicine. Dr. Mane was one of 11 out of 60,000 selected to start the first chiropractic neurology board. Dr. Mane oversees all program protocols and product development. What makes Nelson special is that he truly cares about every kid as if they were the only one in his clinic.
Cindy Jorgensen
Chief Operations Officer
Looking at the big picture while not missing a detail, Cindy has successfully developed two very fast- paced business operations from zero to $30 million. As a leader and mentor, her real hallmark is her ability to shape teams to create an innovative cultural experience. Cindy enjoys building successful enterprises from the ground up and as Kinuu’s COO, she orchestrates everything from finance to operations. She enjoys entertaining, listening to her favorite music and creating unique gifts for her friends and family members.
I joined Kinuu because of their mission to make a difference in the lives of others. I always said that even if we could help only one child then I would feel like we’ve achieved our goal. Now that we’ve helped many, I’m ecstatic and excited to keep going!
A favorite childhood memory was some of the elaborate tents I created on the clothesline in the backyard. I would use every blanket and towel I could get my hands on to make multi-room tents that even had porches! My friends & I would host Beatles concerts for the neighborhood (I was Ringo) and serve snacks out of the tent after the concert.
Brian Kroening
Chief Brand Officer
Brian is a successful advertising veteran with over 25 years of brand building experience for many of America’s top brands. Brian, along with his team of experts will oversee all integrated brand building efforts for Kinuu from launch all the way to mainstream success. And while Brian has worked in virtually every category of big consumer and B2B brands, he gets most excited when he and his team can help small challenger brands succeed. He has been instrumental in the success of multiple startup companies and recognizes the important role marketing must take in creating momentum for a new brand. Brian enjoys spending time with his wife and three children and when time allows writing and performing his own music.
Macy Hanson
BrainyAct Center Manager
As an Occupational Therapy Assistant, Macy has spent her career implementing functional interventions for children with physical and cognitive disabilities in both academia and clinical settings. She is extremely devoted to helping others and uses creative solutions to help foster independence they can use in their everyday activities. Macy strives to carry out BrainyAct’s innovative approach to help children with disabilities become more successful and confident in all areas of their life. At Kinuu, Macy combines her experience in pediatrics with her strong leadership skills to help create an individualized program for each BrainyAct participant.
Our mission matters to me because I believe that every child deserves opportunities to reach their full potential, and BrainyAct does just that.
My favorite memory of my childhood is having the chance to learn and play all kinds of sports.
Kyle King
Chief Financial Officer
Kyle has over 20 years of financial and management experience across numerous industries. He started his career in public accounting and then moved into industry leading high growth organizations, including the CFO of Cannon Technologies. He has experience in both high tech and manufacturing organizations, as well as being part of a start-up company. Kyle is fanatical about Kinuu’s quest to delivering an affordable and convenient solution to the community. He provides insight and recommendations to our short-term growth and long-term expansion plans while helping to establish our yearly financial objectives. In between work, coaching and raising three kids, Kyle loves to spend time in the outdoors participating in both winter and summer sports.
I’m proud to be part of a team that is providing all children an opportunity to maximize their ability to learn and grow into happy and healthy adults. BrainyAct helps on this path that can make learning fun and help children in need.
One of my favorite memories from childhood is spending summer weekends with family, including cousins, at my grandparent’s lake house in Big Lake, MN.
Christian Lowery
BrainyAct Product Development Manager
John Hupp
Finance & Operations
John is a former CEO/President of both public and private companies and is currently a financial advisor dedicated to providing clients with estate and retirement planning advice as well as investment advice. John will provide guidance to our finance and business approach strategies. John is involved in the school reform movement and is on the board of directors of Gilda’s Club Twin Cities. When John has spare time, he enjoys spending time outdoors and being with his family.
Dr. Daniel Sipple
Advisor & Board Member
Dr. Daniel Sipple is Board Certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation with sub-specialty Board Certification in Pain Medicine. He currently practices at the Midwest Spine and Brain Institute.
His extensive training includes the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (now the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab) the #1 rated rehabilitation hospital in US News and World Report over 20 years running. He served on faculty at Northwestern University Medical School while working at RIC’s American Academy of Pain Medicine Center of Excellence. He subsequently practiced in Denver Colorado for two years, working alongside former team physicians of the Denver Broncos and Colorado Rockies.
Dr. Sipple’s knowledge in brain/body connections provides tremendous insight to Kinuu’s BrainyAct program. Formerly he has served on the Board of Directors for the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics, a NASA Spinout, and part of President Obama’s BRAIN Initiative. In that capacity he has presented to the United States Congress, the California Legislature, the White House, along with world leaders at the Neuroscience 20 Summit in conjunction with the G20 in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Osaka Japan.
Daniel Hodgson
Advisor & Board Member
Daniel Hodgson is an accomplished investor/entrepreneur helping companies drive industry relationships across all functional areas of business.
Dan has extensive experience in merger and acquisitions, strategic advisory and capital markets across a wide range of industries. For over 15 years, he has been advising founder/family-owned businesses, private equity firms and their portfolio companies as well as larger corporations to complete corporate divestitures and sales.
With his extensive experience in manufacturing and distribution, transportation and logistics, healthcare and technology, Dan’s goal is to drive portfolio enhancements through business-to-business alignment. He works with Kinuu’s marketing, sales, delivery, and product teams to ensure flawless execution at all levels.
Dan received his BBA with a double major in Finance and Accounting from the University of Minnesota and his MBA in Investment Management from the University of St. Thomas.
