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A native New Yorker, Caryn Hartglass was born in Bronxville, NY. Her parents, Lois and Hal Hartglass, courted each other singing standards made famous by singers like Billy Eckstine and Sarah Vaughn. (Listen to Caryn's father Harold Hartglass singing All The Things You Are.) When Caryn was three the growing Hartglass family moved to a home on Long Island. Caryn and her older sister Lori learned to sing from her parents.
Caryn was mentored early in activism by her sister. Lori directed musical shows in their backyard that they would perform in together for the neighbors and raise money for cancer research and muscular distrophy. (Lori Hartglass, now a lawyer, has been raising funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation since 1989.)
A few years later Caryn's brother Barry was born which completes the musical family of five. (Check out Barry Hartglass' work on MySpace.)
Caryn went to Half Hollow Hills High School and when she was about 15 years old she announced to her family that she wanted to be a vegetarian. There was little information available about vegetarian nutrition at the time and her parents were very concerned for her health. Caryn's mother took her to the family physician. The physician's arrogant and patronizing demeanor catapulted Caryn further into the world of vegetarianism. The part of the doctor's diagnosis that was the most illogical was when he insisted that eating meat was beneficial for animals, because more were given the chance to live. He also said it was healthy to eat meat. Interestingly, Caryn's persistent stomach ailments, anemia and the premenstrual moodiness she was experiencing at the time all disappeared with the plant-based diet.
While attending Bucknell University in Lewisberg Pennsylvania and majoring in chemical engineering, Caryn was the lead singer in two rock bands and played the local club circuit. After graduating from Bucknell with Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in chemical engineering, Caryn pursued a career spanning 20 years in Photomaskmaking, a specialized area of the semiconductor industry, primarily in California. She had her own consulting business with clients around the globe. While employed as an engineer, Caryn continued to actively pursue her passion for singing delving deeper into the performing arts by performing on the legitimate stage. She began her career in amateur theatre while in elementary school and quickly worked her way up to semi-professional theater and finally found herself starring nationally in musical theatre and internationally singing opera in Europe.
While living in France she studied with Mady Mesplé, France's most famed lyric coloratura while studying French and German. An incredibly driven multi-tasker, Caryn continued her chemical engineering consulting and also gave concerts and participated in vocal competitions. During this time she won two international vocal competitions, one in France and one in South Africa, and recorded a CD with the French company, Ligia Digital.
With a passion for helping people understand the affects of food choices on health and environment, she ran the nonprofit EarthSave International as Executive Director for over 8 years. An ovarian cancer survivor, Caryn combines science with practical knowledge from real life experiences lecturing around the world about the powerful, healing benefits of a plant-based diet, juicing and meditation. She has appeared on Dr. Oz, Geraldo At Large, 20-20 and CNN and hosts two weekly Internet radio shows on the Progressive Radio Network, It's All About Food and Ask A Vegan. She is the founder of the nonprofit organization Responsible Eating And Living (REAL) which delivers easy to use, factual information and services, providing inspiration to take responsibility to nourish, protect and support ourselves, our families and the Earth with whole, plant-based foods and planet-friendly products. She resides in New York City with her partner, Gary De Mattei.
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