Christopher D Perna

Perna, the second to last of eight children born over 21 years, was the first person in his family to attend college. A native of Malden, MA, during his freshman year at a private Catholic high school, he met his future wife, Mary, through her brother, who was Perna's baseball coach. They both attended Brown University and have been married 32 years. Perna spent 25 years in a successful career in the insurance industry in executive roles, including moving to Rochester, NY, in 1999 to head MedAmerica. Moving to Eden came after a hiatus from the insurance industry, Perna says, when he wasn't sure what he wanted to do next. After having a conversation with Eden Alternative founder Bill Thomas, M.D., Perna accepted the group's role of president and CEO in 2010.