By Ann Donnelly

Lisa Boucher, founder of HR Ninja, has built a unique business model that successfully merges decades of human resources experience with the discipline of martial arts. Based in Hudson Falls, Boucher established HR Ninja in May of this year, offering strategic guidance, compliance assistance, and project management primarily to small businesses and nonprofits.

The memorable name of her company directly reflects her dual passions. Boucher has worked in the human resources world for over 25 years. However, she explained the “Ninja part” of the name: “I’m a sixth degree black belt in Taekwondo and I have my own martial arts school in Hudson Falls and I’ve been doing that for over 30 years”.

Boucher finds that the lessons learned in martial arts translate directly into business consulting. She noted that both fields require tough conversations necessary for growth and development.

“A lot of what I’ve learned from one can show up in the other. And so one of the things in the HR world is having hard conversations,” Boucher said. “We do a lot of that in the martial arts world because when you’re training and growing individuals, sometimes you have to have hard conversations with them when you see so much potential on how to get that out of them and help them to be their best”.

Boucher’s varied professional background provides her with a holistic understanding of business operations. Her four-year degree is in accounting, and she holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the College of St. Rose. She initially worked as an accountant in the local mining industry, handling payroll and accounts payable, before being asked to step into the HR director role. “I just loved it. I loved working with people,” she recalled of her transition to human resources.

A life-long career in the fast-paced, high-stress restaurant industry was taking its toll on Serena Smith. For 10 years, she owned a restaurant, a job she says was “sucking the life out of me”. She’d worked every position, from cook to dishwasher to bartender, and the constant hustle left her with little time for herself. But a new path, one she discovered by chance, was about to lead her to a calmer and more fulfilling life: hot yoga.

Hot yoga is a form of yoga practiced in a heated room, with temperatures typically ranging from 95°F or higher. The benefits of hot yoga include increased flexibility, which allows you to get deeper into stretches, improved circulation, and enhanced strength and endurance. There are also detox benefits and immune system support.

Smith’s journey with hot yoga began around 15 years ago, when she was a dedicated CrossFit and obstacle course racing enthusiast who had started to experience a shoulder injury due to lifting and overusing her body without adequate stretching. Her sister, a fan of Inferno Hot Pilates and Hot 26 yoga classes, asked Smith to try it just one time. “I was skeptical,” Smith says, “but I tried a class, and I was hooked.”

While some people come to Hot Yoga Queensbury for the physical benefits, Smith finds the mental and emotional advantages to be the most significant. She credits her practice with providing stress relief, mental clarity, resilience, and mood-boosting effects, in addition to helping her with her sleep. “That is what’s so beautiful about yoga for me, it’s a journey inward. It really helped me manage my stress level while I was in the fast-paced world of  the restaurant industry, where you’re always on the go. I didn’t really k now how to relax, breathe, and pause. Those words weren’t in my vocabulary at the time.”

Just before the pandemic, Smith became a certified yoga instructor after initially obtaining certification to teach Pilates. In 2022, she purchased Hot Yoga Queensbury from its previous owner, becoming the third person to own the studio, which has been in business for about 15 years. Having previously taught at the studio, Smith was already familiar with the business and its members, which made the transition smoother, as she focused on introducing herself as the leader rather than just an instructor.

By Ann Donnelly

Kara Magoolaghan, principal of KMCG LLC and Chief Sustainability Officer of the Mulford Corporation, has built a strategic consultancy dedicated to navigating the complexities of capital projects. KMCG LLC primarily assists mission-driven clients—including nonprofits, government agencies, and small businesses—in building resilient and sustainable structures without compromising their core programming or missions.

Magoolaghan’s core value lies in acting as the comprehensive owner’s representative, providing specialized expertise for organizations often described as “understaffed”. The firm’s purpose is so that clien to put aside their day jobs to learn all about construction when they want to do a capital project”. KMCG’s scope is broad, covering everything “except for design and construction”. The firm guides clients through procurement, secures the right designers and construction partners, manages extensive documentation for permitting and approvals, coordinates construction management, and assists with complex financial processes, helping clients “build their capital stack” by coordinating with funders and securing investors.

One of KMCG’s most impactful functions is serving as a “translator,” simplifying the specialized language consultants use. Magoolaghan notes that many professional consultants—architects and engineers—speak “a totally different language,” making it difficult for clients to grasp project specifics. This specialized support is vital for smaller, nonprofit partners, where owners’ representation is often missing compared to the for-profit sector. KMCG currently works heavily in affordable housing but aims to expand into community centers, such as YMCAs and PALs.

The actual impetus for starting KMCG was specifically to help build green buildings and foster resilience. Magoolaghan, a Certified Passive House Designer, argues passionately that old buildings are not equipped to handle the future. “We need to change the way that we build so that we can prepare for what’s coming,” she asserts. The goal is to “build the most resilient and sustainable buildings possible so that they last longer, so that they’re more comfortable, and so that they’re equipped to handle the changing climate that we have”. This high-performance approach offers significant economic benefits, particularly for affordable housing clients who often retain maintenance costs. Magoolaghan highlights that if developers “put in that extra investment at the front end, you’ll pay less in utility costs at the back end”, a crucial saving given that utility and insurance costs have risen “astronomically” in New York state.

By Paul Post

Dana Russell has no trouble attracting people to her Glens Falls business, Adirondack Salt Cave LLC.

“The hardest thing is getting people up and out,” she said. “Nobody wants to leave.”

The firm’s soothing environment—walls made from blocks of beautiful peach-colored Himalayan salt—relaxing music and halotherapy, which promotes respiratory health and combats allergies, skin conditions and COPD, keeps clients coming back time after time.

“A lot of people come in after work and just need that Zen, that decompression from everything,” Russell said. “When they walk through the doors they’re just so happy to be here.”

A Warrensburg native, she’s been a licensed massage therapist for 18 years. But in 2016, a friend convinced her to visit a salt cave in Vermont. After finding a suitable space in the Union Square building at 11 Broad Street, she decided to create one of her own.

A former garment factory, the 126-year-old structure oozes with history and character. “We love it here,” Russell said.

Soon, a truck delivered four tons of Himalayan salt from Pakistan, procured through a New Jersey supplier, and a Texas firm spent eight weeks designing and building the site. Adirondack Salt Cave was open for business.

The “cave” is a 300-square-foot room with 12-foot ceilings that replicates the microclimate of deep natural salt caves. When lights are dimmed, the backlit Himalayan salt wall creates a mesmerizing glow.

“It’s a wow factor when you walk in,” Russell said.