Meet Jen and Tanjariitta — the heart behind Blue Star Resort & Retreat
Tanjariitta and Jen are the founders and stewards of Blue Star Resort & Retreat, a sanctuary nestled in the magical woods near Whitefish, Montana. Guided by their deep love for nature and community, they envisioned Blue Star as a place where the land itself supports inner and outer connection. For over eight years, they’ve welcomed guests seeking reflection, healing, and celebration, offering a space that blends comfort, beauty, and the quiet power of the forest. Every detail — from the traditional Finnish sauna to the fire circles and forest trails — reflects their belief in nature’s ability to restore balance and inspire transformation. Together, they continue to nurture Blue Star as a co-creation between the natural world and all who are called to experience its magic.
Learn more about Jen
Jen is the founder and managing partner of Blue Star Resort and Retreat Center, which has been operational since 2012. Jen felt called to open up the heart and soul of this land for select group events, retreats and inner journeys so that this place may be a co-creation between the natural setting and the people who visit it.
In addition to her extensive experience in property management, she is also a certified Kundalini yoga instructor, CrossFit certified personal trainer, a Wisdom of the Earth medicinal aromatherapist/Level II teacher, a Matses trained Kambo practitioner and a certified Hirudo (Medicinal Leech) Therapist.
At Blue Star, Jen offers ongoing meditations and is the co-founder of the Good Health Confluence - an annual educational collaboration with other health-focused professionals.
Learn more about Tanjariitta
Tanjariitta was born and raised in Finland, in a rural farm setting. Her deep connection and appreciation for nature and the healing it offers was born of the forests around her childhood home - the same forests that she still holds dear and stewards to this day. In 2019, after her father passed, she protected over one hundred acres of the forests, including a large bog that is home to the occasional bear, moose, deer and more. It was from her father, Aarno, that Tanjariitta learned the basics of building saunas, through watching and helping him when she could. The sauna you are able to enjoy at Blue Star today was built in Aarno’s memory.
Tanjariitta holds an undergraduate degree in fine arts and a master's degree in clinical therapy. She has been a licensed psychotherapist for over 20 years, with her primary therapy approach having been body-centered in nature early on in her career. She is certified in Heart-Centered hypnotherapy, adventure-based therapy, yoga, yoga therapy and medicinal essential oils. In 2023, she completed her year and a half long certification in Finland as a Finnish sauna therapist. Though sauna is in her blood from birth, Tanjariitta felt it was important to formally join the ranks of those upholding the old Finnish healing traditions so as to help in preserving this knowledge, which her teachers successfully advocated to also be protected by Unesco. She is also certified both in Finland and in the US in Hirudo (Medicinal Leech) Therapy.
Today, Tanjariitta combines her backgrounds by offering one on one sauna treatments and group sessions, events, therapeutic intensives and retreats for people from all over the world at the Blue Star Resort and Retreat Center.
