Here's my story
It all started with the realization that feeling exhausted, anxious and moody all the time was not how it was supposed to be...
For a long time I just accepted that the way I felt was simply the way I was and I just dealt with it. But the truth is, I wasn't thriving - most of the time I was dragging myself through each day, wondering what was wrong with me. I knew deep down that I was missing out on feeling the energy, positivity and joy that was possible in life and the desire to figure out how to find that became stronger as time passed.
At the same time, through my work as a nurse practitioner, I became aware that I was not alone in my confusion and misunderstanding about what true health and wellness is and how to achieve it.
My desire to do better for myself and for my patients lead me on a quest to learn as much as I could about nutrition and wellness. I began reading and studying everything I could get my hands on about food and nutrition and applying everything I was learning to my own lifestyle and eating habits. I started to feel better. Fatigue, anxiety, aches and pains and digestive issues that I had been dealing with for years started to disappear. And, as I shared what I had learned with my patients, I started seeing them getting better as well.
A fire was ignited within me to figure out a way to help as many people as possible to overcome their health challenges and to really feel their best.
Along the way, I found the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and signed up for their year-long health coaching certification course. This opened up a whole new world of information and inspiration from the top leaders, experts and visionaries in the field about not just food, but also how to truly optimize all aspects of life and wellness. Applying this learning to my own life lead to a total transformation of my own health as well as my family's. As I worked through the course, I recognized that the best way to have the biggest impact on the health and wellness of others was through health coaching.
In the traditional healthcare setting, the focus is really on disease management. I am really good at that - controlling things like blood pressure and blood sugar and working to minimize the risk of complications from a whole host of existing chronic diseases. In that setting, this is mainly done through medications and procedures which absolutely have their place. However, I continually find myself wanting to go beyond that to get to the root causes of those chronic diseases and fix health problems from the ground up. This requires new habits and lifestyle changes that can only be achieved through the partnership and support that health coaching can provide. I do what I can in the limited time that I have with my patients and it does make a difference - but oh, boy do I ever come away every day feeling like I want to do more and help more and make more of a difference. And that is why, despite the fact that I already have a career that I've worked hard for and really love, I just haven't been able to put down the idea of health coaching to make a bigger impact, and this is why True Health was created. I just feel compelled to do whatever I can to help others to heal their bodies and to find that energy, positivity and joy in life that I had been missing. I whole-heartedly believe that a focus on integrative nutrition and holistic health is the only way to overcome the epidemic of chronic disease that we're faced with today, and to make people as healthy as possible.
I'm on a mission...
To make the world a better place by helping others to feel their best, be their best and live their best lives.
The Resume
I am a wife and mother of four boys, home cook, gardener, marathon runner, nature enthusiast, primary care nurse practitioner, and certified integrative nutrition health coach with a passion for helping others to be as healthy and well as possible.
- Family Nurse Practitioner I started my career in traditional healthcare over 23 years ago. I earned my Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Saskatchewan in Canada in 2002 and went on to work as a Registered Nurse in various settings over the next 17 years. In 2018, I earned my Master of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Cincinnati and began working as a primary care nurse practitioner. I continue to provide care to patients full-time in the primary care setting and have been in this role for over 6 years.
- Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach I quickly realized as I embarked on my new role as a nurse practitioner, that I wanted to know more about nutrition in order to confidently and more effectively help my patients. I wanted to do more than just manage disease. I wanted to learn how to help them to live long, healthy lives and to prevent disease. I found the additional education I was looking for through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. I enthusiastically signed up for their health coach certification course, which I completed in 2024. I then decided to start my own health coaching business to allow me to help people even more and in different ways than I am able to in the traditional health care setting.
- Marathon Runner My interest in nutrition and optimizing health has definitely been fueled in part by my passion for marathon running. To date, I have completed 10 full marathons including four of the six World Marathon Majors: Boston, New York, Chicago and Tokyo - the other two, London and Berlin - are on my bucket list to complete so I can earn the special designation of World Marathon Major Six Star Finisher. The seeds were planted in terms of my interest in nutrition throughout my journey as an endurance athlete, as I continually strive to optimize my performance through nutrition and supportive lifestyle practices.
Overall, I have dedicated my life to helping others to be as healthy and well as possible. This is a passion that grows with every passing year. In addition to my professional experience, I just have a love for food and cooking, growing food and gardening in general. All of this combined puts me in a prime position to share all I've learned and continue to learn about how to live a long, healthy, joyful life filled with vitality, and that's my mission.
FAVORITE FOOD:
I love it all!
USED TO BE:
hospice nurse
FAVORITE VACATION:
camping
FAVORITE COLOR:
green
HOBBIES:
gardening, home decor, crocheting
PETS:
two cats
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