I have been in healthcare, specifically the world of pharmacy, since December 2002, attending and graduating from the University of Southern Nevada College of Pharmacy (now Roseman University) in 2008 and becoming a Clinical Pharmacist for the VA for 15 years. Throughout my time, I managed a variety of chronic diseases associated with lifestyle choices, often with medications. Practicing in healthcare was rewarding, yet stressful and draining, and when it began to have a negative impact on my own health, it made me rethink my surroundings. I was starting to feel burnout and disengaged in my career and needed to find more joy and a more meaningful purpose in my work. I started to research and consider other opportunities that would help me to feel recharged.

After attending Dr. Kathy Campbell's Creating Health: Pharmacist-led Lifestyle and Weight Management course in October 2019, I realized it was the first time within my near 20 year pharmacy career that I was excited to fully embrace and implement the material gained in my own life; I was motivated to share and inspire others to do the same! My biggest take away from the course was to simply increase non-starchy vegetables substantially in my daily routine, which seemed simple yet a little daunting. However, as I started making small and impactful changes to my dietary intake, adding more of the good in creative ways and crowding out less nutritious foods as a result, I noticed that I started to have more energy, improved my gut health, had less joint pain, experienced weight loss, and ultimately ended up feeling better at 40 than I had in the decade prior. I realized that by nourishing my body with wholesome foods, and finding meaningful and creative ways to also support my mind and soul, I was truly able to start thriving and living my best life.

I wanted to find ways to share the importance of healthy eating, self-care, and well-being with others, minimizing the need for individuals to turn to medications: Focusing on wellness care, not sick care. I later seized the opportunity to become an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, IIN, starting in January 2022 and graduating in February 2023. Throughout the program I have learned even more valuable tools and resources to fuel and sustain not only myself and my family in our health journey, but ideas and framework that I know would benefit so many other individuals. Specifically fellow healthcare workers experiencing burnout and in need of ways to refuel their purpose or meaning in life. The food and the culture that each individual survives in or THRIVES in has a massive impact on their life. I bring a unique lens with my healthcare experience and pharmacy background, my never-ending creativity, and my passion to share the value I have found when practicing more self-care. I'm ready to help you get back to the basics in life, spreading a ripple effect of improving health and supporting other individuals in their journeys toward optimal health.