welcome!

Between how we think, move, eat and live - there’s food, mindset, innovation, creativity, whole-self nourishment, and even sustainability.

The ways I express myself and work as a food systems professional and consultant, an author, mindset coach for teen athletes, innovation specialist, ecosystem builder, and professional triathlete are all connected.

Feeding and fueling can start with our plate and how we move, but extends beyond to our inner and outer world and the complex systems involved.

In the heart of the Shenandoah Valley - where the freshest local food is in abundance, the magnificent mountains of the Blue Ridges are always at reach, and an intimate community of spectacularly, inspiring humans conjoin in my very backyard - you can usually find me integrating each of these into simple moments.

That’s training for the next race (almost always with my pup/training partner, Mistie), getting outside in deep connection with myself, nature and community through a physical challenge (in water, two wheels and/or feet), creating ideas with contagiously energizing people, or making nourishing food with equally enriching people.

HOW & WHY

Using nourishment + movement to explore our inner- and outer-world

Perhaps it was the vegan carrot cake on my first birthday, or the ownership I took of lunch packing and cooking beginning in 1st grade. Through the evolution of my athletic and professional career I’ve learned that movement and nourishment is a way to explore our inner and outer world  - and that begins with our mind.

Being a competitive swimmer from age 4 - 23 — now Professional USA Triathlete, and a fully embracing believer in the power of movement — embedded deep within and strung across the years, has been an innate curiosity of our potential inner-limits. Our unique ingredients and strengths lie on the other side of harnessing the mental as much as the physical. It’s where we realize our individuality as much as life’s wisest lessons.

I see how our approach and mindset matters (coaching), I get my hands dirty on a food systems level (consulting), I make the innovative shifts on a company level (food startup innovation), I work to be involved on the community level (ecosystem building). I practice on myself (professional athlete). I write and share for my own self-reflection. And in the process, I’m learning - is where you connect with others (author).

See, training and being an athlete to me - it’s much more than sport. These universal fundamental lessons are applicable to life. That’s where the magic lies.

My own tapestry of experiences integrate a range of topics we don’t commonly see together: food system expertise, human behavior change, exercise science, writer and storyteller, nutritional health, design thinking principles, sports and positive performance psychology, and sustainability/environmental awareness. Woven among my approach to life (whether we work together as a client, coach, co-worker, or collaborator) involves threads of human-centered design, a mindset for the long-term, whole-person body/mind connection, amplification of individual strengths, harnessing neurodiversity, and leading with compassion.

How we eat and move and live can be unique to us. We can be all of it. We can live aligned with our whole self. That’s why I’m setting out to do.

at the moment

• Chief Innovation Officer at Spira Inc.

• Local and Regional Food System Consultant

• Author of the The NonRecipe Book (Nov 2022)

• Professional USA Off-Road Triathlete

• Mindset Coach and Athlete Mentor

• Community Ecosystem Builder The Perch Coworking

• Location: Harrisonburg, VA

Recent podcasts, press + appearances:

Credentials

Education

• BS in Exercise Science from James Madison University

• MS Masters in Business Management from Wake Forest University

• Nutrition Coach from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition Health Coach (INHC)

• Foundations in Local Food Systems Course from NC State University

• Food Safety and Culinary Courses: Forward Food Culinary Experience, Allertrain Certification, TIPS Health Communication, ServSafe Food Handler

ATHLETIC AND PROFESSIONAL Experience

• Professional Triathlete: World-level Triathlon (Nationals, Worlds)

  • 2022: Professional Triathlon debut: 2nd Elite USA National, 24th Elite OA World

  • 2021: 2nd place AG + 25th OA Age-Group at World’s Xterra

  • 2021: 1st place OA , Colorado Xterra

  • 2018: 5th and USA Nationals

  • 2019: 25th at World's

• 4-year Varsity NCAA D1 Swimmer at JMU + 16 years training and race as a completive swimmer

• Ultra-Runner: 1st Place Women, 2nd OA Grayson Highlands 50mi

• Founder of multiple food startups: Crazy Ate, Fueled, The NonRecipe Book

• Coaching

  • Four years as a Health Coach and Personal Trainer

  • Swim Coach for 14 years

• Personal Training/Nutrition Coaching and Education:

  • Working with with professional and world-class athletes

  • Long term athletic delveopment and family-style bootcamp instructor

  • JMU Fueled Course Creator

  • Founder of JMU’s student-run sustainable and locally sourced food truck

  • Corporate and institutional food sustainability, operational procedures and education programming

  • Wellness Coach for Methodology

  • Founder of youth meal kit company

• Research Experience: Multidimensional Global Health Patterns, Physiological Responses During Exercise in Extreme Environmental Conditions, Swim-Specific Biomechanics, The Influence of Swim Training Programming to Adherence and Performance in Competitive Junior Elite Swimmers

Specializations

• Sustainable Local and Regional Food System Development, Food Innovation, Comprehensive Program Design, User-Centered Design, Mindset and Holistic Health Coaching, Youth Athletic Development, Swim Biomechanics, Public Speaking, Writing, Community Development