Jennifer's Bio
Jennifer is a registered dietitian who wholeheartedly believes one’s background and experiences should be celebrated every day and that cultural foods deserve a place at the table. She works from an anti-diet and weight-neutral perspective helping people reclaim their whole selves while shedding society’s views on nutrition and body image. Jennifer understands everyone’s definition of health is different and wants to help others find their definition. She creates an atmosphere where clients can be themselves and feel comfortable building upon the confidence she knows they already have within. She uses empathy and open conversations to guide the forming of gentle habits to incorporate into daily life while considering each individual’s ebbs and flows.
Jennifer attended the University of Illinois Chicago where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology. Upon graduation, she moved to Miami, Florida to become a personal trainer and manager at a fitness facility focusing on 1-on-1 and group classes specializing in strength training. She moved back to Chicago a few years later where she worked as a personal trainer for five years, with a focus on clients in the Latine/x community of which she is a member of. While training, she noticed a common thread among her clients – a strained relationship with their body image and eating their cultural foods. While Jennifer was able to relate to her client’s thoughts and feelings, she decided to go back to school to learn how to further lead them to make effective behavioral and mental changes.
She attended the University of Illinois Chicago where she received her Master of Science in Nutrition and completed her dietetic internship with an emphasis in nutrition counseling and education. During this time, Jennifer gained experience working at a residential level of care with clients with eating, obsessive-compulsive, anxiety, bipolar and body dysmorphic disorders. Her background also consists of facilitating food exposure challenges, working through fear food lists, and challenging reassurance seeking. She also has experience providing nutrition education regarding blood sugar and cholesterol management.
Outside of working with clients, Jennifer enjoys cooking and baking with her husband, especially Mexican and Guatemalan dishes, playing with her 2 dogs and 4 cats, and loves to talk about skincare and curly hair routines!