Cara Best received her Bachelor of Science in Food, Nutrition, and Dietetics from Carson-Newman University, and her Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition from the University of Memphis. She completed a graduate assistantship with St. Jude Children’s Hospital and clinical rotations within Methodist LeBonheur Healthcare system. She has experience working as an inpatient dietitian, including leading an inpatient clinical team, and also previously worked as an outpatient adult oncology dietitian for eight years. She is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Cara is passionate about providing care for patients going through the heartbreak of a cancer diagnosis. Across her years of education and professional experience, her passion has given her the opportunity to work with clients across a spectrum of diagnoses, including diabetes management, cardiovascular health, digestive concerns and disorders, and medical nutrition therapy. She is an eager learner and enjoys bringing fun and excellent, evidence-based nutrition therapy to her client sessions, making it easy for her clients and their families to make nutrition-related choices that help them to maximize their health and wellness.
Cara grew up in Tullahoma, Tennessee and adores her songwriting husband, her toddler, and her orange tabby named Halli. She loves to spend time with loved ones, and loves being outdoors!
Lauren Burkett, MEd, MS, RD, LDN is a registered dietitian who enjoys working with clients with a variety of disease states and supporting them in developing mindful eating habits and learning to recognize and honor their hunger cues through intuitive eating habits. She has a particular passion for working with clients struggling with gastrointestinal issues, including IBS/GERD/SIBO, diverticulitis/diverticulosis, fatty liver issues such as NAFLD/NASH, and low-fat diet post gallbladder removal. She also enjoys working with clients on challenges around emotional eating (with or without binge eating disorder), diabetes (with or without chronic kidney disease), and developing heart-healthy diets (for hypertension, high cholesterol, and/or heart disease).
Lauren believes that mental health is equally as important as physical health, and she supports her clients in developing behaviors that will assist them in both areas of their lives. She works with her clients to develop a more regular eating routine that works best with their lifestyle and allows them to get joy out of eating again. She takes great pleasure in providing individualized care to each of her clients. She guides them as they strive to reach their health and wellness goals. This supports them in having a more balanced lifestyle for years to come.
Lauren completed her Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics with minors in Biology, Medical Humanities, and Sociology from the University of Delaware (UD). She also earned her Master of Education as a Nutrition Education Specialist through Framingham State University and a Master of Science in Entrepreneurship and Design from UD. Lauren completed her dietetic internship program through Virginia Tech and considers herself a learner and self-starter.
In her free time, Lauren loves to cook (her favorite meals are shrimp scampi and chicken à la King), paint on canvas, go to spin classes, and play with her two pet bunnies, Quinoa and Pancake, and four dogs, Eevee, Bruno, Twinkie, and Cloud!
Julia is a registered dietitian who is passionate about educating and empowering clients to improve their health and overall quality of life. She believes that all foods fit into a healthy lifestyle and implements intuitive eating principles into her practice. Julia takes a non-judgmental, empathetic, and hopeful approach when addressing food and body image. She works collaboratively with her clients to create individualized and sustainable changes by building supportive and trusting relationships. She strives to shed light on harmful dieting myths and reframe thinking patterns to lead to a more balanced and fulfilled life.
Julia obtained her Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of Arkansas. She completed her internship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center where she worked closely with clients focused on diabetes management and heart health. Prior to joining Healthier Tomorrows, Julia worked in a residential facility with clients recovering from substance abuse, eating disorders and disordered eating.
In her free time, she loves taking ballet classes, hiking, running, listening to music, and creating new recipes. She has found that virtual nutrition counseling can encompass more than just discussion and she enjoys being able to provide meal time support, meal prep and virtual cooking guidance to her clients.
Evie Copeland is a registered dietitian who enjoys building strong relationships with her clients and helping them to reshape their view and relationship with food. She practices from a non-diet, all-inclusive food approach. Evie has experience working with clients struggling with eating disorders, disordered eating, weight concerns, diabetes, and substance abuse. She believes in setting small, realistic lifestyle goals that help her clients to slowly work towards creating a stronger relationship with food and improving their long-term physical and mental health.
Evie attended undergraduate school at Appalachian State University and received her Masters of Science in Nutrition at Meredith College. She completed her clinical training at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
In her free time, Evie enjoys cooking and trying new recipes, fishing, and traveling with family and friends.
Rowan is a registered and licensed dietitian who strives to help clients build better relationships with food and body image by empowering them to trust their bodies. She promotes weight-inclusive care by providing a judgment-free space where nutrition education is geared towards letting go of dieting habits, enjoying nourishing foods, and finding pleasant forms of movement. As a certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, Rowan enjoys helping clients reconnect to their bodies’ innate intuition while learning how all foods can fit into a healthful diet.
Rowan completed her undergraduate degree in Nutrition and Dietetics at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She received a Master of Science in Nutrition from Eastern Illinois University, where she also completed her dietetic clinical internship. Rowan has experience in clinical, outpatient, and community nutrition, working with both adult and pediatric populations. She’s experienced in counseling on chronic disease management, disordered eating/eating disorders, sports nutrition, and plant-based diets.
Rowan believes in treating each client as the unique and multifaceted individual they are while addressing all areas of life that can impact eating behaviors. She counsels using a patient-centered approach to help clients create practical and sustainable behavior changes. Being an excellent listener and gentle educator helps Rowan work with clients to improve their overall quality and satisfaction with life.
In her free time, Rowan enjoys spending time outdoors, reading, and cooking! She loves trying new foods and testing out new plant-based recipes at home. Rowan also enjoys being active by playing volleyball, taking long walks with her dog (Shanti), and doing Pilates, yoga, and strength training.
Emily is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist who is passionate about helping others achieve optimal wellness and build a healthy relationship with food and their body. Emily takes a functional/lifestyle medicine approach to nutrition, where she focuses on understanding the whole person and working with her clients to help them resolve their unique health concerns. She strives to provide a safe and empathetic environment where every client feels understood, empowered, and encouraged when discussing food and lifestyle.
Emily holds a Master of Science in Nutrition, Healthspan and Longevity from the University of Southern California, and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Villanova University.
In her free time, Emily enjoys being outdoors, cooking, and discovering new recipes to test out with family and friends. Her last name – DaCosta – means “of the coast” which is surely on point because of her love for the ocean and the beach!
Nikki is a registered and licensed dietitian who is passionate about helping each client find happiness through improving their relationship with food. She specializes in making complex concepts easy to understand in order to help clients challenge their beliefs, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors around food. She provides a nonjudgmental, open, and honest environment and enjoys incorporating lighthearted humor into her sessions as appropriate. She also enjoys working with, and learning about, neurodivergent individuals, including those with ADHD and Autism as well as hormone and nervous system regulation. To support her clients, Nikki believes in providing customizable care, including individual and group appointments, meal support, shopping assistance, and more.
Nikki teaches nutrition classes at a local Florida community college and, before joining Healthier Tomorrows, Nikki was the primary dietitian for the Orlando VA’s eating disorder interdisciplinary treatment team, where she developed program guidelines and worked with veterans at an intensive outpatient level of care, while also teaching an innovative intuitive eating class and seeing patients for chronic conditions and weight concerns using a non-diet approach.
Nikki attended Virginia Tech (Go Hokies!) and obtained dual degrees in nutrition and psychology. She completed her dietetic internship and earned her Master of Science of Nutrition at Bowling Green State University.
Outside of working with her clients, Nikki enjoys all forms of crafting and DIY, reading, adventuring with her husband and two young sons, and collecting magnets and crystals.
Adrienne is a registered and licensed dietitian who received her Masters of Science in Nutrition and internship training from University of Illinois at Chicago.
Adrienne’s background involves counseling on the topics of weight concerns, bariatric surgery, and dietary strategies for managing GERD/acid reflux. Through these experiences, she has learned that years of dieting, inflexible food rules, and a focus on weight loss can lead to disordered eating habits and a poor relationship with food and one’s body. This tends to take individuals away from, rather than moving them toward, their health goals. This has led her to be passionate about a non-diet, weight-inclusive approach to nutrition.
Adrienne enjoys supporting clients who suffer from eating disorders, disordered eating, or chronic dieting, and clients who want to improve their relationship with food and their body. She also enjoys supporting clients who suffer from IBS, acid reflux, and other chronic GI concerns.
Adrienne strives to help clients develop a “no fuss” relationship with food. This involves dismantling disordered beliefs surrounding food that many folks have internalized from years of dieting and myths prevalent in the media. This also involves helping clients implement straightforward and timesaving nutrition habits. Adrienne herself is not an avid cook, and prefers instead to keep it simple (while still desiring nourishing, delicious food!).
In her free time, she enjoys exploring Chicago through meandering runs, trying new restaurants and beers in good company, resting/napping, reading, and most importantly, making up new games and art projects to keep her six year old twin nephews entertained.
Kerry is a registered dietitian and Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor who enjoys helping her clients find freedom with food. She is Health at Every Size aligned and uses the Intuitive Eating framework to guide her clients towards a more peaceful relationship with food and their bodies. She has a special interest in providing care to clients struggling with eating disorders and disordered eating. In addition, Kerry has years of experience working with clients to improve medical conditions such as diabetes, PCOS, hypertension (and more) using a “nutrition by addition” approach.
Kerry graduated from the University of Florida with her Bachelor of Science in Food Science and Human Nutrition, and completed her dietetic internship at the James A. Haley VA Hospital in Tampa, Florida. Before joining Healthier Tomorrows, she worked with Veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces on their journeys toward better health, in body, mind, and spirit. She also works as an assistant coach for a high school girls’ flag football team and is passionate about empowering young women to find enjoyment, satisfaction and self-confidence through athletics.
Outside of work, you can find her chasing her two young kids, doing DIY house projects, or attempting to write and illustrate a children’s book with her husband.
Maggie is a registered dietitian who is passionate about helping clients recover from disordered eating. She is committed to fight against the negative effects of diet culture, and she utilizes intuitive eating, mindfulness, and the Health at Every Size approach in her practice. Maggie has worked with both the pediatric and adult populations, but most of her work has been with the pediatric population at both St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. In these roles, Maggie worked with all age groups, with a primary focus on infant nutrition, eating disorder recovery, and weight concerns.
She is originally from Memphis, TN, and completed both her undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of Memphis. In her free time, Maggie loves to bake, hike, spend time with her dog, Duke, and explore new restaurants.