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.
Cara is passionate about providing care for patients going through the heartbreak of a cancer diagnosis.
“My aunt was diagnosed with cancer on her 30th birthday while raising 3 young children. She passed away 9 years after her diagnosis, and she continues to be an inspiration to me in my work. It is my passion to support clients in their nutrition care while they battle a cancer diagnosis, and I have had the honor of doing so for over 10 years both in the inpatient and outpatient settings. Whether through chemo, radiation, pre-surgery, post-surgery, or in remission, it is my privilege to help clients optimize health and answer any nutrition-related questions along their journey.”
Across her years of education and professional experience, Cara’s passion has given her the opportunity to work with clients across a spectrum of diagnoses, including diabetes management, cardiovascular health, and digestive disorders and concerns. She 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 spending time with friends and family, and loves being outdoors!
Summer Cooper is a registered dietitian who enjoys working alongside clients on their individual health journeys and guiding them to a positive and sustainable relationship with food and body image. Her work focuses on targeting ineffective behaviors and beliefs about food and body using Health at Every Size principles, Intuitive Eating, food exposures and FBT-informed care. Summer appreciates everyone’s uniqueness and offers a gracious and affectionate approach throughout the treatment process as she works to balance nutrition science and education successfully. She enjoys working with individuals of all ages!
Summer was born and raised in Kentucky but now calls Indiana home. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Western Kentucky University, where she also completed her dietetic internship.
Before joining Healthier Tomorrows, Summer worked as a college campus dietitian and collegiate sports dietitian, followed by extensive work at an eating disorder clinic where she served as a dietitian in the individual and group nutrition counseling and intensive outpatient program settings. Summer is passionate about creating safe spaces for clients to work through their eating disorder/disordered eating concerns as well as supporting other chronic health conditions during one-on-one nutrition counseling.
Outside of work Summer enjoys spending time with her husband and two young daughters, church community, reading, the outdoors, and thinking of movie quotes to match most situations!
Olivia is a registered dietitian who enjoys working with clients struggling with eating disorders, disordered eating behaviors and gastrointestinal concerns, and clients looking for support and help with sports nutrition-related matters. She believes in meeting her clients where they are, and she works hard to develop a strong rapport with each client while promoting sustainable lifestyle changes. She believes that many eating-related concerns are not about food itself. Instead, she has found that behaviors around food are usually a result of something else, such as an individual’s upbringing, relationship with their body, or lack of prior nutrition education. She works to identify these barriers in a safe environment while incorporating nutrition concepts. She enjoys breaking down complex nutrition topics into achievable tasks and habits for clients to implement for long term success. Olivia knows how challenging eating disorder recovery is. She is passionate about working with this client population because she has seen how this process can free clients to build a whole new life outside of their eating disorder.
Olivia earned her Bachelor’s of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics from Idaho State University and completed her dietetic internship at Utah State University. Before joining Healthier Tomorrows, Olivia worked in an ICU, inpatient rehabilitation unit, outpatient GI nutrition clinic, and as an eating disorder dietitian in both the inpatient and outpatient settings.
She lives in Idaho with her husband and two dogs, Cinder and Hoka. In her free time, she enjoys distance running, hiking, traveling to new countries, and home design.
Marjorie is a registered dietitian committed to supporting individuals of all ages and their families in developing appropriate relationships with food and their bodies. Marjorie has supported people of all ages, including children, in their journey to overcome disordered eating behaviors and discouragement and to find freedom in recovery. She specializes in helping those struggling with disordered eating and chronic conditions, including children, and has specific experience in pediatric eating disorder recovery. She uses positive coping skills and individualized care to understand the whole person and their personal health concerns. Marjorie has worked with children, adolescents, adults and families to provide both individualized care and group sessions. She prioritizes a warm, caring approach that is supportive and strives to help every client to be understood and empowered.
She attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah where she studied dietetics and completed her dietetic internship with Primary Children’s, American Fork Hospital and LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City and American Fork, Utah. She also attended Texas Tech University and received a Master of Science in Nutrition.
In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, playing baseball, gardening, and volunteering in her community.
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.
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.
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 as 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 management. Now in the outpatient setting, Maggie is enjoying her work with children and adolescents and their caregivers, and also adults seeking information, education and support.
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.
Loni Pereszlenyi, MS, RDN, LD is a registered dietitian with a great passion for supporting her clients as they navigate their own personal journeys toward healthier, more peaceful relationships with food and the body. Although Loni has outpatient experience in many areas of medical nutrition and nutrition counseling, she truly feels most impactful when working with clients that struggle with eating disorders or disordered eating behaviors. Loni knows that all clients come in at different levels of readiness and motivation to approach a healthier relationship with food. Loni strives to meet her clients at their starting points, working to provide individualized, goal-oriented, compassionate care throughout the client-dietitian relationship.
Loni holds two undergraduate degrees from West Chester University of Pennsylvania – a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics. Additionally, she holds a minor in psychology, and has a strong interest in the intersection of nutrition and mental health. She completed her dietetic training concurrently with her Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics at St. Louis University.
A lifelong resident of the Philadelphia area, Loni enjoys spending her free time cooking, baking, reading, and exploring new restaurants with her fiancé. Oh, and OF COURSE, cheering on her beloved Phillies, Eagles, and 76ers!!
It’s not uncommon to feel lost and confused when it comes to food. In fact, it’s frequently the norm. Jess steers away from the diet-mentality and focuses on a food-as-medicine and a “good, better, best” approach to educate and motivate clients to thrive and grow. Using her philosophy and approach, which are rooted in functional medicine, she has guided clients in healing and repairing their gut; supporting thyroid and immune health, reversing diabetes, elevated cholesterol, and high blood pressure; minimizing and managing pain and headaches; and supporting couples in preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum health. She works with her clients to create a highly customized plan to support their specific health and wellness goals for optimal health. In addition, with her emphasis on functional nutrition, she takes into consideration every aspect of each client’s health, diet, and overall lifestyle when providing nutrition recommendations.
Jess is also a Certified Functional Nutrition Informed Professional (CFNIP) and serves as the Functional Nutrition Director at Healthier Tomorrows. Practicing functionally offers individualized food and lifestyle goals that address the root cause of illness and health struggles, rather than just addressing symptoms. As Functional Nutrition Director, Jess advises and clinically supervises the dietitians at Healthier Tomorrows in looking at wellness from a functional perspective and addressing the whole body to support clients in optimizing their health.
Jess obtained her undergraduate degree in dietetics from Bradley University and completed her dietetic internship through the University of Houston. She was part of the Healthier Tomorrows dietetic team from 2013 through 2015, and rejoined Healthier Tomorrows in 2020 to provide virtual nutrition education and support! She has significant experience working with clients in outpatient settings, and she enjoys fostering relationships with clients and providing ongoing support.
Clients appreciate her non-judgmental, realistic, and upbeat approach!
Hannah Walker is a registered dietitian focused on helping her clients create and maintain a healthy relationship with food and achieve and sustain balanced lifestyles. Hannah has a true passion for helping clients live happier, heathier lives with the support of nutrition counseling. She works with her clients to help them establish balanced eating patterns, create healthy daily habits, and reach their desired health and wellness goals through empathetic, non-judgmental nutrition counseling techniques. Hannah believes health is not determined by a number on a scale, and she strives to create balance in the lives of her clients while debunking the harmful beliefs of diet culture.
Hannah was born and raised in northwest Ohio. She received a bachelor’s degree in dietetics along with a graduate certificate in Food and Nutrition from Bowling Green State University. She then completed her dietetic internship in Boston, Massachusetts.
Before joining Healthier Tomorrows, Hannah worked in an outpatient clinic setting focused on nutrition counseling for improved overall health and wellness. She also has experience working as a personal chef, helping her clients adopt healthier cooking techniques in their own homes. Along with providing one-on-one nutrition counseling, Hannah is well-equipped to provide virtual cooking sessions and support her clients with meal prep, and she also offers grocery store tours.
Hannah absolutely loves to cook and create new recipes in her free time. She also enjoys traveling and planning road trips with her husband, doing yoga, and enjoying joyful movement in nature!