My Credentials and Education.....    

I'm a board-certified, licensed Functional Medicine doctor of both Oriental and Western Medicine. Currently, I work as a Health Coach and Functional Medicine Provider, striving to get my patients through every step of their process.  Yes... I went to university for 9 years, studying biological sciences, but more importantly... I never stopped researching and staying up to date with the latest data in health and wellness! I've created programs that my patients actually succeed in. The fads and myths change, but our metabolism doesn't lie! 

      I also worked for many years as a personal trainer and yoga instructor (27 years), and I understand the nuances of creating an exercise program that actually WORKS for your age and stage!!  The many aspects of our health and wellness can all be in one program, if we take the time to build it together!  I take into account all of the lifestyle and scheduling aspects of my patients and clients, as well as any medical specifications, to design a program that can be with you long-term!!!​

     

     As for my formal education... I attended Virginia Tech for undergrad in '93 and designed an interdisciplinary studies degree,  as preparation for graduate school, in complementary and alternative medicine.  I was certified in Shiatsu (Japanese Acupressure Therapy) 28 years ago, and it furthered my quest for real science.  I have always had a passion for understanding both Eastern and Western medicine, and thus, I participated in a nursing program in Virgina for a couple of years as well.   In my first internship/residency in an assisted living center, I realized that I would be much better serving on the other side of the bridge, in complementary and alternative medicine. For graduate school, I attended Maryland University of Integrative Health, which was the first fully accredited College of Oriental Medicine in the states. The school was opened in 1975, in Columbia, Maryland; the year and place I was born!  (It was certainly meant to be : )

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MY Hormone Speciality Began Here:

My journey in Hormone Reset medicine began in undergrad while researching menopause, synthetic hormone therapy, and BHRT (Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy).  That was in 1999 before the Women’s Health Initiative was completed, and the conversation was hardly in the public media. My mom was perimenopausal and I was looking for other alternatives for her transition.  Fast forward to private practice as a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist in Baltimore... I began treating many patients who had been on synthetic hormone therapy (or not) and developed cancers.  I was honored that my contact had been passed along by many nurses at the infusion clinics serving mostly patients from Johns Hopkins.  It was during this time that I gained a more global approach for optimizing treatment success with those very challenging conventional treatments.

  I continue to support patients in this journey towards optimal health with nutritional guidance, medical advocacy, and partnerships with family doctors. I consistently help my patients gain clarity about what's really getting in their way... and help to remove those obstacles.  There's a solution to this health dilemma we're facing, and it's always individualized.

 

    Individual and family health is impacted by these hormonal fluctuations every moment, and we have the resources to balance and harmonize in more ways than ever before!  My commitment is to keep this conversation going, and treatment modalities high quality!