Rachel's interest in nutrition developed post-college while discovering the joys (and new-found necessity) of cooking. Around this time she also took a trip traveling throughout New Zealand to volunteer on organic farms and gardens, and was inspired by the many different lifestyles she saw that all had health and nutrition as their focus. Once home Rachel realized that much of her free time was devoted to increasing her knowledge of nutrition, so she decided to return to school to become a registered dietitian.
After completing the necessary science-focused prerequisite coursework, she earned her Master's Degree in Nutrition at Bastyr University near Seattle, WA, a school internationally recognized as a leader in natural medicine. The school's unique nutrition program has a "whole food" approach, focusing on the effects and benefits of real, whole foods on the body while exploring human nutrition from a variety of angles: biochemical, physiological, political, psychological, and socioeconomic. Here Rachel also had the chance to make use of her education by counseling clients in the school's student-run clinic, the Bastyr Center for Natural Health, alongside other practitioners such as acupuncturists, naturopathic doctors, and herbalists.
Rachel then went to Tucson, AZ, to complete approximately 1290 hours of supervised practice in a comprehensive dietetic internship and successfully passed the exam to earn the credentials of a registered dietitian. Rachel's counseling style offers a client-centered approach, individualized to meet each client's nutrition goals.
