Congratulations to our Leadership in Health Coaching Award recipients for the HCTP February 2019 Accelerated class! Integrative Nutrition believes in, supports, and celebrates all our incredible graduates for spreading the ripple effect of health and happiness in the world. The Leadership in Health Coaching Award was created to recognize the amazing accomplishments of our graduates, specifically those doing outstanding work that aligns with Integrative Nutrition’s core mission. Learn more about the winners below!
Gina Evangelista
Orlando, Florida
What were you doing prior to enrolling at Integrative Nutrition?
Prior to enrolling at Integrative Nutrition, I was homeschooling my kids for 11 years and still am.
How did your life change after enrolling?
I loved having so much information about nutrition, health, wellness, and coaching in one place. I enjoyed all the lectures and topics and definitely became more knowledgeable after enrolling. I became more open-minded by understanding the concept of bio-individuality. I felt more confident about coaching and enjoyed practicing Health Histories and getting to know classmates in my Coaching Circles.
Allison Quistgard
San Anselmo, California
What were you doing prior to enrolling at Integrative Nutrition?
Prior to enrolling at IIN, I was a clinical aesthetician, writer, and single mom of two teens.
How did your life change after enrolling?
My life changed completely! I feel confident in my health and know I can help others. I have become a regenerative soil advocate. I volunteered all year and hosted the FUTURE WELL summit this summer. Thought leaders, environmentalists, farmers, soil experts, and healers came together for a provocative exchange. The lack of healthy foods in K–12 schools is unforgivable. I am volunteering at Alice Waters’s Edible Schoolyard Project in Berkeley, CA, to learn how to teach. My journalism took off; I wrote an article called “FOOD IS MEDICINE” and one about aging, telomeres, and the Blue Zones. I coproduced and hosted Dr. Dean and Anne on Marin TV and Dr. Weil on my newly formed YouTube channel. And with my paralyzed face! Lastly, I just quit my job!
Rhonda Allen
Latham, New York
What were you doing prior to enrolling at Integrative Nutrition?
Prior to IIN, I was helping friends, family, and acquaintances interested in living a healthier lifestyle with the knowledge I had gathered over the years. I also had been educating others about the toxins in their personal care and cleaning products and how these affect their bodies and also our environment.
How did your life change after enrolling?
Prior to IIN, I thought wellness was about nutrition and exercise. I’m thankful for IIN as it has opened my eyes about how we cannot isolate any one part of our lives as all parts are interconnected. You can have your diet and exercise right but your personal life be a wreck and you will not feel well. My knowledge about wellness expanded as a direct result of the learning I received at IIN and now I can guide others to know the same.
Megan Fuehrer
Holdrege, Nebraska
What were you doing prior to enrolling at Integrative Nutrition?
Prior to enrolling at Integrative Nutrition, I was teaching English as a Second Language in Shanghai, China, at a bilingual school after receiving my master’s in international studies. I had previously taught ESL from 2011–2019 in South Korea, Chile, Taiwan, Indonesia, and China.
How did your life change after enrolling?
After enrolling, I felt slightly overwhelmed managing teaching full-time and the coursework, but as the modules progressed, I realized I was calmer, I felt aligned with my purpose, and even through the overwhelming feeling, I was more aware of how my body was reacting to this stress. I was able to use the tools being presented in the course to balance time for school, yoga, coursework, and self-care. I am more peaceful during times of stress and more in tune with what my body needs to function properly. Using the tools IIN has provided, I am able to analyze imbalances in my life and how to bring each area back into balance. Though some of these areas are a work in progress, I feel confident knowing I am on track toward my goals.
TJ David
Carbondale, Colorado
What were you doing prior to enrolling at Integrative Nutrition?
Prior to enrolling at IIN, I was working full-time as a professional mountain athlete and doing marketing for a few small outdoor brands. I was also building the foundation of my coaching business, Microcosm Coaching, by working with a few athletes in my area. In the evenings, I was working at a restaurant full-time as a server in order to help meet the financial obligations of changing my career and path.
How did your life change after enrolling?
Enrolling in IIN was the key step toward taking an idea and dream I had of starting my own coaching business and making it a reality. IIN empowered me to grow my business, confront my own fears and insecurities about what exactly success is in today’s society, and work through them to create something that directly helps people and in turn helps me be a better version of myself. IIN helped me believe in myself and my dream.
Madison Nuismer
Napa, California
What were you doing prior to enrolling at Integrative Nutrition?
In my last semester before graduating college with my bachelor’s degree in public health, I decided to enroll in IIN’s accelerated health coaching program. I had just quit my job working as a patient care technician in a large hospital. I had planned on continuing school to become a nurse. However, my plans soon changed after discovering that I was passionate about a more holistic manner of practicing and carrying out treatment and prevention of noncommunicable or chronic diseases. I noticed the vastness of patients being given “sick care” instead of actual “health care.” This motivated me to find another manner in which I could help people in a more sustainable, holistic, and intimate method.
How did your life change after enrolling?
For most of my life, I was convinced by outside sources that health was a quality that was portrayed by an individual’s outer appearance. IIN opened my eyes to what true health is. When I enrolled at IIN, I was in the final stage of recovering from an eating disorder. IIN allowed me to truly heal. Not only did I return to being healthy physically, but in all other areas as well, like my relationships, spirituality, career, and physical activity. I was able to banish all past beliefs and notions that diet culture and my eating disorder had beaten into me over the years. I now feel that I live a life that is most fulfilling for me personally and that I have returned home to myself more refined, knowledgeable, confident, and excited than ever.
Janice Rosen
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
What were you doing prior to enrolling at Integrative Nutrition?
I am an ACE-CERTIFIED personal trainer, group fitness and yoga instructor, and BOOTCAMP PITTSBURGH and TEAM NAPLES founder and coach! All training, coaching, and nutrition counseling is uniquely developed based on the client’s specific needs and goals. My BOOTCAMP groups have been with me for 8+ years and continue to be strong and healthy. These folks range in age from 25 to 70 and never cease to amaze me with their focus and positive energy.
My classes consist of a unique combination of high-intensity training, with a strong focus on functional everyday movement, mind-body connection, and breath.
My clients LOVE this combination of challenging movement, strength training, skill, and stretching! Simply said... It synchronistically works!
How did your life change after enrolling?
My life began to slowly change… My eating habits changed, my sleeping habits improved, my spiritual connection continued to grow with synchronicities around every corner! Some of the lectures and teachers still stand out in my mind to this day!
Since graduation, “my story” has taken shape and is evolving and developing daily!! I am excited to wake up each morning feeling refreshed, happy, and motivated to inspire others on their path to health and wellness as they present themselves in my life!
AND they always do!!! “Fitting out” is what I pride myself on and what leads me to the like-minded people entering my Circle of Life daily.
Laura Heath
Belleville, Ontario, Canada
What were you doing prior to enrolling at Integrative Nutrition?
For 20 years prior to enrolling at IIN, I worked full-time as a hospital pharmacist. I worked closely with patients who suffered from life-threatening illnesses, and in particular I took care of patients with cancer, diabetes, lung disease, and heart disease.
During this time, I began to recognize more clearly the amazing benefits of Western medicine, while at the same time noticed how much my patients suffered at the hands of a lifestyle-related illness. It was not uncommon for my patients to be on 20 medications at once. Their lives often revolved around being sick, and honestly, it made me feel like there was more I could be doing to help them. Could I be a “different” kind of pharmacist?
How did your life change after enrolling?
Everything about my life changed after I enrolled in IIN. I loved everything about the program, and as I learned to love and take care of myself again, I felt my passion return. I started meditating, I ate whole nourishing foods, I returned to the exercises I used to love, and I quit my job! I prioritized the relationships that mattered to me, and I found happiness again.
It was life-changing to be fueled with passion for helping others do what I was doing. And so, I launched “Your Highest Self Coaching”! I jumped in with two feet, and I haven't looked back. I love my job, and I love my life. Receiving my certificate as an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach was a pivotal turning point for me.
Karen Naizir Cure
Cartagena, Colombia
What were you doing prior to enrolling at Integrative Nutrition?
Before enrolling at IIN, I had just quit my job as creative director for an international fashion brand to take a year off the fashion industry. Although I loved the job I had for the past 12 years, I felt exhausted and burnt out. Being away from home most of the time, with a stressful schedule and constant traveling, took a toll on my health. I knew I needed a break to heal myself, regain balance, and feel inspired to move forward.
How did your life change after enrolling?
The IIN Health Coach Training Program has been more than I could have expected. It has been a year of personal discovery, balance, and growth in a very deep and mindful level. I enrolled for the training in nutrition and came out with an integral understanding of what well-being really is.
Kimberly Snyder
Dallas, Texas
What were you doing prior to enrolling at Integrative Nutrition?
Business management consultant in the healthcare industry.
How did your life change after enrolling?
I started the program as a person who was like a leaf blowing in the wind; while I was confident in my core values, I was not confident in what direction I wanted to go in my career. By simply researching and enrolling in the program, I just knew I was on the right path. With each lecture, I felt myself light up on the inside...I had found my true calling and my true people! I finished the program as a new and improved version of myself. I am now confident in where I am going....it will be my version of success!
I love that I can write my own future in a career that will help so many people find their true health, but also allow me to live as my authentic self.