Amy Spindel, MSHN, MSSW, BCHN, AFMC
Hi! I’m Amy, a Functional Holistic Nutritionist that uses food and lifestyle changes to help you fix your gut so you can thrive without digestive distress.
My son changed my life in more ways than one. When he was born, his gluten, dairy, soy, corn, egg, citrus, and strawberry allergies made me re-examine my career choices (I used to be a pastry chef; before that, an outpatient family therapist).
I had to remove his food allergies from my diet, and when his gut wasn’t healing, I enrolled in a holistic nutrition program to see what we were missing. While studying for my degree, learned about functional medicine. I was hooked.
When I’m not geeking out with nutrition and functional medicine stuff, I love experimenting with new recipes, gardening, traveling and hiking with my family, and taking my office manager/pet macaw, Marigold, for walks.
Education
- School of Applied Functional Medicine, Level 1, Level 2, Level 3/AFMC Certification, Incubator Program, Platinum Inner Circle Mentorship Group
- Hawthorn University, MSHN, Holistic Nutrition, Summa cum laude
- Clinical Mentorship (Naturopathic & Functional Medicine Approaches to Gastrointestinal Disorders level 1, Advanced Microbiome Manipulation level 2) with Dr. Jason Hawrelak, Probiotic Advisor
- Clinical Mentorship with Dr. Liz Lipski
- Ongoing coursework in topics such as digestive health, parasites, heavy metals and detox, hormones, metabolic function, functional lab testing, hair testing and mineral balance, genetics, etc.
- Columbia University School of Social Work, MSSW, Heath, Mental Health, and Disabilities in Clinical Practice
- Tufts University, BA, Clinical Psychology, Magna cum laude
Affiliations, Certifications, & Other Professional Activities
- Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition (BCHN)
- Applied Functional Medicine Certification (AFMC)
- Certified Microbiome Analyst
- Certified Healthy Gut Practitioner
- Certified Gluten-Free Practitioner (CGP)
- Certified Dietary Supplement Professional (CDSP)
- Holistic HTMA Pro Certification (expected summer 2024)
- HTMA Expert Certification (expected summer 2024)
- School of Applied Functional Medicine (SAFM), Clinical Education Team
- Phoebe Prenatal & Postpartum Support, Staff Nutrition Expert
- National Association of Nutrition Professionals (NANP), Professional Member
- Collin County Community College, Certificates in Culinary & Pastry Arts
- Weston A. Price Foundation, Member
- Trauma-informed, airway-informed, mental health-informed
Heather Tesch, MS, AFMC
Client Care Coordinator
Heather had symptoms since she was 2 years old, but thought they were part of the normal human experience. It wasn’t until she became severely sick in her early 30s that she gained deep insights into messages her body was sending her. She dove head first into a variety of healing modalities, just to find herself always coming back to Functional Medicine.
After feeling heard and validated, as well as enjoying the comprehensive approach FM practitioners took, Heather decided to become formally educated in the FM principles as well. Heather now coaches clients in her 1:1 practice and also supports other functional medicine practitioners to run their practices with greater ease.
Heather has a BS in interior design, and ironically her favorite aspect of design was mapping out the most functional use of space (similar to client mapping in Functional Medicine)! She has a MS in Change Leadership and certifications through the Coaches Training Institute and Institute for Integrative Nutrition, is a Reiki practitioner (Level 1 certification), and is Applied Functional Medicine Certified.
Heather will be supporting all clients in the practice through health coaching and administrative capacities. She also offers distance reiki to our clients.
Marigold, Blue & Gold Macaw
Office Manager
Professional Bowl Banger
Marigold, based in the Plano virtual office, works closely with Amy to ensure that nearly every functional coaching call has a little noisy humor and subsequent apology embedded in it, whether it’s from squeaking her toy to banging her metal food bowl repeatedly. She does not like to be left out of the conversation. Occasionally, though, she decides that session time is the perfect time for a cozy quiet nap, and so no noisy humor is required.
Other pastimes include going for walks, sitting in the crepe myrtle tree, eating nuts, hiding under the bed, shredding toilet paper, and generally making a mess that only a parrot could make.