Holistic Nutrition Professional | Certified Microbiome Analyst
BCHN® • AFMC® • CDSP®
Hi, I’m Amy.
I’m a Holistic Nutrition Professional and Certified Microbiome Analyst who helps people make sense of complicated nutrition and wellness questions, particularly when digestion, food, energy, the gut microbiome, and multiple seemingly unrelated pieces of the puzzle are involved.
I don’t believe your body is a collection of disconnected symptoms. I also don’t believe there is always one magic food, supplement, test, or microbe responsible for everything that feels off.
Instead, I like to zoom out, look for patterns, and then zoom back in to figure out what is actually useful for you.
My Path Here Wasn’t Exactly Linear
Before Food With Thought, I worked in clinical social work and mental health.
Then I went to culinary and pastry school.
Yes, those are all on the same résumé.
In 2018, I founded Food With Thought after a deeply personal family health journey sent me down a rabbit hole that eventually became a career. What started with trying to understand my own family’s health challenges grew into years of studying nutrition, functional medicine, gastrointestinal health, and the gut microbiome.
That winding path still shapes how I work today.
My background taught me to look at people in context. Culinary training taught me that food is more than a list of nutrients. Functional nutrition taught me to think about physiology and patterns. And microbiome research opened up an entirely new way of thinking about the relationship between the human body and the ecosystem living within it.
I don’t think those perspectives compete with one another. I think they make the picture more complete.
Why Food With Thought?
I started Food With Thought because I wanted to create the kind of nutrition practice I was looking for myself: curious, individualized, grounded in science, and practical enough to work in real life.
Because knowing what might be helpful and actually being able to implement it are two very different things.
A recommendation has to survive Tuesday night dinner, a busy workday, a family schedule, travel, a picky eater, a restaurant menu, or simply the fact that sometimes nobody has remembered to go to the grocery store.
That’s part of the work, too.
What I Bring to the Table
My training has taken me across several disciplines, but there are a few threads that connect them all.
Curiosity.
I like complicated questions. “That’s just how it is” is rarely a satisfying answer.
Systems thinking.
I want to understand how the pieces interact rather than viewing each one in isolation.
Food.
Real food, cooking, nourishment, culture, preferences, and practicality all matter.
The microbiome.
The gut isn’t simply a list of bacteria. It’s a dynamic ecosystem interacting with its host and its environment.
Real life.
The most theoretically perfect plan in the world isn’t useful if it can’t be lived.
Education & Professional Training
I’m a lifelong learner by both inclination and necessity. Nutrition, functional medicine, and microbiome science continue to evolve, and I believe good practice requires continuing to learn rather than treating a credential as the finish line.
Academic Education
University of Western States
Doctor of Clinical Nutrition & Functional Medicine, Student
Hawthorn University
Master of Science in Holistic Nutrition, summa cum laude
Columbia University School of Social Work
Master of Science in Social Work, Clinical Practice
Tufts University
Bachelor of Arts in Clinical Psychology, magna cum laude
Collin County Community College
Certificates in Culinary & Pastry Arts
Advanced Training & Mentorship
My advanced education includes extensive coursework, case-based training, and clinical mentorship in functional nutrition, functional medicine, gastrointestinal health, microbiome analysis and restoration, detoxification, mineral balance, metabolic health, hormones, genetics, nervous-system health, and early-life microbiome development.
Additional training and mentorship includes:
- School of Applied Functional Medicine: Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 / AFMC Certification, Platinum Inner Circle Mentorship
- Microbiome Restoration Center: clinical mentorship with Dawn Whitten and Dr. Jason Hawrelak
- Clinical mentorship with Dr. Liz Lipski
- Root Cause Practitioner Mentorship with Dr. Christine Schaffner, Sinclair Kenny, and Michael Spandel
And I continue to pursue advanced coursework as new research and clinical approaches emerge.
Professional Credentials
- Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition (BCHN®)
- Applied Functional Medicine Certified (AFMC®)
- Certified Microbiome Analyst
- Certified Healthy Gut Practitioner
- Natural Early Life Health Practitioner
- Certified Holistic HTMA Pro Practitioner
- Certified Gluten-Free Practitioner (CGP)
- Certified Dietary Supplement Professional (CDSP®)
- HTMA Expert Certification
- Professional Member, National Association of Nutrition Professionals (NANP)
My education and professional training also include trauma-informed, airway-informed, and mental-health-informed perspectives.
Professional Roles & Collaboration
In addition to Food With Thought Nutrition, I’ve contributed to professional education and collaboration through roles with the School of Applied Functional Medicine and Phoebe Prenatal & Postpartum Support.
And Outside of All That…
I’m a mom, a food person, a lifelong learner, and someone who can turn almost any conversation into a discussion about the microbiome.
I love cooking, feeding people, digging into complicated questions, and figuring out why something isn’t working quite the way it should.
I also believe health has to leave room for real life.
There is a time for analyzing a stool test and a time for making dinner with whatever happens to be in the refrigerator.
Sometimes those are the same time.
Curious How I Actually Work?
My background explains who I am. My approach explains how I think about health and how I work with clients.
Explore My Approach
Ready to Figure Out What’s Going On?
Let’s talk about what’s going on, what you’re looking for, and whether working together makes sense.
