My Story
My parents loved me, and did their best to support me when I become the “chubby girl” in junior high school. I still have the envelope containing payments my Dad used to reward me for lost weight, complete with notations of the date and pounds dropped that week. He told me that when I walked in a room, people would misjudge me, mistakenly assuming I had no self-control. They would see only the pounds, ignoring my intelligence, creativity, and work ethic. He didn’t say they wouldn’t see my beauty: I doubt he could see it either. In those days, it was all about how a young woman looked: he couldn’t imagine anything else.
Needless to say, this sabotaged any chance for a healthy relationship with food. I grew up either skinny or fat: I was either starving myself or eating anything I could get my hands on. Food became something I alternatively loved, feared, and hated.
This changed with the passing of a beloved client. While a pro bono client, I was more than happy to work with her as she grew sicker and weaker with the cancer that would eventually take her life. She took the time to know me, understand what I wanted, and support me as I talked about my dreams. Upon her death she paid me every cent I would have charged her, with a note indicating I should “go do something important with this money.” And off I went to a weight management program; it was time to change my life.
That program helped me first to heal, and then to change my relationship with food. I learned that literally nothing was off the table, and that the food itself was never my issue. I lost nearly 70 pounds, got strong, and started a new kind of life. This included the opportunity to take a coaching job at Stanford, which has allowed me to partner with over 100 clients a year. I enjoy sharing what I’ve learned, supporting them in making their own peace with food, and finding ways to move forward where they can celebrate cooking and eating. I look forward to doing the same with those who join me here.
I’m here as your personal “field guide” to honor your independence while boldly pursuing a path to a healthful and resilient lifestyle.
Many years of both professional and personal work grounds me in the skills necessary to support you in reaching your self-determined goals, including looking and feeling fabulous on your own terms.
My extensive work at UCSF, Stanford, and Kaiser Permanente has helped others to live healthfully and confidently in their choices. Some of my successful projects for improving patient care, encouraging entrepreneurship, and promoting social justice include:
- Creating and maintaining a patient advocacy practice that continues to help hundreds of patients find the best medical care possible
- Serving as a mentor, teacher, and workshop leader for Stanford’s HIP program, helping people lose weight and maintain that weight loss over time
- Founding and maintaining a Stanford alumni group of 1200+ entrepreneurs to promote and succeed in new business ventures
- Initiating and designing a website portal for one of the country’s largest medical providers, ensuring that up to 9 million patients had access to their medical records, choice of medical providers, and diagnostic data
- Serving as the volunteer coordinator for the 2008 US presidential election’s largest campaign office
- Implementing state-of-the-art computer technology for 2500+ newly diagnosed breast cancer, prostate cancer, and HRT patients, empowering them to make shared medical decisions
I’m also active in numerous political and social justice activities, and currently serve on the Board of CORA, in San Mateo, dedicated to eliminating partner abuse. I love to hike, travel and play Bridge. I live in San Mateo and am known to brag about my two amazing adult daughters.