Her Story
About Jessica
I've been a dietitian since 2004, dedicating over two decades to helping people improve their health through nutrition. My main focus is women's health and nutrition, particularly in areas like weight loss and peptides. I run my own private practice, which I'm incredibly proud of as it represents my most notable professional achievement. In addition to my private practice, I work full-time as an internship director, where I have the opportunity to mentor the next generation of dietitians. I'm passionate about teaching young professionals to learn as much as they can during their internship, see the broad picture of all the different areas that dietetics has to offer, and really put themselves out there to focus on what interests them most. I'm a member of both the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the California Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, staying connected to my professional community.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Jessica
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say just a really strong work ethic that I think has been instilled in me since growing up from my parents and from family and other friends. And then the support of my husband and my family has been absolutely crucial to everything I've accomplished.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I received was actually just 'do it' when I was thinking about starting my own business. I had reached out to some other dietitians that are very big in the entrepreneur space as a dietitian, and the advice that they gave to me was go for it. They told me to lean on others that are in this space and doing it, which I have, and I've been kind of following their lead and pushing through.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
When you're in your internship, learn as much as you can and see the broad picture of all the different areas that dietetics has to offer. Really put yourself out there and focus on what really interests you. As an internship director myself, I see so much potential in new dietitians, and I want them to explore all the possibilities in our field before narrowing down to their passion area.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I would say one of the biggest challenges is overall pay. Dietitians are known to be one of the lowest paid healthcare professionals in the industry. When you look at what we're responsible for in a hospital, we handle the clinical oversight of a patient, the nutritional clinical oversight, and we're also held responsible for the kitchen oversight. That includes food safety, specialty diet orders, texture changes, and then still going out and evaluating patients and labs and providing education. There's a lot that we're responsible for. But I think a lot of the opportunities now are showing that getting into private practice and working with brand partnerships really opens the door for a lot of dietitians to break that barrier of being so underpaid.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I would say honesty, being transparent, and being credible. I think those are all very important to me in both my professional work and my personal life.
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