Ross came to nutrition coaching as an intersection of his passion for helping others improve their health and performance, the joy of cooking, eating, and sharing food with others, a love for training and movement, personally experiencing the medicinal and therapeutic effects of food, and healing his own relationship with food after struggling with disordered eating.
Ross grew up in Unalaska, Alaska, a small remote island in Alaska’s Aleutian Chain. He moved to Salem, Oregon to attend Willamette University where he received a BA in Psychology with Honors. During that time Ross also contributed to multiple conference titles in Cross Country and Track as a varsity athlete, and discovered a love for fresh, local, seasonal produce. It was around this time that he started to learn how certain foods were contributing to health conditions he'd grown used to living with and how eating differently could offer relief from those conditions and improve how he felt. This was the start of his journey to better understand how the food we eat can heal our bodies, improve how we feel, and enhance physical and mental performance.
There was also a period of time when Ross struggled with disordered eating in the form of restrictive eating and excessive exercise in pursuit of body image ideals (read more). With help and guidance he is now in a place where he can practice self-acceptance, nourishing himself responsibly, and prioritize eating for enjoyment and energy for the things we loves to do. This journey continues to teach him a lot about the impact our relationship with food can have on our lives and the things we love to do. Ross takes a trauma informed approach to nutrition coaching and hopes to guide others who find their health, quality of life, and performance limited by challenging relationships with eating and exercising.
His background in psychology, behavior change, and mental health, and his passion for the environment, social justice, physical performance, adventure, and food as medicine all inform Ross' choice to use nutrition as his mode of healing and improving quality of life.
Ross graduated with a Master's of Science in Nutrition from the National University of Natural Medicine in July 2024. He has been working as a nutrition coach since December 2023.
When he’s not living out his dream of supporting people on their nutrition and health journey, he enjoys spending time cooking and experimenting in the kitchen, eating and sharing food with loved ones and friends, running on roads and trails, strength training, backpacking, climbing mountains, outdoor photography, traveling, and living life with his partner and cat.
