Hello, I’m Jessie White.
I hold a master’s degree in Human Nutrition and a certification as a Functional Nutrition Counselor. My work is informed by a deep understanding of the biochemical pathways that underlie our body’s function, and is driven by genuine care and attention to your unique story.
My path to this work has been shaped by diverse life experiences that inform how I practice today. Before entering the field of nutrition, I spent years as a teaching artist working with children in theater, music, and creative dance. I became a Certified Movement Analyst through the Laban Institute of Movement Studies, learning to observe patterns, read the body's subtle communications, and understand that physical expression and internal states are deeply intertwined. This background taught me the art of deep listening and pattern recognition—skills that serve me well in functional nutrition work, where connecting the dots between seemingly unrelated symptoms often reveals the path to healing.
My Journey
My own journey of battling with chronic health conditions, and seeking out Functional Nutrition practices as a means to heal, has been life changing. It has helped me to see that every one of my lifestyle choices has a direct impact on my health, or lack thereof. It has taught me that I cannot superficially treat my migraines, my acid reflux, or my anxiety for that matter, but instead I must bring balance and nourishment to the underlying causes of these symptoms. Most importantly, it has helped me understand that I must have daily practices in place to move my mind and body out of a stressed state, and into a more relaxed and restorative state, in order for ANY healing to happen. Gaining these functional perspectives on how to achieve holistic well-being, and (most importantly) putting them to practice on myself, has not only changed the status and trajectory of my own health, it has given me the genuine insight to help others do the same.
For many years I contended with a number of symptoms that neither general practitioners nor specialists could help me resolve. Not one of them ever paid heed to the fact that these dots (symptoms) could be connected in an effort to find their common roots, enabling their cause to be uncovered. None of them considered my whole person, and how the state of my body was intimately connected to the state of my mind, and to the state of my spirit. No one considered my unique biology and physiology, nor my lifestyle choices and circumstances. None of them asked me questions, such as what was I eating, how was I sleeping, was I exercising, was I hydrating, did I have a stress-management practice, did I feel connected to my community and have a sense of purpose? Yet, ALL of these aspects, habits, choices and circumstances contribute to the manifestation of dis-ease, and are critical to investigate in order to truly restore health from the roots on up!
Our healthcare system has made miraculous advances indeed, yet it is not built upon tenets that speak to, nor even value, resolving chronic illness. Society at large has a quick-fix, “bandaid” mentality, and as subjects to these systems, those of us with ongoing illnesses are given remedies that temporarily numb the branch yet completely disregard the roots. This only perpetuates the problem, or brings about the expression of another, as the underlying issues are not being addressed.
After years of not feeling seen nor understood (by medical professionals) as a whole, unique individual with legitimate conditions, and years with no resolution to my lack of well-being, I decided to take my health into my own hands. I knew intuitively that there must be a system of health that focused on resolving states of dis-ease and disorder as opposed to “treating” them. I knew there must be an approach to health care that regarded each one of us as unique, and that looked for clues and strived to find solutions at the root of one’s individual set of circumstances. So… I set out to find this.
Background
To back up a little, or a lot for a minute, I grew up as the kid of artists and educators. My mother, a trained opera singer, chose early on in her career to become a special education teacher and work with underserved teens who needed great support with their schoolwork. I watched my mother not only teach these kids information, but transfer her own love of learning to them so they could discover this within themselves. My father, a prolific classical composer, taught music theory and the works of his most beloved composers (until the age of 90!) to some of the world’s finest, up and coming musicians. Again, it wasn’t what he taught as much as how he taught it that opened up exciting worlds in which his students could enter and call their own. I was lucky enough to be gifted through osmosis my parents’ great passion to help others uncover gems in their respective selves, which in turn awakened the innate desire in me to work with people in the same capacity.
I, too, am an artist—a singer, composer, writer and dancer—with a concentration in theatre arts and movement analysis. After some years of performing and living the artist life in NYC, I grabbed that familial baton and embarked upon a fifteen-year journey as a teaching artist wherein I had the great honor of sharing my love of music, creative movement, theater, and yoga with young children through role-modeling and interactive play. I learned so much from these bright, little souls. It brought me tremendous joy when they let me into their worlds and allowed me to help them learn and grow! It wasn’t until I became a case-cracking detective in search of my own well-being, and enrolled in a Functional Nutrition program, that my heart’s pursuit began to shift. The desire to teach, nourish and help others grow remained, it was only the context in which I would do so that shifted.
Inspiration & Education
It was Andrea Nakayama, owner and founder of The Functional Nutrition Alliance and the Functional Nutrition Lab, who burst open the portal through which I was destined to enter. I heard her speak so intently about the Full Body Systems curriculum she designed, and about her mission to build an army of a “new type of healthcare practitioner” who could help revolutionize our healthcare system. She discussed how this new type of practitioner could “fill the gap” in our current healthcare model, and serve those who were contending with chronic states of illness.
Andrea described more specifically how the real shift in our system could happen through educating people not only about the existence of these roots, but about the myriad ways these roots could be influenced by tending to the environments in which they live. She termed these environments the “soil.” We all have the ability to positively influence this soil—and ultimately change the course these roots will take—by adopting nutritional and lifestyle modifications. These modifications include: food, herbs/supplements, sleep, exercise, breathing deeply, connection with those we love, engaging in that which feels meaningful to us, and more. In this respect, each one of us has the potential to sit in the driver’s seat, bring about shifts in our own health outcomes, and do so through accessible choices.
Hearing Andrea impart her vision woke me up, so to speak. It was one of those moments in life of utter, unquestionable clarity. There my future path lay! I was determined to study Functional Nutrition, and intent upon helping to fill that gap in our healthcare system. This is how I was going to help myself, and this is how I was going to help others!
I did indeed find that wellness paradigm I knew in my gut was out there. I also followed my heart and received a comprehensive education and certification in the art and science of Functional Nutrition. Inspired to go the distance, I went on to complete a master’s of Human Nutrition with honors at the University of Bridgeport. I became versed in the anatomy, physiology and biochemistry of all body systems—with a focus on their interrelated and interconnected qualities—while also learning how to thoroughly and compassionately support, counsel, educate and assist one on their quest toward wellness.
I am currently fulfilling supervision requirements at The Nutrition and Herbal Collective towards becoming licensed as a Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS).
What does my work look like today?
With great compassion, I assist my clients in making nutritional and lifestyle choices that can profoundly support the root body systems, which in turn can bring balance and vitality to the other body systems, and ultimately nurture the remarkable ability to positively influence genetic expression.
With a gentle heart, I support my clients in building a new kind of relationship with their own self—a relationship with their whole person, and with their whole experience. This involves bringing awareness to all that makes them uniquely who they are—physically, emotionally, energetically—and regarding every aspect as meaningful and relevant.
I build comprehensive healing plans that take all of these distinct qualities into account.
Above all, I work with my clients in true partnership, inspiring them to see the choices they have and the great part they can play in their journey toward whole health and well-being.