She/her
I am a registered dietitian with 10 years of experience working with teens and adults with eating disorders. I battled my own eating disorder in my teen years, during a time when my family was breaking apart. Eating disorder behaviors were modeled to me as a way to cope, and for a while, it felt effective. However, the physical and mental toll that food restriction and over-exercise took on my body and brain became evident. It wasn’t until one of my gymnastics coaches pulled me aside and expressed her sincere concern for my well-being that I realized what I was doing was destructive and holding me back. That coach turned my life around. It was my experience as an athlete with an eating disorder, and then overcoming my eating disorder, that helped me recognize the significant impact that nutrition can have on physical and mental health, and on overall quality of life. I pursued my education in nutrition and have focused my career on helping as many people as I can through their eating disorders. I strive to be the safe space and voice of reason that my coach once was for me.
Now as a parent of two young children, I can appreciate the emotional roller coaster that parenthood is every single day! Navigating how to raise good and healthy kids, while also trying to get our own needs met, is a REAL challenge! I do my best to get meals on the table every day, accepting that no meal is perfect and sometimes it’s lacking variety, sometimes it gets burnt. Some days, I would rather focus on other things that bring me joy! As a family, we enjoy camping, hiking, biking, and all water activities. We love spending time with our neighbors. I have recently started my own vegetable garden, with a steep learning curve to work through. I could spend all day reading a good book, or diving into a random art project. One of my favorite parts of my job is giving people permission to NOT nourish their bodies in the “perfect” way, but rather to eat, to eat enough, to strive for some variety that is enjoyable to them, and move on with their lives to pursue what brings them joy!
Approach & Philosophy
I recognize that each person’s relationship with food and body is unique and comes from their own lived experience. My goal is to truly listen to each person’s story and build an understanding of their perspective, their concerns, their goals, and their readiness to change. I practice from a Health At Every Size and Intuitive Eating lens. The scientific data and my professional experience supports these approaches for people of every body size, with every version of eating disorder, to come to peace with food and rebuild trust in their bodies.
For my clients with an eating disorder diagnosis, I require collaboration with a mental health provider and a primary care physician, at minimum. This is based on the reality that eating disorders are inherently intertwined with mental and physical health concerns. Receiving support from the appropriate professionals is essential to keeping clients safe, and allows me to provide adequate and fully informed nutrition support.
Education & Training
I received my bachelor’s of science degree in dietetics and a certificate of entrepreneurship from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. I trained at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Illinois for my dietetic internship, where I focused my time on clinical nutrition, eating disorder care, and community outreach programs. Since becoming a registered dietitian, I have worked at residential, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, and outpatient levels of care for teens and adults with eating disorders.
Memberships, Awards & Certifications
- Bachelor of Science in Dietetics & Entrepreneurship Certification, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (2015)
- Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Commission on Dietetic Registration (2016 – Present)
- Member, EDRDPro (2019 – Present)
- Member, CREDN (2019 – Present)
Raquel works at our Tualatin office and virtually.