Hi, I’m Jessica and I’m so glad you’re here!
I believe in the power of food and the power of personal connection and I have dedicated my career to improving people’s lives in grounded, practical ways.
My early career was focused on the people piece. In the years right after college, I worked in grassroots organizing on social justice issues. Then, my boyfriend (now husband) and I moved to Ann Arbor to study social work at the University of Michigan, after which I worked in crisis intervention. But, after years of working in the non-profit world and struggling to find the right balance in my own life, especially as I became a mom, I decided that it was time to combine my love of helping people with my other passion: food.
I enrolled at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and studied a wide range of dietary theories, as well as a variety of practical lifestyle coaching methods that help to build congruency between changes in diet with satisfaction with life.
Drawing on all of this knowledge, for five years I worked one-on-one with individuals and families who wanted to integrate more home cooking or healthy living into their lives, without it becoming an added stress or burden. Then, in 2017, I had the opportunity to acquire The Scramble from its founder (and one of my “sheroes”), Aviva Goldfarb. I jumped at the chance since it would give me a larger platform for helping people to shift their relationship with food and learn to love cooking through a practical meal planning service and resources on cooking and eating. This journey has been challenging, exhilarating, and deeply meaningful.
And then, in 2023, I realized that I had reached another stage in my life and career. While I loved the writing, recipe development, and business building challenges, I missed working directly with people. In addition, my own life changed as my kids went from being little kids to teenagers and I went from being a young mom to a woman in midlife. As my friends and I started to discuss the changes in our bodies, our families, our careers, and our social lives, I realized that women in midlife were screaming out for support. So, I decided to do something about it.
While I was already trained as a therapist and a health coach, I didn’t have any expertise in midlife or menopause, so I started learning! I read everything I could get my hands on, took a course on coaching people through the midlife transition, and became certified as a menopause coach. And, with this additional knowledge in hand, I decided to start up a specialized coaching program for women in midlife.
You never know where life will take you, but I can tell you this: I am so grateful that I have been able to build a life where I can integrate my passions and help women and families to navigate the scramble of life.
Here’s to happy scrambling!
