Meet All Our 2017 Recipients of The Sampson Foundation!

In 2016, Integrative Nutrition launched a partnership with The Sampson Foundation to honor those who give back to their communities by covering the tuition for 12 deserving individuals each year.

Our work together began when Kristy Sampson Rodriguez, an Integrative Nutrition graduate, was so moved by the Health Coach Training Program, that she wanted to help others have the same experience.

The Sampson Foundation was founded in honor of her father and it focuses on integrative medicine and creating healthy communities. With aligning missions, it was a perfect partnership with Integrative Nutrition!

Through this partnership, each month one person is selected to receive full tuition coverage for the Health Coach Training Program!

Meet our 2017 Sampson Foundation recipients:

Sara Hudson (January)
As a young cancer survivor, Sara hopes to use her Integrative Nutrition education to benefit Young Survival Coalition, the premier organization that offers resources, connections and outreach to young women diagnosed with breast cancer. Sara utilized YSC during her own cancer treatment but felt as though she was lacking nutrition and wellness information. As an IIN Health Coach, she is passionate about supporting others undergoing treatment and would like to work with her local YSC chapter on including nutrition, emotional, and wellness-based information.

Rachel Johnson (February)
Rachel is committed to becoming a certified Health Coach to help fill a void in the Prader-Willi Syndrome community. PWS, which Rachel’s daughter was diagnosed with at age two, is a rare, life-threatening disorder that's primary features include a slow metabolism and an insatiable appetite. As an employee of Prader-Willi Alliance of New York and President of the non-profit she started, Team HopeFull, Rachel wants to use her IIN education to coach other PWS families as they work to create a healthy lifestyle for their children and their family.

Stephanie Sheldon (March)
Stephanie works in a senior center in New York City. She works with older adults who have a multitude of health issues and many live alone. As someone who loves helping people, Stephanie wants to teach them how important food is to their health and how to make choices that can improve their quality of life. With the knowledge from an IIN education, she wants to create community and discussion around health and wellness, and offer support and guidance to the adults she works with. 

Erica Asti (April)
Through her work with Florida Hospital for Children and Center for Children and Family Wellness, Erica educates children and students on the importance of a healthy lifestyle and the factors that impact health. By becoming a Health Coach, Erica wants to use her training to break down barriers that exist to health eating and continue to improve the lives of children in her area. 

Keri Greenfield (May)
Keri is an Adult/Geriatric Nurse Practitioner at Comprehensive Center for Brain Health at Florida Atlantic University where her work focuses on early detection, personalized treatment plans, and ongoing support for patients and families that suffer from memory loss. Keri hopes to use her Integrative Nutrition education to build on the Center’s wellness prevention program, as there is good evidence that diet and nutrition intervention programs can benefit patients with dementia. 

Latoyia Monlyn (June)
Latoyia wants to use her Health Coach training to bring her passion for healthy living to others. Five years ago, she came up with the idea to sell smoothies in a small boutique gym in New York City, and since then has envisioned how her idea can be about more than smoothies, but rather a lifestyle focused on health, wellness, positive energy, and empowering choices. 

Emily Swiatek (July)
As a consultant for the National Autistic Society in the UK, Emily coaches and mentors autistic adults who are in a state of crisis or at risk of losing their jobs. With an Integrative Nutrition education, Emily wants to expand this coaching to include a more holistic approach, paying close attention to how other elements, like nutrition and lifestyle, may be impacting her clients. She is passionate about building a movement that sees beyond a person’s disability and wants to empower people to make informed decisions around health, food, exercise and mindset. 

Vanessa Clermont (August)
In 2016, Vanessa started a smoothie company, Lyfeblend, with the mission to create healthy, happy people one blend at a time through 100% natural smoothies. Additionally, she started a non-profit called Lyfeline to teach clients how to become the best version of themselves. With a Health Coaching education, Vanessa will not only teach her clients how to honor their bodies with the right food choices, but also how to honor their mind and spirit.

Julia Pearce (September)
Julia wants to use the teachings of Integrative Nutrition in her current work with Sheena’s Place, a center that offers support and services to individuals and families affected by eating disorders. Additionally, she is working towards a personal training certification with the hopes of combining her knowledge of exercise and nutrition to promote health and wellbeing in individuals in all walks of life.

Dani Valdivia (October)
Dani wants to start a non-profit to provide cooking classes, free plant-based meals, and resources for low-income families in different housing projects in Southern California. Currently, Dani works in a maternity home where she hosts classes and family meet ups. 

Steven Brown (November)
During the last few years of his marriage and subsequent divorce, Steven was unhealthy, stressed, gained weight, and became worried about his health and future. Though he turned to healthy cooking and baking to better his and his children’s health, he wants to use Integrative Nutrition to further his knowledge. Furthermore, Steven would like to open a healthy fast food restaurant in his area and develop free healthy cooking classes to educate others.

Karen Moore (December)
In 2016, Karen developed a bacterial infection that turned septic, almost caused her kidneys to fail and increased her glucose levels. While it took her almost a year to regain her strength, Karen made lifestyle and diet changes to benefit her healing, and eventually transitioned into a vegan lifestyle. Karen wants to grow P.H.A.T (Pretty, Healthy and Transformed) Girlz Thrive, a private community she began, into a health and wellness business that teaches women to regain control of their lives through diet, exercise, and proper nutrition.