Meet Ashley! 

Ashley is a Certified Nutrition Coach & Personal Trainer

Hi! I'm Ashley. I'm a 47-year-old mother of three (and two crazy dogs), happily married for over 20 years. My professional story feels a little like a roller coaster ride, but it is a journey that has led me exactly where I was meant to be.

I studied journalism at Indiana University and worked in the advertising industry for several years in Chicago and Cleveland. I was fortunate to be able to stay home with my babies in the early years, but it also proved to be challenging as a woman with big goals. I wrote a blog, flirted with entrepreneurial endeavors and freelanced for a local magazine.

Once the kids were all in school I went to work for my family's wholesale produce business managing marketing. I soon learned of the massive amount of food that is wasted in our nation and in 2016 I developed Perfectly Imperfect Produce (PIP), a fresh fruit and vegetable home delivery service. As the CEO, I grew the company to seven figures and helped thousands of families eat their veggies while also improving the environment. I later developed a line of meal kits and eventually pivoted and relaunched in the "food as medicine" space, working with healthcare providers to make fresh produce more accessible to patients struggling with chronic illness.  

My passion for fresh, nutritious food runs deep. I am no longer delivering fresh food to people's homes, but I am delivering actionable advice, encouragement, tools and motivation to help others know what to eat to reach their goals and to fuel their body, their mind and their spirit. Helping others learn how to eat well for their health and wellness (physical and mental) gets me energized and is what gets me out of bed every morning.

It All Started When...

As excited as I get about food, ask me about fitness and you'll see me light up. I have been relatively active all of my life, but my love of fitness really began when I started running in my 30s, after the birth of my third child. I was trying to lose the baby weight but struggled to find time and money to join a gym. Running became an escape as I juggled life with little ones. At first, even three miles seemed unthinkable, but through hard work and perseverence I went on to run three marathons and ten half marathons. 

When I was ready for a new challenge, I took up weightlifting. First, I was intimidated and discouraged that I wasn't great at it... yet. That drove me to work harder and strength training became my new therapy. The gym is where I find the most gritty version of myself. It's where I sweat out my stress and where I gain confidence in myself. For me, doing hard things in the gym is training for doing hard things in life. The way I see it, lifting weights isn't just about building muscle to look a certain way. It's about building confidence in my own capabilities. It is through my athletic endeavors where I also experienced a big transformation in my outlook on food. It was here where I stopped looking at food as "calories," and I began seeing food as energy. I began eating more to fuel my performance and it ultimately helped me reach my goals.

When my gym needed another trainer, I began coaching part-time and soon learned how much I enjoyed helping others transform their perception of their own capabilities in the gym and in life. Helping people "discover their strong" brought me so much joy and energy that I soon became a Certified Personal Trainer and launched an all women's strength training program.

But Then Everything Changed...

When my daughter was diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa our lives changed pretty dramatically very quickly. As I learned to manage family-based treatment to nurse her back to health with food, I also became hyperaware of products, services and people promoting weight loss. We live in a society where obsessive eating behaviors have become normalized and I'm uncomfortable with the trajectory. Our children are watching what we eat and they are listening to what we say about food. And so is our own psyche.

After my daughter's diagnosis I read every book about eating disorders and learned an immense amount about healthy eating behaviors and mindset from her world renowned physicians at the Cleveland Clinic. Thankfully, my daughter is on the road to recovery. I feel passionate that it is now my duty to help others with the knowledge I have gained through these experiences. Now, as a Certified Nutrition Coach, I have developed solutions to help clients who are looking to find the right balance between meeting their health and fitness goals, while doing so with a healthy mindset.