About Julia

Julia is a first generation American, born to immigrant parents. Her father was born in Croatia and her mother in Poland. As a child, she was lucky enough to travel to both countries often. As an adult, she still enjoys traveling. She gets joy in experiencing new things, whether it be new places, foods, activities, natural settings, etc. She has a large love of learning.

Her love of learning was what exposed her to Functional Medicine. It frustrated her that it took approximately 20 years for a medical diagnosis of endometriosis. Painful periods began when she was 15 years old that were so severe it often caused absences from school and work. Her diagnosis came only after a several year struggle with infertility. She has also struggled with uterine fibroids and miscarriage and an autoimmune issue of the esophagus called EOE.

In hopes to alleviate pain and to have a family, she searched for other options on her own. She was open to trying lifestyle modification to see if her symptoms would improve. After implementing certain changes in her household, she felt an improvement in her health. Seeing the first-hand positive results, she became fascinated with Functional Medicine. It became such a passion to spread the benefits of Functional Medicine and to help others feel better that she needed to change career paths.

Julia graduated from the Functional Medicine Coaching Academy, the only coaching program partnered with The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM). Also a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, she strives to follow their Code of Ethics. Julia specializes in chronic disease, inflammation reduction, and fertility coaching.

Mission

It is Julia’s mission to help people feel better by empowering them to take control over their own health by using a Functional Medicine approach to wellness.

Work History

Julia understand the demands of balancing a career, home, social life, health, etc. She received her master’s degree in Architecture, became a licensed professional, and practiced for a number of years. She often designed grocery stores as an Architect.   Even in her previous career, she was interested in food and would wonder why she was designing a “Wellness Area” of the store; shouldn’t the whole grocery store be a wellness area?!   Now, she has come full circle to understand the true wellness areas of a grocery store. As a LEED accredited Architect, she also studied how interior environments may impact health.

In addition to practicing Architecture, she taught various design studios at local universities. She loved the one-on-one interaction with students. She found it fulfilling as she watched students grow, learn, realize their own strengths and develop their own design style. This experience translates nicely into the field of coaching where the goal is to collaborate in a way that honors the client’s autonomy and helps align their actions with values.