Background

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Certified FDN Practitioner

Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition®, National Association of Nutrition Professionals

 

Nutrition Therapist Master, Nutrition Therapy Institute

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Certificate in Advanced Sports Nutrition, Barça Innovation Hub – Universitas

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Cook Street School of Culinary Arts Professional Program

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United States Personal Chef Association member (USPCA)

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ServSafe Food Protection Food Handler

 

Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA)

 

Group Exercise Instructor 

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MBA and Masters in Sport and Performance Psychology, University of Denver

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B.S. in Psychology, University of Iowa 
 

Community

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Wishbone Foundation Former President - non-profit organization that provides CEU's and training to labor and delivery teams on how to handle bereavement, logistics, and practice self-care when families experience perinatal loss

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University of Denver Adjunct Professor in Sport and Performance Psychology Masters Program

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Hobbies

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Hiking and riding trails with our labs

Skiing and biking at Winter Park and Granby Ranch

International travel - anywhere new

Entertaining at the house with friends

Reading food magazines and Jack Carr thrillers

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After graduating from the University of Iowa, I moved to Denver and joined “Corporate America.”  During my office stint, I not only witnessed but also engaged in the common self-destructive behaviors like sitting miserably at a computer for long hours, eating processed foods marketed as healthy thinking I was doing myself a favor, drinking alcohol to celebrate, avoid real things, or just because it's Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or really anyday just for making it through it, taking either extreme of too little or too much time for physical activity depending on the season, and definitely no time for restoration - all of which took place at the expense of health, balance, and happiness. 

 

Finally realizing I had zero interest in climbing that corporate ladder, I did what most people do - study the things you want to improve in yourself and get back to my roots and passions so I attained personal training, strength and conditioning, and wellness coaching certifications before enrolling at the University of Denver in their MBA and Master’s in Sport & Performance Psychology programs.  Combining elements from those backgrounds, I established Hardie Peak Performance so I could help clients who want to pursue their health and performance goals. 

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Life seemed to be falling well into place after checking off the Ironman bucket list item and having a healthy son, but a month out from my due date with Baby #2, my well-laid plans and expectations suddenly flipped upside down when she was stillborn via emergency surgery, which also left me without my physical activity "go to" outlet for stress.  Performance goals suddenly seemed insignificant and dropped behind the goal to recover – in all senses of the word.  During this low time, I opened up to other ways of doing things that my former self ignorantly dismissed and I noticed that while some foods left me feeling heavy and weighted down, other foods promoted an energized, lighter, and hopeful version of me.  For the first time in my life, I experienced what it felt like to be consciously aware of the connection between my mind and body.  I understood the impact and role that high-quality foods play, not just for performance, but for healing and maintaining a positive mindset.

 

This increased awareness reinvigorated my nutrition interest, and this time in a more holistic way.  Given my competitive nature, I accepted a new type of training program - to learn and do whatever it would take to completely heal.  I wanted to serve as living proof to others going through difficult times that while we cannot necessarily control what happens to us, we can control how we respond - which can be productive or destructive.  For me, focusing on healing through a holistic health approach was a productive focal point and because of this choice, I have experienced so many positive unintended results.  Opening up my mind to alternative ways of living and being has allowed me to grow and heal, leaving me feeling even better than I did before life threw that curve ball.  I had always considered myself healthy prior to all of these events, but at that point I also had no idea how much I didn’t know what I didn’t know.  Sometimes all we know is mediocre or good and never consider that we might be able to feel great with just a few adjustments.  

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Since then, I completed a Cook Street School of Culinary Arts Professional Program so that I could understand from a chef perspective the importance of how food is sourced, the chemistry behind the techniques that make it look and taste good, and how to marry those culinary concepts to effective nutrition so that we can optimally grow, prevent damage and disease, heal from injuries or trauma, and perform to achieve our goals.  I've since graduated from The Nutrition Therapist Master program at the Nutrition Therapy Institute in Denver and became Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition®.  To best understand what's going on inside us, I became a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner (FDN-P) where I run functional labs so that people can understand their unique physiology and the optimal ranges to be within to avoid dysfunction and disease.  Based upon those results I help coach them through their multi-month program that incorporates nutrition, meal planning, cooking skills, exercise, recovery, and stress management.  I regularly incorporate these concepts with my family and share these insights with others who have interest in feeling and performing their best.