Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Gardner.
Hi Alex, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I come from a food oriented family. My grandmother was a chef who taught me how to cook while I was in diapers. She then opened Rosa’s Catering, Knoxville’s oldest catering company, in 1971. I grew up working in the catering industry because of that. But it wasn’t until high school when I took a class on nutrition that I knew I wanted to become a Registered Dietitian. I then went to the University of Tennessee for my Bachelor’s in Dietetics and followed my husband to his next duty station in Colorado for my one year dietetic internship in Denver after graduating college. Through my internship I discovered my love of working with the maternal and child population through WIC. I started out as a WIC nutrition educator and the WIC dietitian after passing my credentialling exam. The day after I passed my exam, I officially started Alex Gardner Nutrition LLC.
I then wanted to enhance my knowledge in public health and completed my Master’s of Public Health from the University of Tennessee. During this time, I enhanced my skills in maternal and child health by working as a maternal and child health nutrition leadership training throughout my two years of graduate school. While attending graduate school, I pursed several avenues of making nutrition care more accessible in our community. First, I founded a nonprofit dedicated to improving the holistic health of women and children with a focus in nutrition. Then, I started down the path of contracting with several insurance companies to make services with me billable to people’s insurance policies. What we see know is that 95% of people are able to get sessions covered at no cost!
It is such an honor being able to play a role in shaping a family’s future through nutrition.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The biggest learning curve for me was understanding business strategy since they don’t teach that in school to become a dietitian. I had basic business fundamentals down since I grew up in a family business, but the marketing, networking, and knowing what framework I wanted to use were things I had to learn. I also had to learn how to do all my own billing and coding to make the insurance side of my business work.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Alex Gardner Nutrition LLC?
Alex is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Certified Lactation Counselor, Community Health Education Specialist, and Master of Public Health specializing in perinatal and pediatric nutrition. Outside of WIC and one OBGYN office, she is one of the only dietitians in the area that specializing in fertility, pregnancy, and postpartum. After the recent birth of her daughter who had several food allergies she dove into the pediatric space to help her child. She now offers services to young pediatric patients and their parents.
The best aspect of Alex Gardner Nutrition is that they take insurance, and most insurance policies cover sessions with a dietitian at no cost. About 95% of their clients pay nothing to see them.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I have several professional nutrition books that I read frequently to keep myself up to date on the latest nutrition research. But my recent favorite business book is “Buy Your Time Back” by Dan Martel.
Pricing:
- No cost with most insurance policies
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.alexgardnernutrition.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexgardnernutrition/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexgardnernutrition
- Other: https://sites.libsyn.com/473898/motherbabynutritioncarepodcast
