Bio

I am the youngest of three daughters and was born in San Diego, CA, but I grew up in southern Oregon. I was always outside. My family owned land beyond the city, and my sisters and I were frequently seen playing with horses, dogs, and in and around tractors, rivers, lakes, etc. -- just living life in the country. In addition to nature and animals, my passions included playing soccer and running track. I was offered a track and field scholarship to California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) - San Luis Obispo and moved there immediately following high school graduation.

I adored every experience Cal Poly had to offer and still to this day consider it "one of the best decisions I have made in my life". I learned a lot about school, friends, independence, and loss. I definitely worked hard and played harder. After 5 years, I graduated with a Kinesiology degree focusing on Exercise Science and Health Promotion along with a minor in Biology. My CV includes a very long list of extracurricular activities -- student government leadership, Community Health Clinic volunteer, body composition testing technician, Children's Center daycare assistant, and Special Olympics coach to name a few.

My career desires always circled around health and wellness, but I did not realize I wanted to become a physician until a few years after my undergraduate career. Originally, I looked into physical therapy and public health. After moving back home to southern Oregon, I began working at our local hospital as a critical care monitor technician. I analyzed EKGs along with vitals on the unit. This job was challenging at first with a steep learning curve, but it was during this time I fully realized my passion for medicine specifically. I witnessed death as often as healing and accepted more responsibility every day. The jolt of anxiety, fear, excitement, and accomplishment blended beautifully, and I loved it. The staff and other medical professionals I worked with continued to inspire me. All our personalities worked incredibly well together, and we were a team.

While working at the hospital, I applied to medical school (D.O.) programs. The choice I made to go with the D.O. route as opposed to the M.D. route was easy. Combining my background in health, wellness, sport science, and physical therapy paralleled the osteopathic philosophy. Therefore, this decision to become a Doctor of Osteopathy physician was no decision at all. 

I recently graduated from Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences (PNWU) and am now an osteopathic resident physician. "Dr. J" is no longer just a childhood nickname, but a career.