Meet Alison - Colorado Functional and Integrative Medicine Practitioner
Welcome to Well North Functional Medicine. Our mission is to help you navigate toward true north and your best possible health, with direction, clarity and forward progress. Here, we utilize evidenced based, holistic care to empower you to live your most vibrant life yet.
About our Founder and Lead Practitioner:
Hi! I’m Alison, a board certified Family Nurse Practitioner and IFM Certified Functional Medicine Provider. I spent the first 15 years of my career working in academic medicine, starting at Georgetown University Hospital. There, I worked in the Neuro ICU and quickly came to see a trend of what landed most patients in the hospital, chronic disease. I realized that I wanted to be on the preventive side of healthcare so, I furthered my education at George Washington University and became a Family Nurse Practitioner. After graduation, I stuck with my passion for Neurology and took a clinical faculty position at the University of Colorado with a focus on migraine and chronic pain conditions where I worked for nearly a decade.
In 2020, as I was going through my own journey to health as a new mom, I realized my moral compass was being pulled away from the traditional healthcare model. In the conventional healthcare system, there is simply a lack of time and emphasis on disease prevention and lifestyle medicine. I sought out a more integrative, holistic approach and began studying at the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM), where I was certified in 2023. Through IFM, I learned more about the science-based, lifestyle approaches that could truly help get to the root-cause of disease and promote wellness. I became my own first patient and started to heal using food as medicine, targeted supplements and medications, and lifestyle approaches. I started to dream about opening my own Functional and Integrative Medicine practice because I knew I had to share this with the world.
Since I began this integrative medicine journey 5 years ago, I have never stopped learning! I continued my education and training to become a well-rounded clinician and hormone specialist. I have completed courses through the American Academy for Anti-Aging Medicine, Jackie Piasta’s Midlife Clinician Mentorship, the Advanced Practice Women’s HRT mentorship, Nico Misleh’s HRT University and many more. I am always seeking the latest evidence and approaches to health and wellness.
As a mom myself, I am passionate about working with women during the pregnancy and postpartum period. I want moms to feel their best by optimizing their unique health needs so that they can meet the demands of their family and enjoy motherhood. I have also gained more knowledge and empathy for the midlife hormone shifts that occur during perimenopause and menopause and offer a holistic approach to hormone replacement therapy and look to empower women during these midlife moments.
As a long time endurance athlete, I also have a special interest in working with athletes, who need their health to keep up with their training requirements and athletic endeavors. These particular groups have unique needs that often are not addressed by the conventional medical model, but I believe functional medicine has so much to offer. I also enjoying working with those who simply want to up-level their health to feel better and live longer. I use a combination of conventional, functional and lifestyle medicine in a true integrative medicine approach to help patients meet their goals and create optimal wellness. I’m excited to work with you every step of the way!
Outside of my clinical practice, I enjoy adventuring in Colorado with my husband, AP, and our two children, Claire and Jude. You can find us hitting the slopes, hiking the trails and rafting the rivers. I grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and it is one of our favorite places to vacation every summer. I am an avid runner, with new found love of strength training. I have run just about every distance from 5ks to ultramarathons – it is my favorite way to relieve stress and get out into nature. I enjoy cooking and using food as medicine to keep myself and my family healthy. There is nothing better than a home cooked meal surrounded by loved ones. As a woman of faith, I believe that God has called me to this work, guiding me to empower others on their journey to health by healing their mind, body and spirit.
Wherever you are in your health journey, I’m here to help! Welcome to Well North Functional Medicine.
Meet Alison
Welcome to Wild Rice Wellness. I’m Alison, a board certified Family Nurse Practitioner and Functional Medicine Provider. I have spent the past 12 years working in academic medicine, starting my career at Georgetown University Hospital. There, I worked in the Neuro ICU and quickly came to see a trend of what landed most patients in the hospital, chronic disease. I realized that I wanted to be on the preventive side of healthcare so, I furthered my education at George Washington University and became a Family Nurse Practitioner. Since then, I have worked in outpatient Neurology at the University of Colorado with a focus on Migraine and chronic pain conditions.
Just a couple of years ago, as I was going through my own journey to health as a new mom, I realized my moral compass was being pulled away from the traditional healthcare model. In the traditional healthcare system, there is simply a lack of time and emphasis on disease prevention and lifestyle medicine. I sought out a more integrative, holistic approach and began studying at the Institute for Functional Medicine. Finally, a science-based, lifestyle approach that could truly help get to the root-cause of disease and promote wellness. I became my own first patient and started to heal using food as medicine, targeted supplements and lifestyle approaches. I started to dream about opening my own Integrative and Functional Medicine practice because I knew I had to share this with the world and thus, Wild Rice Wellness was born.
At present, I am a part-time faculty member at the University of Colorado in the Department of Neurology where I work with patients to help manage migraine and chronic pain disorders using an integrative approach. I do firmly believe there is a time and place for traditional healthcare. There are amazing benefits to the many advancements we have seen in modern medicine, but I feel that there is a lack of emphasis on “well-care” and disease prevention in the traditional healthcare system.
As a mom myself, I am passionate about working with women during the pregnancy and postpartum period. I want moms to feel their best by optimizing their unique health needs so that they can meet the demands of their family and enjoy motherhood. I also have a special interest in working with athletes, particularly endurance athletes, who need their health to keep up with their training requirements and athletic endeavors. These particular groups have unique needs that often are not addressed by the conventional medical model, but I believe functional medicine has so much to offer. I also enjoying working with those who simply want to up-level their health to feel better and live longer. I use a combination of conventional, functional and lifestyle medicine to help patients meet their goals and create optimal wellness. I’m excited to work with you every step of the way!
Outside of my clinical practice, I enjoy adventuring in Colorado with my husband, AP, and our two children, Claire and Jude. You can find us hitting the slopes, hiking the trails and rafting the rivers. I grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and it is one of our favorite places to vacation. I am an avid runner and have been for over 20 years! I have run just about every distance from 5ks to ultramarathons – it is my favorite way to relieve stress and get into nature. I enjoy cooking and using food as medicine to keep myself and my family healthy. There is nothing better than a home cooked meal surrounded by loved ones.
Functional medicine is the science of health and maintaining function. It takes an individualized approach to figure out how and why an illness occurs in the first place and aims to reverse disease and restore health by getting to the root cause. Unlike conventional medicine which often looks at the body as separate, single systems and lacks time and emphasis on true wellness and disease prevention, functional medicine is a systems biology approach, looking at the body as a whole to find internal balance. Integrative medicine is blending the best of conventional and functional medicine with a focus on lifestyle interventions for optimal outcomes. Well North Functional Medicine offers in-person Functional Medicine visits in Denver, CO at Nurture: A WellCare Marketplace and virtual telehealth visits throughout the state of Colorado and now Utah!
Did you know that Well North Functional Medicine began as Wild Rice Wellness? Wild Rice Wellness was named after my hometown in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, paying homage to my roots and was founded in 2022.
So, why the name change? The name Well North Functional Medicine embodies my mission to help patients navigate toward true north and your best possible health. “Well North” symbolizes direction, clarity, and progress, while holding true to Functional Medicine principles and my dedication to addressing the underlying causes of health concerns, not just the symptoms. This rebranding aligns with my vision of empowering you to live a vibrant, balanced life through holistic, evidence-based care.
Welcome to Well North Functional Medicine in Denver, CO where we are your partners in health.
