"I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no “brief candle” for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations."

George Bernard Shaw

I have been there...I understand...I care...

I am a researcher, educator, author, and clinical nutrition professional. My work brings together human resilience, healthy aging, and clinical nutrition.

My doctoral research examined how twenty-eight community-dwelling women ages sixty-five to ninety-six understood and cultivated resilience across their lives.

Using constructivist grounded theory, I developed a theory describing how resilience is constructed and reconstructed through meaning, everyday practices, inner resources, and the conditions that shape what is possible. This research became the foundation of my book, Where Is Grandma?

My broader interests include women’s health, nutrition, healthy aging, and making research useful to healthcare professionals, community organizations, and the public.

Academic Background

PhD in Integrative and Functional Nutrition
Concentration in Mind-Body Medicine
Saybrook University, Pasadena, California

Dissertation

Forbes, A. (2026). Constructing and reconstructing the meaning of resilience in women 65 and older through beliefs, lifestyle choices, and external factors [Doctoral dissertation, Saybrook University]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.

MS in Clinical Nutrition
University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport, Connecticut

MEd in Foreign Languages (English)

Professional Background

For more than twenty years, I worked in the healthcare industry, including the biopharmaceutical and medical device sectors. My experience included cardiac care, electrophysiology, implantable cardiac devices, and acute hospital care.

Working within these settings gave me firsthand knowledge of the challenges facing patients, clinicians, and healthcare systems. It also strengthened my interest in prevention, evidence-informed practice, and approaches that consider the whole person.

I am a Certified Nutrition Specialist® (CNS®), credentialed by the American Nutrition Association® through its Board for Certification of Nutrition Specialists™.

My graduate education in clinical nutrition, decades of healthcare experience, and research on resilience have shaped an interdisciplinary perspective that connects nutrition science, healthy aging, lifestyle medicine, and how people adapt over the course of a lifetime.

Research Interests

Human resilience across the lifespan
Healthy aging and women’s health
Clinical nutrition
Nutrition in cancer care
Mind-body and lifestyle medicine
Qualitative research and constructivist grounded theory
Community health education

Philosophy

Health does not come from one source. It is shaped by biology, psychology, relationships, culture, environment, and the choices available to us. Nutrition matters, but it is one part of a much larger system.

I understand resilience in much the same way. It is not a fixed quality that a person either has or lacks. It is built and rebuilt through everyday practices, relationships, experience, and meaning.

My goal is to make research useful: to translate scientific evidence without oversimplifying it and to connect it to the decisions people, healthcare professionals, and communities make in ordinary life.

For a complete curriculum vitae and professional history, please visit my LinkedIn profile.

My Approach

“Why should we tolerate a diet of weak poisons, a home in insipid surroundings, a circle of acquaintances who are not quite our enemies, the noise of motors with just enough relief to prevent insanity? Who would want to live in a world which is just not quite fatal?”

― Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

Health does not come from a single diet, supplement, drug, or decision. It is shaped over time by nutrition, movement, sleep, stress, relationships, environmental exposures, genetics, and access to care. These factors do not operate separately, and no single approach is right for everyone.

Nutrition and lifestyle can play an important role in disease prevention, healthy aging, and recovery. Yet people seeking guidance must navigate contradictory advice, commercial marketing, and claims that often reach far beyond the evidence.

My approach begins with questions. What does the evidence actually show? What remains uncertain? Does the recommendation fit this person’s health, circumstances, and ability to sustain it? Scientific knowledge matters, but so do individual differences and the realities of daily life.

More than twenty years in healthcare—and my own health challenges—taught me that lasting change rarely begins with an ideal protocol. It begins with listening, identifying what is possible, and making informed decisions that can be repeated. Patience, curiosity, and respect for the body matter.

My research on resilience reinforced what clinical experience had already shown me: meaningful change is usually built through ordinary practices over time. It rarely comes from a single intervention or a quick fix.

Advances in nutrition science, genomics, and systems biology are improving our understanding of individual differences. I welcome that movement toward more personalized care. But precision does not replace sound evidence, clinical judgment, or the fundamentals of health. My goal is to bring these elements together in ways that are practical, responsible, and suited to the person.

I have been there...I understand...I care...

Academic Background

Professional Background

Research Interests

Philosophy

Social

My Approach

Live with passion and purpose!

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