Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Pardee.
Mary, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I have been interested in health and performance my entire life. I received a BS in Nutrition from UMass Amherst and worked in research for the government after college. I decided to further my education and pursue a Naturopathic Medical degree from Bastyr University. I chose Naturopathic Medicine because of my own healing journey with gut-issues since I was a child. As I went through the 4 years of medical school, I tried almost every treatment on myself. I came to a distinct realization one day that a large contributor to my health and most people’s health is our thoughts and our mindset surrounding wellness. I have been prescribed too many medications to count throughout my lifetime and tried almost every natural supplement out there for gut-support. But the biggest change in my health came when I decided to change my thoughts and my mindset surrounding my own wellbeing. I now work with clients to optimize both their mindset and their physiology – a combination that helps propel people into a state of peak performance so they can achieve whatever they want in life… I have the most rewarding job ever.
Has it been a smooth road?
Medical school has been the most challenging thing I have experienced so far, with entrepreneurship being a close second. The excitement that comes with the uncertainty of starting a company from the ground up feeds the “adrenaline junkie” that I am at the core of everything. I have a dominant personality that is fueled by risk, making big decisions, and creating a business that I both believe in, and know has the ability to help a lot of people. What is my advice to women starting their journey? We are all just starting our journeys! Every day is a different challenge, life is a bunch of different challenges, it is what makes things interesting and rewarding. I believe that our world is not deficient in ideas or thinking, but it lacks people that are ready to take action towards a worthy cause. So my advice is to take action, do something, do anything that you believe in and the community is in need of, the rest will sort itself out eventually.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Beyond Optimal – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I originally founded Be|yond Optimal as a nutrition and wellness practice while I was in medical school. It has since grown into a medical practice that uses individualized strategies to help clients achieve peak health. We are a virtual medical practice that has clients across the country. We use the best of naturopathic, functional and conventional medicine to get our clients the results they desire. Our name stems from the idea that we can transform our physical health by BEing the change we wish to attain before we achieve it. We believe that mindset plays a large part in health and when the mind changes, the body will follow. Be|yond Optimal specializes in gut-health, autoimmunity, hormone balancing, and performance. We use cutting-edge lab testing to determine the root cause of your symptoms so we can target a treatment to your physiology and goals. The performance arm of our practice focuses on optimizing nutrient intake, enhancing cognitive function, and improving energy levels by using functional lab ranges and narrowing in on subtle imbalances in the body.
We are different from other medical practices because we are almost entirely virtual. This means no more waiting in traffic, finding parking, long commute times, etc. You can video chat us from the comfort of your own home/office by logging on to your Beyond Optimal Portal. Even the lab tests are performed at home, we have a phlebotomist that comes to your house, so you don’t have to worry about driving to a blood draw station early in the morning.
There’s a wealth of academic research that suggests that lack of mentors and networking opportunities for women has materially affected the number of women in leadership roles. Smart organizations and industry leaders are working to change this, but in the meantime, do you have any advice for finding a mentor and building a network?
The best advice I have is to immerse yourself in your community. Go to conferences, talk to people, and be human.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://beyondoptimalnutrition.com/
- Phone: 508-330-3719
- Email: Mary@BeyondOptimalNutrition.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mary.pardee/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beyondoptimal/
Image Credit:
Laura Coover
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