A Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with degrees in nutrition and spirituality, Lisa is uniquely qualified to help us understand our dynamic relationship with food. Her passion about the unbreakable links between food and spirituality is the result of over twenty years of academic, professional, and personal exploration. In 1987, she graduated from UC Berkeley with a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Clinical Dietetics and received the Nutrition Sciences Departmental Citation Award. In 1990, she earned a Master’s Degree in Public Health Nutrition from UC Berkeley with High Honors. In 1996, she obtained a Master’s Degree in Culture and Creation Spirituality from Holy Names College, and is a Shamanic Soul Coach with certification from the Integrative Arts Institute.
Knowing that we don’t have time to waste, Lisa seeks the most efficient ways to support our well-being. She has developed wellness programs for various corporations, including Safeway, Pacific Bell, and Advanced Fiber Communications (AFC), non-profit organizations, and governmental agencies, including direction of the first statewide distribution of UC Berkeley’s The Wellness Guide to over one million English- and Spanish-speaking participants in California’s Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program. Over the years, she has led over 100 grocery store tours, including one with Dr. Nancy Snyderman for KPIX Channel 5 News, and has made appearances on KGO TV’s The View from the Bay. Lisa is the author of The Sacred Art of Eating and Imperfectly Vegan Halloween Style and is a contributing author to The Social Cause Diet and Originally Blessed.
Lisa has served on The Wellness Letter Fund Advisory Committee at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health and volunteers with Cooking with Kids Foundation, a non-profit group committed to reducing childhood obesity and diabetes in Contra Costa County. She is a member of The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics with participation in the following practice groups: Hunger and Environmental Nutrition, Vegetarian Nutrition, and Food and Culinary Professionals. She is a member of the Slow Food Movement and is an enthusiastic representative of the JuicePlus+ Company, provider of JuicePlus+ and the TowerGarden. Celebrating her local roots, she participated in the development of the Sustainable Lafayette Community Garden. Lisa trademarked the term 'ImperfectlyVegan" as part of her commitment to nourish our relationship with food for the benefit of our individual, communal, and environmental well-being and works with an enthusiastic team of nutrition students (UC Berkeley) to further the ImperfectlyVegan mission.
Knowing that we don’t have time to waste, Lisa seeks the most efficient ways to support our well-being. She has developed wellness programs for various corporations, including Safeway, Pacific Bell, and Advanced Fiber Communications (AFC), non-profit organizations, and governmental agencies, including direction of the first statewide distribution of UC Berkeley’s The Wellness Guide to over one million English- and Spanish-speaking participants in California’s Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program. Over the years, she has led over 100 grocery store tours, including one with Dr. Nancy Snyderman for KPIX Channel 5 News, and has made appearances on KGO TV’s The View from the Bay. Lisa is the author of The Sacred Art of Eating and Imperfectly Vegan Halloween Style and is a contributing author to The Social Cause Diet and Originally Blessed.
Lisa has served on The Wellness Letter Fund Advisory Committee at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health and volunteers with Cooking with Kids Foundation, a non-profit group committed to reducing childhood obesity and diabetes in Contra Costa County. She is a member of The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics with participation in the following practice groups: Hunger and Environmental Nutrition, Vegetarian Nutrition, and Food and Culinary Professionals. She is a member of the Slow Food Movement and is an enthusiastic representative of the JuicePlus+ Company, provider of JuicePlus+ and the TowerGarden. Celebrating her local roots, she participated in the development of the Sustainable Lafayette Community Garden. Lisa trademarked the term 'ImperfectlyVegan" as part of her commitment to nourish our relationship with food for the benefit of our individual, communal, and environmental well-being and works with an enthusiastic team of nutrition students (UC Berkeley) to further the ImperfectlyVegan mission.
“Lisa not only armed our college bound daughter with the right tools to eat successfully at school, she also taught our younger children how to make better choices without feeling deprived. Our field trip to the grocery store was by far the best thing we have done for our family’s overall health.” Melissa Shilliday
Clients and Sponsors:
Education and Professional Training
Bachelor of Science with High Honors: University of California, Berkeley, 1987 Nutrition and Clinical Dietetics
Master of Public Health with High Honors: University of California, Berkeley, 1990 Public Health Nutrition
Master of Arts: Holy Names College, Oakland, 1996 Culture and Creation Spirituality
Registered Dietitian Nutritionist: American Dietetic Association, 1987-present
Special Studies: Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, 1993-94
Shamanic Soul Coach: Integrative Arts Institute
Awards & Honors
Robert Arnold Nutrition Fellowship, Regional Cancer Foundation, San Francisco
Public Health Alumni Scholarship, University of California, Berkeley
Helen R. Stacey Award, Honorable Mention
Joseph A Walsh Award, Honorable Mention
Lydia J. Roberts Fellowship in Public Health Nutrition, American Dietetic Association
Golden Key National Honor Society
Certificate of Appreciation, American Heart Association
Nutritional Sciences Departmental Citation Award, University of California, Berkeley
Bachelor of Science with High Honors: University of California, Berkeley, 1987 Nutrition and Clinical Dietetics
Master of Public Health with High Honors: University of California, Berkeley, 1990 Public Health Nutrition
Master of Arts: Holy Names College, Oakland, 1996 Culture and Creation Spirituality
Registered Dietitian Nutritionist: American Dietetic Association, 1987-present
Special Studies: Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, 1993-94
Shamanic Soul Coach: Integrative Arts Institute
Awards & Honors
Robert Arnold Nutrition Fellowship, Regional Cancer Foundation, San Francisco
Public Health Alumni Scholarship, University of California, Berkeley
Helen R. Stacey Award, Honorable Mention
Joseph A Walsh Award, Honorable Mention
Lydia J. Roberts Fellowship in Public Health Nutrition, American Dietetic Association
Golden Key National Honor Society
Certificate of Appreciation, American Heart Association
Nutritional Sciences Departmental Citation Award, University of California, Berkeley
“Lisa Ota touched me at the core and transformed my way of thinking about food. Ota simplifies the incredibly complex choices presented to us today when deciding how to feed ourselves and our families.” Elizabeth Y. Wolfe, Managing Editor, California Fresh Harvest: A Seasonal Journey Through Northern California