Amber Gentry

I think people are wonderfully fascinating.  I love listening to the “why” behind the “what” of people’s thoughts and behaviors, so they might gain a deeper understanding about themselves that will result in more compassion and creativity.  I love helping them unlock their inner wisdom and wants.

 It is no surprise then why I chose to study Psychology in undergrad at Texas A&M University. And when my husband and I decided to start a family right out of college, I turned my professional pursuits to personal ones - growing tiny humans (three of them, in fact), getting to know them, and helping them to understand themselves and those around them. We moved our family to NYC when my husband became a pastor in 2010, and I embraced the role of mentor to countless members of our church, and the role of leader in our congregation. I championed social justice issues, mercy ministries, spiritual formation, and community building. But all the while I felt that something was missing… 

 In 2016 something clicked - and I realized: we cannot grow in our spirit or heal in our soul, if we do not care for our bodies.  

The soul searching and psychological distress I had been counseling people through for a decade was not all rooted in their minds, emotions, and will - it was also rooted in their gut microbiome, their cell’s mitochondria, and in their brain’s neurotransmitters (just to name a few). It is all connected. To empower someone to heal and grow meant that I needed to learn not only how to help them understand their psyche, but also their body. So, I went back to school at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, and became a Health Coach. I became obsessed with learning about our biology and how it is connected with psychology. I dove into the concept of bio-individuality, learning over 100 dietary theories in hopes of helping each individual find the best way to eat for their unique body and lifestyle (because food isn’t “like” medicine, it is medicine). 

However, judging by my lifelong personal study of humans, I was sure that people would not change the way they ate and acted because they knew they “should” make healthier choices. It was obvious to me that the rules and regulations holding up the nutrition industry were only shackles on an individual who was trying to change their behavior. And clearly - the guilt, shame, confusion and perfectionism that “diet culture” holds up as commandments, only results in individual rebellion and a cycle of failure and regret. It was clear to me that people would only embrace the change they needed, if the new behavior was not restricted - but free. 

Coaching people through changing their diet and lifestyle is a process of understanding our deeper wants and listening to our inner wisdom, so that we can experience that freedom. Only then can our behavior come in line with our self. It requires embracing abundance - giving ourselves MORE, not less - so we can be truly full.  It calls for being curious about our own actions (instead of punitive towards ourselves) to enable new thought patterns that produce new behavior. And, I would add, it is quite delicious :).

When a mutual friend connected me to Pip in 2018, I had no idea what an incredible impact the Coburn Ventures community would have on me personally.  It is an invigorating space, full of learners and listeners who desire to create great change. I am exceedingly thankful to be a part of it. 

 My newest passion project is building a Holistic Functional Medicine practice that I co-founded in 2020: Re-well. In my spare time, I cook and create recipes while joking with my teenagers.  I hope to one day find myself living in Tuscany with my husband, and I also hope to learn how to not kill every plant I try to cultivate…