Meet Our Team!

Dr. Amy Day, ND

Welcome! I am the founder of The Women’s Vitality Center where we specialize in helping busy professional women with stress, fatigue and hormonal issues. After helping 1,000s of Bay Area women in our private naturopathic practice, we now also offer group programs, nutrition and health coaching, as well as long distance support for women around the world.

Ever since earning my Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine from NCNM in Portland, OR in 2004, and then receiving the 4th ND license in the state of California, I have been on the forefront of the natural women’s health movement including speaking, writing, teaching and practicing this amazing form of medicine.

When I learned about naturopathic medicine for the first time, and how it integrated science, medicine, holistic healing and nature, it sounded perfect to me. Then, during school, struggles with my own women’s health issues focused my attention and fueled my passion to work with and empower other women. I have become fascinated with women’s health and the intricacies of how our bodies function, and I want more women to have the support they need on their path to healing.

Over the years, my team and I have become known for providing effective, experienced and compassionate care, using an integrated treatment approach that blends nutrition, fitness, lifestyle counseling, stress management, nutritional supplements, botanical medicines, and bioidentical hormones when appropriate.

I live in Berkeley, CA with my husband and teenage son, and in my spare time I enjoy sitting in the sun, relaxing at the beach, hiking in the woods and practicing yoga.

Credentials and
Memberships

Dr. Jennifer Henry, ND

It is an honor and joy to work with the amazing practitioners at The Women’s Vitality Center. As a Licensed Naturopathic Doctor specializing in Women’s Health, my goal is to meet patients where they are and help them along the journey to their optimal health and happiness. I take the time to listen to my patients’ whole story – physical symptoms, life history, and current stresses and struggles – to create an individualized healing plan that is based in science and rooted in the long and successful tradition of using the laws of nature to bring the body back into balance.

Naturopathic Medicine came into my life after years of severely painful periods, IBS, skin issues and digestive dysfunction. I wished and desired to have a health care provider I could trust, who believed me and didn’t brush me off, and who offered me more than “the pill”. I met my first Naturopath and as my health came back into view (normal healthy digestion, painless periods, two healthy pregnancies, clear skin), I became inspired to pursue Naturopathic Medicine and begin my training to be an ND. After a long and fulfilling career in the education world, Naturopathic Medicine blended my desire to help people meet their potential with a love of nature and science.

I live in Oakland and am also a classical violist, and I love hiking in the East Bay hills with my husband and 2 young sons.

Dr. Claire Graser, ND

I’m committed to making a positive difference in people’s lives. By promoting self-understanding, expanding capacity for compassion with others and self, as well as encouraging growth, I help people become the best versions of themselves.

As a naturopathic doctor, I respect the innate healing ability of human beings, the interconnectedness we have with our environment and the principle of docere – doctor as teacher.

I use conventional and functional medicine lab testing to guide diagnosis and emphasize nutrition, botanical medicine and lifestyle as the foundation of well-being. I collaborate with patients to create comprehensive, individualized treatment plans that move you toward optimal health.

My areas of focus are integrative women’s health, thyroid disorders, adrenal dysfunction, bio-identical hormone therapy, chronic pelvic pain, PCOS, fertility, HPV and cervical dysplasia treatment.

When I’m not working, I love spending time with friends, my boyfriend, cooking vegetables in creative ways, appreciating art and house dance – an urban dance style that emphasizes inclusivity and community building.

Credentials and
Memberships

Check out this IG Live interview to learn more about Valerie’s journey to becoming a health coach.

Valerie Tookes

Here’s what you should know about me…

• I want you to feel comfortable in your skin.
• I want you to enjoy your body and treat it with kindness.
• I want you to love yourself well, and embrace all that’s possible for your life.
• I want all of those things for you, and for every woman… and that’s why I do the work that I do.

I began coaching in 2010, and since then I’ve had the privilege of providing hundreds of client sessions. We work on unpacking what gets in the way of living the healthy life that they want for themselves. I have witnessed women go from stressed, exhausted, depleted, sedentary, full of cruel, self-critical thoughts—and shift into a completely new way of life. A life filled with more movement, more energy, more confidence, new habits, new passions and curiosities, even new friendships and relationships. I love witnessing this kind of transformation, and it’s the same journey that I’ve been on, myself. I know from personal experience that it’s never too soon—or too late—to start taking better care of yourself, start treating yourself with kindness, and start loving yourself.

I live in Oakland and love to travel, go to the gym, cook, make art, learn new things, and cuddle with my kitty, Austin.

Credentials

• National board-certified Health and Wellness Coach from the National Board for Health & Wellness Coaching
• International Coach Federation (ICF) Certified Coach
• Master’s Degree in Integrative Health Studies
• Certificate in Health Coaching & Wellness Management from California Institute for Integral Studies (CIIS)
• Certified by the Institute for Integrative Nutrition
• Trained at the Interchange Counseling Institute
• Lead coach at the Courageous Living Coach Certification program

Check out this IG Live interview to learn how Jennifer navigated her journey with fibroids and how she became a blood sugar and women’s health coach.

Jennifer Benorden

Joining the power team at The Women’s Vitality Center has been a complete dream, as I get to combine my passion for women’s rights with women’s health.

Over the past 25 years I have been a women’s group facilitator, massage therapist, Shamanic practitioner, musician, poet, and photographer, always focusing on the beauty of nature, the power of intention, and the incredible innate capacity human beings have to heal.

Now, as a certified blood sugar coach, I teach the 5-pillars of blood sugar management in my program, Sugar Shield!, and empower personal growth and healing through understanding the ways blood sugar balance contributes to overall health and life satisfaction.

Credentials

• National board-certified Health and Wellness Coach from the National Board for Health & Wellness Coaching
• Women’s Health Coach Certification through the Integrative Women’s Health Institute
• Certified Insulin Resistance Coach through the Institute of Nutritional Endocrinology
• CAMTC, California State certified massage therapist
• BA, University of Kansas

Lauren Picciani

My entire career has been about helping individuals and organizations make positive change. Having worked in Human Resources Development, Outplacement Consulting and Leadership & Career Development for over 15 years, I’ve spent plenty of time in the “go, go, go” business arena. And it burned me out. Totally and completely.

From there, my focus, out of sheer necessity, became getting well, which led me to more reading than I’ve ever done in my life (even in grad school!), a long line-up of health practitioners and therapies, extensive trial and error in my own body (this experience has been my best teacher), and, eventually, formal training to be a Nutrition & Wellness Coach.

In terms of nutrition, I’ve gone from raw vegan to paleo-ish (I do eat small amounts of dairy, as well as gluten-free grains), and many diets in between. I’ve come to have deep respect for how the body responds when given what it needs, as well as for the fact that one size does not fit all when it comes to food (or stress management, for that matter)! Sure, there are some clear “no no’s”, and general guidelines about what’s good, better and best — and, for some, those changes are enough — but there’s a lot in between, and, for many, the devil is in the details, particularly when complex and/or long-standing health challenges are in the mix.

My approach is to meet clients where they are and help them to make the positive change they are ready to make. Once the basics are in place, we see how that feels. If it’s not enough, we put on our detective hats and go from there.

Consistently and persistently making healthier choices ALWAYS yields positive results over time, and, to me, nothing is more important than a sense of overall wellness — all other pieces of your life are easier and better when good health is at the foundation! My goal is to help as many people as I can to get healthy and feel well on a faster and easier path than the one I endured — if only I knew then what I know now! I’d be excited and honored to join you on your journey to feeling great in your own skin!

Karina Petit

I first met Dr. Amy Day as a patient when I lived in San Francisco where, after a few months, I began working at the front desk. In 2013, when I was preparing to move to San Diego, Dr. Day was preparing to open her practice in Berkeley and asked if I would enjoy working a few hours a week as a telecommuting receptionist. It is my personal philosophy to answer the door when you hear opportunity knocking. This was the beginning of a beautiful partnership!

Within a few years of helping Dr. Day from San Diego, the practice had grown into a full time position for me. Now after 7 years, I manage The Women’s Vitality Center from Mexico where I live by the beach and enjoy the heat. I truly feel blessed to be a part of the care of so many women and I am excited as we can continue to grow and evolve our ways of care.

It has been a great pleasure in my life to help grow The Women’s Vitality Center with Dr. Amy Day. We are now a compassionate and caring community of women expanding to help even more women.

In addition to the heart I put into The Women’s Vitality Center, I love learning new things and my latest passions include dance, music, photography and design.