Continuous Learning for Individuals, Management & Business

Many of us who work in Portland Oregon's caring professions, from nursing to teaching to law to counseling, wish we understood more about how environmental factors and emotions are impacted by the physical features and chemical interactions of the brain. Whether your training took you in a more biological and chemistry direction, or a more psychological and sociological direction, wedding these disparate fields helps so many to explain and teach with their clients and students who want answers about why they feel the way they feel.

Becoming a functional nutritionist is an exciting and rewarding career. Many people look into nutrition as a career path after a passion for health, wellness, and intentional diet choices, but there is so much to learn about how food, exercise, and other elements of our lives impact the health of our bodies. At Portland Community College, you can pursue a year-long preparation program in Functional Nutrition with a cohort of like-minded students who are also studying through live, online classes. This course is approved by the National Association of Nutrition Professionals as preparation for the Holistic Nutrition Credentialing Board certification exam. 

More and more people are realizing that nutrition is a key factor in good health, and this is creating a demand for professionals who can provide guidance in how to use it to its fullest. This goes far beyond the idea of using food to control weight. Nutrition has been linked to conditions like heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, digestive concerns, and more. It makes sense that while bad nutrition can increase risks, good nutrition can decrease them and may even help people heal from certain conditions.

Whether you've been in the field for a while or are just starting your healthcare career in nutrition, the Functional Nutrition Program at the PCC Institute for Health Professionals will provide many benefits to your career development. The program will not only provide you with a solid foundation to develop your professional nutrition career, but it will also prepare you for the Holistic Nutrition Credentialing Board or HNCB certification exam.

Yoga is an ancient practice that works to unite the mind and body through the use of meditation and physical poses, as well as other disciplines originating in ancient India. Many people who practice yoga consider taking their knowledge to the next level. With the Registered Yoga Teacher 200-hour course (RYT-200), you will get into the background, underpinnings, and physical forms of yoga, but the more extensive training certification from the Yoga Alliance is the RYT-500, which requires 300 additional hours of training.

Sarah Molbert, MScN, is an adjunct faculty member at Portland Community College. She is originally from the southern part of Louisiana and moved to Portland four years ago to pursue a Master of Science in Nutrition and a Master of Science in Global Health from the National University of Natural Medicine.

Zrinka Glavas, MEd, MSc, attained her Master of Education at the University of Zagreb, Croatia. Her passion for evidence-based nutrition and traditional medicine led her to complete a Master of Science in Nutrition at the National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) in Portland, Oregon. Zrinka’s love of education and functional nutrition is joined in teaching the effects medical nutrition therapy has on health outcomes.

Julie Marks, MScN, is an adjunct faculty member at Portland Community College, teaching in the Functional Nutrition program. She is also the Nutritionist and Coordinator for the Food as Medicine Institute, where she teaches hands-on cooking and nutrition classes. 

One of PCC IHP's popular fall programs combines Neuroscience + Psychology + Mindfulness + Relationship Studies. Foundations of Interpersonal Neurobiology draws upon ideas like Attachment Theory and Complexity Theory to explore complex interpersonal human relationships.