Dr. Jen Stotlar, ND, CNS, LDN
Naturopathic Doctor | Holistic Nutritionist | Personal Health Ally
My Journey
Back To Health
(and my spark)
I didn’t plan to be a naturopathic doctor.
I started out studying pre-med, but after beginning college, I began having digestive pain and urgency that disrupted everything. I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis – a form of irritable bowel disease (IBD) – put on meds, and told to have labs monitored regularly. At age 18, the diagnosis didn’t mean much me – I just did what I was told. However, I did find myself pivoting into a career in accounting instead. I earned my CPA, climbed the corporate ladder, and eventually became CFO.
On the outside, things looked successful. But behind the scenes, I was managing multiple autoimmune diagnoses—Crohn’s, scleroderma, vasculitis, vitiligo, and lichen sclerosis—along with a growing list of medications, doctors, infusions, hospital stays, and side effects. Often, coordinating my care felt like it’s own part-time job. My days were full. My calendar was full. My body? Depleted.
Eventually, I realized “This – wasn’t healing.”
That was my turning point. I started researching. I read books, listened to interviews, tracked symptoms. I began shifting my diet, supporting my gut, reframing my thoughts—and within weeks, I felt something I hadn’t in a long time: relief. Not perfection, but movement. I felt like me again. During that time I also made a personal decision to stop all medications and infusions. After 27 years of being on pharmaceutical interventions, I wanted to know my baseline again. And since 2015, after surgery to remove damaged bowel tissue, I haven’t needed them.
“The experience didn’t just heal me – it created a spark and lit a fire in me.”
The Path to Nourisherpa
Through my healing process, I discovered naturopathy – without knowing it’s name – a model that explained what I had just lived. It honors root cause, innate wisdom, and the full spectrum of physical, emotional, and energetic health. Somewhere in a nutrition book, I noticed the author’s name with the initials ND after their name. Curious, I looked it up—and immediately knew I had found a new path. This was what I was meant to do.
I left the corporate world and enrolled in the 4-year naturopathic medical program at National University of Health Sciences, where I earned my ND degree and graduated valedictorian. I also became a Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS) and Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist (LDN), blending the art of healing with scientific and functional depth.
That journey led to Nourisherpa—a natural health clinic designed to walk alongside people with compassion and clarity. A space for deep listening, personalized care, and true restoration.
My Approach
As your health partner, I take time, I ask deeper questions. I listen to what you say—and what your body’s been trying to say. Then I help you connect the dots using your symptoms, your timeline, your stress patterns, your beliefs, your strengths. From gut to brain to hormones to history. From mitochondria to trauma. From belief patterns to blood sugar.
My job is to be your guide. Your translator. Your steady, curious, compassionate partner in this process. Then we co-create a healing path that makes sense for your body, your values, and your pace. I don’t believe in quick-fix plans. I believe in deep, sustainable healing—with support, education, and compassion at the center.
And because I’ve lived through chronic illness, medication overload, flares, and burnout… I know what it’s like to feel discouraged. I also know what it takes to rebuild from that place.
“We are not machines that can be fixed part by part. We are living systems—messy, brilliant, emotional, energetic, physical.”
I don’t think of chronic illness as a fight to win. I didn’t fight it. Why would I fight my body?
Instead, I finally listened to it’s messages, made space for it, and over time, gave it permission to move on.
My Promise
If you’re reading this, you might be tired. Maybe confused. Maybe you’ve tried everything and still feel off—or maybe you’re just beginning to wonder if there’s another way. I’ve been there. Not just in theory. Not just through textbooks. But personally—painfully, and eventually, transformatively. What I offer at Nourisherpa is rooted in what I lived through myself: years of searching, misfires, diagnoses, medications, flare-ups, and finally… real healing.
And now I help others do the same—by building health from the inside out.
You bring your desire and motivation for change.
I bring the insight, tools, and support.
Together, we’ll create a path to healing that honors the whole you.
IN MY CLINICAL TOOLKIT
I integrate a variety of modalities, including:
Terrain-based care guided by the Naturopathic Therapeutic Order
Nutrition therapy & Metabolic Balance®
Botanical medicine & supplements
Lab testing with assessment
Root-cause analysis
Homeopathy & constitutional hydrotherapy
Nervous system & emotional regulation
Red light, Far-infrared sauna, cold plunge
Neurostructural Integration Technique
CREDENTIALS & EDUCATION
NPI# 1982473187
Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine (ND) — Valedictorian
Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS)
Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist (LDN – IL)
Certified Metabolic Balance® Coach
Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (NTP)
Certified Gluten-Free Practitioner
Board Certified Patient Advocate (BCPA)
Certified Spiritual Coach
Certified NST Practitioner
Former CPA | B.S. in Accounting, Elmhurst College
COMMON
CLIENT GOALS
Digestive healing
Hormone balancing
Immune system support
Chronic fatigue & burnout recovery
Emotional resilience & Mental health
Skin issues
Health optimization
Life These Days
These days, I live in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with my husband and our blended family of five kids—who mostly live at home – except when they don’t (college schedules, summer chaos, you get it). Our summers are a fun kind of wild, with shared calendars, kitchen notes, and a house that somehow always needs tidying.
We also recently adopted a pit bull named Dodger, who insists that playtime is a full-time job. He gets to come to the clinic with me some days, and depending on your timing, you may just catch some Dodger therapy (unless you’re not a fan, then he’ll keep to himself). He thinks everyone wants to play with squeaky toys. He loves people but absolutely adores other dogs. (I should probably make him his own page.)
We keep life flowing with a nightly ritual: a handwritten note on the kitchen counter where each person marks whether they’re home or out—and the last one in locks the doors and turns off the lights. It’s quirky, functional, and kind of sweet.
I wouldn’t call myself a cook—I batch prep out of necessity, not love—but I like feeding my family well. I’m an avid reader (everything from neuroscience and quantum physics to spy novels and romance), but skip anything political or historical.
I also sing. Mostly in the car. Loudly. And yes, I love medical dramas. (No, they’re not accurate. Yes, I still love them.)
Licensing & Scope
Although I hold a Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine and am licensed to practice as a naturopathic doctor in Vermont and Wisconsin, the state of Illinois does not currently license naturopathic doctors. I am legally licensed and credentialed to practice as a dietician nutritionist (LDN) in Illinois, and all services are provided within that scope. Lab ordering, supplement plans, and terrain-based care are offered under nutrition therapy.
Let’s Nourish YOUR Spark!
You bring your curiosity and courage. I’ll bring insight, structure, and support.
BOOK A FREE 15-MINUTE EXPLORATION CALLGET IN TOUCH